It literally won’t get any bigger than this for the Bowling Green women’s basketball team.
The Falcons (17-6, 10-2) come into the game with the top record in the Mid-American Conference West division while Eastern Michigan comes into the game second in the division with a 8-4 mark in conference and an 18-5 mark overall.
Needless to say, the winner of the game is likely to win the division and earn a bye in the conference tournament. That is the goal for the Falcons, who are hoping to leave the West division on a high note.
“What a fitting year it would be to leave the West on a winning note,” Miller said.
To do that, the Falcons will have to do what they couldn’t do the first time the two teams met in January.
That time around, the two teams were jockeying for early position in the conference. It was BGSU’s biggest of the year at the time and Eastern gained an early edge in conference play with a 51-48 win. It was played in front of 1,055 rowdy Anderson Arena fans and gave BG a preview of what this year’s MAC tournament may be like.
“I think we go the game that it was billed to be,” said Miller in a press conference after the loss. “It’s not always a pretty game when the two of us play, but [tonight’s game] was what a tournament game feels like.”
If that game gave the two teams a tournament feel, then tomorrow’s game should give them a championship game feel.
The two teams have developed a rivalry over the past two years.
At the end of the 2002-2003 season, Bowling Green knocked off Eastern Michigan on senior night at Anderson Arena. But Eastern promptly knocked the Falcons out of the MAC tournament a week later.
And last year provided no less turmoil between the two as the Falcons fell in the MAC title game to the Eagles.
Looking into the future back in November, some may not believe this game would be a big deal. At that time, the Falcons were in the middle of the pack in the preseason rankings, something they’ve used to drive them throughout the season. But now they’re in first place and they’ve got the bullseye on their back, not from a cellar dweller like their last two games but from a serious MAC title contender.
But according to Miller, the roles haven’t changed.
“I think we had a bullseye on our back coming into the season,” he said. “But that is even more prominent now.
Eastern and the Falcons will take aim at each other tomorrow for MAC supremacy. Tip-off for the game is set for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti.