MAC Tournament Preview

MAC Tournament Preview: The MAC Tournament consists of eight teams and will be held in Cleveland Ohio. This event will begin on Thursday at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and an automatic bid to the Tourney at stake on Saturday night at 7:30. The MAC is always very underrated as these teams can put up a lot of points on any given night.

With the bracket set, teams are subject to forfeiting via no-contest if they fail the COVID testing process with the other team advancing to the next round. Should there be an upset in any of the games, the top four teams in the conference are mandated to test for COVID if eliminated from moving on in the postseason to ensure the other teams can continue playing.

RANKINGS

#1 Toledo
#2 Buffalo
#3 Akron
#4 Kent State
#5 Ohio
#6 Bowling Green
#7 Miami (Ohio)
#8 Ball State

SCHEDULE

Quarterfinals

Thursday, March 11

Game 1: No. 1 Toledo vs. No. 8 Ball State, 11 a.m. ET (ESPN+).
Game 2: No. 4 Kent State vs. No. 5 Ohio, at least 30 minutes after Game 1 (ESPN+).
Game 3: No. 2 Buffalo vs. No. 7 Miami, at least 30 minutes after Game 2 (ESPN+).
Game 4: No. 3 Akron vs. No. 6 Bowling Green, at least 30 minutes after Game 3 (ESPN+).

Semifinals

Friday, March 12

Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 5 p.m. (CBS Sports Network).

Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, at least 30 minutes after Game 5 (CBS Sports Network).

Championship Game

Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2.

Quick Breakdown of 8 Teams

Toledo

The Rockets finished the season with a 15-4 record in the conference. The focal point of their offense was lead by Marreon Jackson who had a triple-double again, this time against Ball State. They also lead the conference with the best three-point percentage, shooting at 38.6% clip. They will be facing Ball State after beating them 89-70.

Buffalo

The Bulls have been a tough opponent in the conference finishing second with a 12-5 record in the MAC. The Bulls are 8th in points per game as they have a lot of players that can contribute on both the offensive and defensive end of the court. They have the second-best field goal percentage with 46.6% and are the best offensive rebounding team.

Akron

The Zips ended their season with a 12-6 record in the conference. They did not end the season like they wanted to as they dropped their last three games. Loren Christian Jackson is the best scorer in the MAC averaging 21.6 PPG.

Akron had issues trying to be consistent this year and witnessed the Zips stumble against teams like Northern Illinois.

Kent State

The Golden Flashes ended with a 12-6 record in the conference are the best defensive team in regards to giving up points. The team gives up 70.6 PPG. Before dropping the game to Buffalo, they have won five of their last six games.

Ohio

The Bobcats had a 9-5 record in the MAC and lead the conference with the best field goal percentage with 48.4%. Before losing to Buffalo, they had won six games in a row.

Bowling Green

The Green Falcons finished with an 10-8 record in the MAC behind second best scorer, Justin Turner, who averaged 19.9 PPG. They were one of the hottest teams in the MAC prior to Tuesday’s loss against Miami (Ohio).

Miami (Ohio)

The Redhawks finished just above .500 in the conference with an 8-9 record. Miami was the runner-up from behind the arc shooting 36.7% from that range.

Ball State

Lastly, the Cardinals finished just one game under .500 in the MAC. Don’t let their record fool you as they can put up points in a hurry. They have won three consecutive games propelled by scoring a bunch of points these last few games, which included a one-sided victory 100-65 athome win over Eastern Michigan