This year’s Mid American conference men’s basketball tournament could be one of the most unpredictable in years. Seven of the eight MAC seeds all have a regular season victory over their competition, so plan for the unexpected to happen!
Toledo top seed in the MAC Tourney
Toledo will be looking for the conference’s automatic NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bid as they take their #1 seeding into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse starting Thursday at 11am against Miami. The Rockets bring swagger as the nation’s 2nd ranked offensive team scoring at 85.7 points per game just behind Gonzaga!
Akron dancing again?
Akron hopes they can make it two NCAA bids in a row as they get Buffalo again in their first game. The Zips look to be only the second team in the past few years to go back-to-back. The last team to accomplish this was their opponent, Buffalo, in 2018 and 2019.
This is Bobcat time!
Never count an Ohio Bobcat team out of the tournament as they look to upset Ball State, who have lost their last three MAC regular season games. Ball State lost to Ohio in their only match up in the season. The Cardinals had a 37-30 lead early in the 2nd half but a 15-2 Bobcat run washed away the lead for most of the rest of the game.
Kent on fire!
Kent State and Northern Illinois tumble in the third game of the day. The Golden Flashes might be the hottest team heading into play with a three game winning streak to their credit. The last game of the regular season was an exhilarating overtime win over Akron 89-84! Akron’s Sincere Carry led the way with 35 points (11 in OT) and has found his name on the All-MAC Team.
By the way, Kent almost upset the nation’s sure-to-be #1 overall seed, Houston, last November! Their narrow 49-44 loss was possibly just a precursor of what Golden Flashes fans would love to see…a final matchup with the Cougars for the natty!
MAC Men’s Basketball Awards for the 2022-2023 season
2022-23 MAC Men’s Basketball Postseason Awards
Courtesy of MAC website. RayJ Dennis looks to score!
Coach of the Year: Tod Kowalczyk, Toledo
Player of the Year: RayJ Dennis, Toledo *unanimous selection*
Freshman of the Year: Reggie Bass, Central Michigan
Defensive Player of the Year: Malique Jacobs, Kent State
Sixth Man of the Year: Jalen Sullinger, Kent State
All-MAC First Team
Xavier Castaneda, Sr., G, Akron
Enrique Freeman, Jr., F, Akron
Sincere Carry, R-Sr., G, Kent State
RayJ Dennis, Jr., G, Toledo
JT Shumate, Sr., F, Toledo
MAC Tournament Schedule and streaming
Courtesy of getsomemaction.com, here’s the schedule for games.
2023 MAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Schedule
Thursday, March 9th, 2023 — Quarterfinals
First game: No. 1 Toledo vs. No. 8 Miami, 11 am ET (ESPN+)
Second game: No. 4 Ball State vs. No. 5 Ohio* (ESPN+)
Third Game: No. 2 Kent State vs. No. 7 Northern Illinois* (ESPN+)
Fourth Game: No. 3 Akron vs. No. 6 Buffalo* (ESPN+)
Friday, March 10th, 2023 — Semifinals
Game 5: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 5 pm ET (CBS Sports Network)
Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner, 7:30 pm ET (CBS Sports Network)
Saturday, March 11th, 2023 — MAC Championship
Game 7: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 7:30 pm ET (ESPN2)
Hope you can make it to downtown Cleveland this weekend.
MAC Women’s tournament results
The Women’s Tournament is in full action with every top seed advancing to the semifinals. Toledo’s women’s team hopes to make it a special weekend for Rockets fans if they and the men can both win their championship game! Here are the results from Wednesday night!
#1 Toledo 75, #8 Buffalo 74
#4 Kent State 75, #5 Northern Illinois 68 OT
#2 Bowling Green 70, #7 Eastern Michigan 36
#3 Ball State 92, #6 Akron 68
Follow me on Twitter @Petrorock44 BTW, Miami, want to make yourself relevant again? Start today by upsetting Toledo, ok? Your alumni, like myself and Wally Szczerbiak and Ron Harper, are patiently waiting!
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