Six out of eight spots to Cleveland are now booked as Kent State, Miami, and Bowling Green’s Wednesday night wins have guaranteed them spots in the top eight in the standings.
Three teams have been eliminated from MAC Tournament contention, with Ohio and Akron each losing while Western Michigan won.
Central Michigan (CMU), Western Michigan (WMU), and Northern Illinois (NIU) are the only schools whose MAC Tournament fates are in question.
Top-Seed Contenders
Ball State (21-7, 13-2 MAC), Buffalo (22-5, 11-4 MAC) and Toledo (20-6, 11-4 MAC) are officially the only schools with a chance of getting the top seed in the MAC Tournament.
Ball State senior guard Ally Becki’s mid-range jump shot with 30 seconds left in overtime sealed the 60-58 victory for the Cardinals over Central Michigan. The win puts the Cardinals back to two games up on Buffalo and Toledo in the standings.
Toledo beat Buffalo by three points for the second time this season on Wednesday night to sweep the season series. However, the Rockets’ worse overall record still puts them in third place in the standings and Buffalo in second.
Toledo and Buffalo will most likely need to win out to snatch the one seed from Ball State.
Clinched to Cleveland
Kent State (18-10, 10-5 MAC), Miami (17-9, 9-6 MAC) and Bowling Green (16-11, 9-6 MAC) all had double-digit victories on Wednesday propelling them to Cleveland.
The Golden Flashes crushed a desperate Northern Illinois team 76-58. Kent State currently sits in fourth place but could end up anywhere from second to sixth. On Saturday, Kent State will face struggling Akron to try to keep pace with Toledo.
Miami was up 39-16 against Eastern Michigan at halftime before a rare defensive collapse occurred for the Redhawks in the third quarter, giving up 34 points to the Eagles. The game ended up going to overtime where Miami prevailed 82-72.
Sophomore power forward Amber Tretter got her third-straight double-double for Miami with 16 points and 17 rebounds against EMU.
Miami’s one-and-a-half-game lead over Bowling Green in their overall records slots the Redhawks in fifth place. Miami takes on Ohio on Saturday to try and move back into the top four.
Bowling Green exterminated Ohio 91-61 to secure their fifth consecutive win and their trip to Cleveland. The thirty-point victory was by far their largest MAC win of the year and their third-largest win of the season (+51 vs St. Bonaventure) (+36 vs. Stetson).
Four Falcons scored double digits in the win including senior guard Amy Velasco who put up an impressive 22-point 11-assist double-double.
The Orange & Brown are currently in sixth place and would be matched up against archrival Toledo in the first round. Bowling Green will face Northern Illinois on Saturday to try and improve their rank.
Bubble Teams
Central Michigan (12-15, 7-8 MAC), Western Michigan (11-15. 7-8 MAC), and Northern Illinois (12-15, 5-10 MAC) are the remaining teams on the bubble. Although all three teams have neither clinched nor been eliminated, CMU and WMU still have the advantage over NIU to get the last two spots.
CMU had a quality two-point overtime loss against Ball State but remained in seventh place. CMU could end up anywhere between fifth and ninth place by the end of the season. The Chippewas play Toledo on Saturday with a chance to clinch a spot in Cleveland if NIU loses.
WMU held on to the coveted eighth seed after beating Akron 77-66 to end their three-game skid. The 77-point performance was the most points scored by the Broncos in MAC play and their second-most points scored all season (87 vs. Prairie View A & M).
WMU could also clinch a spot in the MAC Tournament with a win against Ball State on Saturday and an NIU loss.
NIU is on the outside looking in after losing to Kent State on Wednesday. The Huskies have now lost three straight and can only make the tournament one of three ways:
- NIU wins out AND either CMU/WMU loses out.
- NIU wins out AND either CMU/WMU goes 1-2.
- NIU goes 2-1 AND either CMU/WMU loses out.
If NIU were to make the tournament, they would almost certainly be the eighth seed unless both CMU and WMU lose out and NIU wins out. In this case, NIU would become the seventh seed.
NIU can also become the final team eliminated on Saturday if they lose to Bowling Green and CMU/WMU both win their games.
Eliminated
Ohio (6-20, 4-11 MAC), Akron (9-19, 3-12 MAC) and Eastern Michigan (2-24, 1-14 MAC) are all eliminated from making the MAC Tournament.
Ohio and Akron became the next two schools to get eliminated after the Bobcats lost by 30 to Bowling Green and the Zips lost by 11 to Western Michigan. Ohio can finish anywhere from ninth to 11th place and will face Miami on Saturday, whereas Akron can finish anywhere from ninth to last place and will face Kent State.
Eastern Michigan almost played spoiler again by taking Miami to overtime before losing by 10. The Eagles are now guaranteed to finish in either 11th or last in the MAC this season and will play Buffalo on Saturday.
