Just two days after thumping the MAC West Champions in Eastern Michigan, No. 7 seed Toledo will open the MAC Tournament hosting last place MAC East squad Miami (OH) at 7 p.m. March 5 in Savage Arena.

Both teams are entering the tournament going in opposite directions. Toledo (16-15, 7-9 MAC) enters postseason play winning six of its last eight games. The No. 10 seed RedHawks (9-20, 5-11), meanwhile, lost five of their last six.

Savage Arena, photo by Nick Kneer

The matchup will feature two of the top league Player of the Year candidates in Miami’s Julian Mavunga and Toledo’s Rian Pearson.

Mavunga, who is leading the MAC in points (16.6) and rebounds (9.1), was described by UT head coach Tod Kowalczyk this week as “the best player in the league.” Pearson is second in the league in scoring (16.4), third in rebounds (8.3) and eighth in steals (1.5).

Teams from the MAC East won 30 of 36 games over teams from the West this season. The Rockets, however, won two of those six games, including a 63-61 victory over the RedHawks in Oxford on Jan. 25.

Tickets are on sale at the Savage Arena ticket office or by calling (419) 530-4653 (GOLD) at all hours on game day.

Tags: Julian Mavunga, MAC Tournament, Miami (OH), Mid-American Conference, rian pearson, Rockets basketball, Tod Kowalczyk, Zach Davis

This entry was posted on Monday, March 5th, 2012 at 9:32 am and is filed under Rocket Basketball, Sports.
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