The 2024-25 regular season is almost complete, with just two games to go until the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament kicks off from Cleveland next Thursday, March 13.
Many teams have kicked it into another gear for the home stretch, while others are looking to play spoiler to late tournament hopes.
Here’s how each team looks with under two weeks to go:
Akron (23-6, 15-1 MAC)
In Friday’s home win against Kent State, Akron clinched a share of the regular season MAC title for the first time since the 2019-20 season. With Miami’s loss to Ohio on Saturday, the Zips secured solo hold of the league crown, snapping Toledo’s four-season conference title streak.
Akron has secured the number one seed in the conference tournament, with games against Toledo and Buffalo still to go.
Miami (21-8, 12-4 MAC)
Miami split their contests this week, taking care of business against NIU but falling to Ohio in the second edition of the ‘Battle of the Bricks’ to split the series.
The top two seeds are essentially locked down, with Miami staring down Buffalo and Ball State as the final two checkpoints before the finish line.
Ohio (16-13, 10-6 MAC)
The Bobcats hit their hangover on Tuesday. In their first game after snapping Akron’s winning streak, they lost to Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, 82-73. They rebounded nicely, picking up some ground in the standings and taking down their heated rival, Miami, on Saturday.
With their spot in the dance already clinched, the only thing up for grabs is seeding, with only a game separating Ohio from the fifth seed.
Kent State (19-10, 9-7 MAC)
Kent State is also firmly planted into the tournament, clinching their spot in Cleveland last week and splitting their games this week.
They obliterated Toledo at home, holding the Rockets’ fourth-ranked offense to just 65 points, winning by 40. Five Golden Flashes scored in double figures, and four scored at least 15.
On Friday, they led Akron on the road for most of the game, but Akron crawled back to sweep the season series and the conference.
Toledo (16-13, 9-7 MAC)
Despite struggling heavily this week, getting blown out by Kent State on Tuesday, then losing to Buffalo by double-digits on Saturday, Toledo still clinched a spot in the MAC tournament with other results from around the league.
There’s still some wiggle room with how they finish in the standings, with Akron and Ohio coming up on their schedule.
Toledo has lost three straight games, their last win coming on Feb. 18 against Ball State.
Eastern Michigan (15-14, 8-8 MAC)
Eastern has caught on fire down the stretch, winning four of their last five games, including big wins over Toledo and Miami. Jalen Terry and Da’Sean Nelson have taken the MAC by storm, averaging 17 and 16.4 points per game, respectively.
They currently sit firmly in place to make the tournament, barring a collapse over the final week. Their final two games are against Ohio and Kent State.
Western Michigan (11-18, 8-8 MAC)
Western Michigan is one of those teams that has really turned it on here in the home stretch – they’ve won their last two games and are setting themselves up for a late push to the tournament.
They sit in the seventh spot and still have to play Kent State and Bowling Green, who sit just one game behind them.
Ball State (14-15, 7-9 MAC)
The Cardinals are slipping – they’ve been above the line for most of the season and are now beginning to slip. They’ve lost two straight games and have two tough matches ahead of them, with Central Michigan and Miami to close out the season.
Jermahri Hill had 26 in Tuesday’s loss to Akron, helping the Cardinals keep the game within five.
Bowling Green (13-16, 7-9 MAC)
The Falcons have gotten hot. They currently possess the league’s longest winning streak of three straight, and all three of their wins are over teams that currently sit ahead of them in the standings.
Bowling Green currently stands half of a game outside of the tournament, just behind Ball State, who they beat on Saturday. Next, they’ll travel out to DeKalb to take on NIU before welcoming the seventh-seeded Western Michigan Broncos to the Stroh for what is shaping up to be a winner-take-all affair.
Central Michigan (13-16, 6-10 MAC)
Central was at one point holding onto one of the last seeds, and after losing three of their last five games factored in with the three-game heater Bowling Green has gone on, the Chips now sit on the outside looking in, in the 10th seed.
They have two very winnable games left in Ball State and Northern Illinois, and they will need some serious help from their core team, Ugnius Jarusevicius, Jakobi Heady, and Anthony Pritchard.
Buffalo (9-20, 4-12 MAC)
The most recent elimination from the MAC tournament, Buffalo will miss the postseason for the second straight season. They made improvements from last year, jumping from last to second-to-last and improving from four wins to nine wins, still with two to play.
Northern Illinois (5-24, 1-15 MAC)
They were eliminated from tournament contention, losers of 10 straight.
The Huskies kept it close against Western Michigan on Saturday but were unable to pull themselves over the hump to finish out the job.
