Friday, March 14th, 7:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Quicken Loans Arena (20,562) -- Cleveland, Ohio. Television: FSN-Ohio. Home Record: Akron 13-3, WMU 11-1. Away Record: Akron 6-5, WMU 7-9. Neutral Record: Akron 3-1, WMU 2-1. Conference Record: Akron 11-5, WMU 12-4. Series Record: Western Michigan leads, 17-15.

GAME NOTES: A chance to participate in the Mid-American Conference championship is on the line, as the third-seeded Akron Zips will tangle with the second-seeded Western Michigan Broncos this evening in semifinal action at Quicken Loans Arena. Akron barely broke a sweat in their quarterfinal matchup, as the Zips easily disposed of Central Michigan, 81-60. It was the fifth win in the last seven games for Akron, which closed out the regular-season with an 11-5 league mark. Last season Akron took part in the MAC tournament title match, but fell to Miami-Ohio by a one-point decision. As for the Broncos, they were able to knock off the Eastern Michigan Eagles by a 70-61 margin, in quarterfinal action. It was the 10th victory in the last 12 matchups for WMU, which entered the tournament as the second-seed thanks to its 12-4 MAC record. The Broncos also claimed the West Division title this season, the team's third in the last five years. Next stop is the MAC title game and the winner of this meeting will take on either Miami-Ohio or Kent State. Earlier this season, the Broncos snapped a four-game losing skid to Akron with an 86-66 victory over the Zips. With the win, WMU now holds a 17-15 edge over the Zips in the all- time series.

Once again the Zips relied on their defensive prowess to overwhelm the Chippewas, as they posted an easy 81-60 victory over Central Michigan. Akron, which is surrendering just 63.5 ppg on the year, held CMU to a meager 34.5 percent shooting effort from the floor and also limited the Chippewas to a 6- of-24 clip from long range. Akron lost the battle on the glass, 33-30, but was able to still outscored Central Michigan in the paint, 36-20. Leading the way for the Zips at the offensive end of the court was Jeremiah Wood, who scored 17 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds. Wood has been the top option for Akron all year long and heads into this matchup netting 14.0 ppg to go along with 7.9 rpg. Nate Linhart added 16 points and six boards in the win, while Brett McKnight tallied 12 points off the bench. Nick Dials, who is posting 12.2 ppg and a team-high 4.3 apg, finished with only five points, but did distribute six assists. As a team Akron comes into this game averaging 71.7 ppg, and is shooting 44.4 percent from the floor.

It was not Western Michigan's best performance, but the team was able to grab a nine-point victory over Eastern Michigan in quarterfinal action. Western Michigan shot just 39.1 percent from the floor and made only 5-of-16 three- point attempts. However, the team used a 29-of-37 clip from the foul line, and also dominated the glass, 42-25. David Kool was an outstanding 15-of-16 from the charity stripe and finished the game with 24 points. Kool has been the main scoring threat for WMU all season and is currently producing 16.3 ppg. Shawntes Gary added 14 points and 11 boards against EMU, while Joe Reitz tallied 11 points to go along with eight rebounds. Reitz has been a monster in the paint for the Broncos, netting 14.8 ppg to go along with a team-high 7.9 rpg. As a whole, Western Michigan is averaging a mediocre 70.0 ppg on the season, and is shooting 42.9 percent from the floor. The team has also done a tremendous job on the glass, outrebounding the opposition by 5.2 rpg.

Earlier this season the Broncos crushed Akron by a 20-point margin, but that is not likely to happen again. However, the Broncos have a few more scoring options and should be able to slip past Akron just the same.

Predicted Outcome

Western Michigan 69, Akron 67