The Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular season schedule is over and eight teams now turn their attention to the quarterfinal round of the MAC Tournament in Cleveland next week.
Here are the first-round matchups:
- Ball State vs. 8. Western Michigan
- Toledo vs. 7. Central Michigan
- Buffalo vs. 6. Bowling Green
- Kent State vs. 5. Miami
The first round should contain intriguing storylines as the second through sixth seeds are only separated by two games.
I will recap every team’s final performance of the regular season and explain how each team can win its tournament game and advance to the MAC Tournament semifinals.
MAC Tournament Teams
1. Ball State (24-7, 16-2 MAC)
The Cardinals ended their near-perfect MAC season with a 25-point blowout win against Ohio. The victory was a statement to the rest of the league that they are still the heavy favorite to win the MAC Tournament and get an automatic bid to March Madness.
Ball State senior forward Alex Richard scored 25 points in the contest, her third-straight 20-point outing and seventh of the season.
Ball State faces eighth-seeded Western Michigan in the first round. The Cardinals have swept the Broncos this year, winning both games by 10 points.
Although Ball State’s third-ranked defense is comparable to WMU’s fifth-ranked defense, the Cardinals’ third-ranked offense is worlds better than the Broncos’ last-ranked offense and should give Ball State a significant advantage in the game.
2. Toledo (22-7, 13-5 MAC)
Toledo dropped a close 69-62 game to Kent State to end their season, splitting the season series with the Golden Flashes. Despite the loss, the Rockets come into the MAC Tournament winning 10 of their last 12 games.
Toledo faces Central Michigan in the first round. The Rockets swept the Chippewas in the regular season, winning by five points the first time and 10 points the second time.
The Rockets’ biggest advantage over the Chippewas is that they can neutralize CMU’s conference-best rebounding. Besides Kent State, Toledo and CMU are the only two teams in the top five in the MAC in both offensive and defensive rebounds.
3. Buffalo (24-6, 13-5 MAC)
Buffalo ended up with the best overall record in the MAC after crushing Western Michigan by 26 in the season finale. Since Toledo swept them, Buffalo stays as the third seed and will face sixth-place Bowling Green in the first round.
The Bulls played the Falcons in January and won by 10. Buffalo’s biggest advantage over Bowling Green is that they have senior guard Chellia Watson, a MAC Player of the Year candidate.
Watson leads the MAC in points per game (20.3) and has helped Buffalo score the most points in the MAC this season. Nobody on the Falcons quite compares to her ability to score the rock and she could be a matchup nightmare for the smaller Bowling Green guards.
4. Kent State (20-11, 12-6 MAC)
The Golden Flashes took care of business against Toledo to clinch fourth place and a first-round matchup against Miami.
Kent State’s biggest advantage over Miami is that they are a much more balanced team than the Redhawks. Kent State has the second-best offense and fourth-best defense in the conference. They are only one of three teams (Ball State and Buffalo) to rank in the top five in the MAC in both offense and defense.
Although Miami has the best defense in the league, their offense is more inconsistent, ranking seventh.
5. Miami (19-11, 11-7 MAC)
Miami beat NIU by 10 to clinch fifth place. Grad transfer guard Maya Chandler scored a season-high 26 points in the Redhawk win.
Miami lost by 14 against Kent State the first time they played each other but won the second matchup by two.
Miami’s sophomore power forward Amber Tretter ranks fourth in the MAC in rebounding, while Kent State’s senior center Bridget Dunn ranks second. Winning this rebounding battle will be key to winning the game for Miami because Kent State has more offensive firepower than Miami.
6. Bowling Green (18-12, 11-7 MAC)
The Orange & Brown demolished Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti 87-67. Bowling Green’s offense has been lethal the past few weeks and is now ranked fourth in the MAC in points.
Bowling Green is also second in the MAC in three-pointers made per game. This is an enormous advantage against Buffalo, who ranks last in the conference.
Since Buffalo can score extremely efficiently from mid-range and in the paint, the three-point ball will be a key factor in Bowling Green pulling off a first-round win over the Bulls.
7. Central Michigan (14-16, 9-9 MAC)
CMU beat Akron 70-61 to clinch the seventh seed in the MAC Tournament. This will be the Chippewas’ first MAC Tournament appearance since they won it in 2021, eventually getting the 12-seed in the NCCA Tournament before losing by 15 to Iowa in the first round.
If they want to make another run in March, freshman phenom guard Madi Morson will need to continue her dominance against Toledo. Morson averaged 20 points in the two losses to Toledo and is the best freshman in the conference this season.
With Morson’s scoring ability, strong team defense and elite team rebounding, Central Michigan is a lower-seeded team that I think could make a surprise run in the MAC Tournament if they get past Toledo.
8. Western Michigan (12-17. 8-10 MAC)
WMU got smacked in the face by Buffalo and now must face regular-season MAC Champion Ball State in the quarterfinals.
The Broncos got swept by the Cardinals in the regular season and grad student Hannah Spitzley was the only player to score double digits in both games. Spitzley must have a great game for Western Michigan to have any chance to make the semifinals.
Eliminated
9. Northern Illinois (13-17, 6-12 MAC)
NIU’s season finale loss to Miami gives them fewer conference wins (6) than non-conference (7), making them and Akron the only two MAC teams to achieve the unfortunate feat.
The Huskies overcame a five-game mid-season losing streak to get back into tournament contention. However, their 1-5 end-of-the-season stretch eventually eliminated them.
10. Akron (10-21, 4-14 MAC)
After starting a decent 9-7, the Zips went a devastating 1-14 over their last 15 games, tied with Eastern Michigan for the worst record in the conference over that span.
Despite the team struggling, redshirt senior power forward Shelbee Brown was a huge bright spot for the Zips, finishing 12th in the league in points and 3rd in rebounding.
11. Ohio (6-23, 4-14 MAC)
Ohio couldn’t find any offensive consistency this season, ending the year on a four-game losing streak and scoring 55 points or less 13 times.
12. Eastern Michigan (2-27, 1-17 MAC)
The Eagles’ 20-point loss to Bowling Green capped off one of the worst MAC seasons of all time. Eastern Michigan’s 1-17 MAC record was the worst in the conference since EMU went 1-17 back in 2017.
