Friday, March 13th, 9:30 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Quicken Loans Arena (20,562) -- Cleveland, Ohio. Television: FSN-Ohio. Home Record: Akron 11-3, BGSU 10-4. Away Record: Akron 8-8, BGSU 6-8. Neutral Record: Akron 2-1, BGSU 3-0. Conference Record: Akron 10-6, BGSU 11-5. Series Record: Bowling Green leads, 24-19.

GAME NOTES: One win away from playing in their third straight Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship, the fifth-seeded Akron Zips will battle the top-seeded Bowling Green Falcons this evening in a semifinal matchup at the Quicken Loans Arena. The Zips are coming off a solid, 73-63 victory over Miami-Ohio in quarterfinal action. It was a much easier victory for Akron, which opened this event with a very tough, 93-92 overtime win over Toledo. Akron has dropped the last two MAC title games, and currently has a mere 9-11 all-time mark in this event. As for the Falcons, they closed out the regular- season with the league title and a first-round bye, thanks to an 11-5 record. Bowling Green was put to the test in the quarterfinals, and passed, defeating Ohio, 74-61. BGSU has now won four of its last five contests, and will be looking to return to the MAC title game for the first time since 2002 when the team was defeated by Kent State. The Falcons snapped an eight-game losing skid against Akron with a 50-46 decision earlier this month. After the win the Falcons now own a 24-19 edge over the Zips in the all-time series.

Akron put on a defensive clinic against the RedHawks on Thursday, as the team held Miami-Ohio to just 63 points on a 39.0 percent shooting effort. The Zips limited their opponent to just 8-of-22 from long range, and also forced 14 turnovers. Defense is what has brought Akron to this point in the season, as the team comes into this matchup holding opponents to just 60.2 ppg, on a weal 40.3 percent shooting effort. Teams are shooting a woeful 29.2 percent from long range against Akron, while the Zips are also forcing a whopping 18.3 turnovers per contest. Offensively the team does not possess a big time scorer, as the top option is Brett McKnight, who is reserve averaging only 11.2 ppg. Nate Linhart is contributing 10.2 ppg on the year, and is also grabbing a team-best 6.0 rpg. It was Steve McNees however, who led the way against Miami-Ohio, as the guard scored 17 points off the bench. Darryl Roberts added 15 points, while Nikola Cvetinovic and Linhart tallied 12 and 10 points, respectively.

The Falcons soared in their victory over Ohio, as Bowling Green shot a sizzling 60.5 percent from the field, en route to a 13-point win. BGSU, which finished with 74 points, also connected on 17-of-23 attempts from the foul line. Nate Miller was sensational in the victory, netting 22 points, to go along with 10 rebounds. Brian Moten added 12 points in the win, while Joe Jakubowski dished out eight assists. Throughout the season the play of Miller has led the way for the Falcons, as the forward is currently pacing the squad with 13.0 ppg. Miller is also collecting 7.6 rpg and has recorded a team-best 58 steals. Moten is contributing 11.4 ppg on the year, while Darryl Clements is netting 10.1 ppg, to go along with 4.0 rpg. While the play offensively is solid, the team's true success this year can be attributed to the Falcons' stingy effort defensively, as opponents are only averaging 60.8 ppg against Bowling Green.

Both teams know how to play tough defense, and will likely try to wear each other down through the course of this contest. However, what Bowling Green possesses over Akron is a go-to scorer, in Miller. The forward should lead BGSU to the MAC title game.

Predicted Outcome

Bowling Green 58, Akron 54