Four Mid-American Conference (MAC) teams were awarded bids to postseason tournaments after the MAC tournament concluded: Ball State, Toledo, Buffalo, and Miami. Buffalo were the only team to win their game this week.
Ball State was automatically granted a spot to March Madness since they won the MAC Tournament, getting the 12th-seed and a matchup with 5th-seeded Ole Miss in the round of 64.
Toledo was accepted into the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament (WBIT), a postseason tournament with many of the teams that barely missed out on March Madness bids. The unseeded Rockets drew a MAC-BIG 10 showdown against Minnesota, the two-seed in their region.
Buffalo and Miami were both given byes into the second round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), a historic postseason tournament that dates back to 1938 for the Men’s and 1998 for the Women’s.
March Madness – Ball State (27-8, 16-2 MAC)
The Cardinals’ historic season came to a close on Friday after losing 83-65 to Ole Miss. The 18-point deficit could’ve been worse as Ball State was down 25 going into the fourth quarter before the Rebels pulled many of their starters.
Rebounding and size were undoubtedly the keys to the MAC’s powerhouse losing so badly. Nobody this season has been able to bully Ball State on the glass like Ole Miss did, outrebounding the Cardinals 53-31.
Graduate student power forward Starr Jacobs and senior guard Kennedy Todd-Williams each had 11 rebounds for Ole Miss as well as each scoring over 15 points.
Ball State’s senior point guard Ally Becki carried the offensive workload in her final game, scoring a team-high 19 points.
Overall, Ball State had an incredible season, winning both the MAC regular season and tournament crowns and leaving it all out on the floor against an underrated SEC school in March Madness.
With seven seniors, the Cardinals’ offseason question will be if they can continue their success with a younger roster and if they can acquire enough quality transfers to help their cause.
WBIT – Toledo (24-9, 13-5 MAC)
The Rockets got down 18-7 in the first quarter against Minnesota and could never recover, losing 65-53 in the first round of the WBIT.
Toledo’s lack of a go-to offensive star was on display as they only had two people score double digits, with graduate student guard Khera Goss leading the team with 11.
Turnovers were another problem for the Rockets as the Golden Gophers scored 25 points off of 19 Toledo giveaways.
Toledo had a very successful MAC season but simply didn’t have their A-game against Minnesota in the postseason.
WNIT – Miami (OH) (19-12, 11-7 MAC)
Miami’s season ended Sunday with a close 73-66 loss to Duquesne in the second round.
The Redhawks’ strong defense couldn’t contain Duquesne’s senior point guard Megan McConnell, allowing her to get a career-high 24 points in the game. McConnell has been a star for the Dukes all four years and her brother T.J. is an NBA veteran on the Indiana Pacers.
Power forward Amber Tretter led the Redhawks with a 15-point, 13-rebound double-double in the contest. Tretter should give Miami fans lots of hope for the future as she nearly averaged a double-double this year as a sophomore.
WNIT – Buffalo (26-7, 13-5 MAC)
Buffalo beat Massachusetts 84-82 in a second-round nail-biter to advance to the WNIT’s Super 16, becoming the only MAC team to win a postseason game this season.
The Bulls had a bye in the first round, whereas the Minutemen trounced Stonehill 86-40 on Thursday to advance.
Buffalo’s senior forward Ariana Seawell made the game-winning layup with 1:50 to go in the game. The play was facilitated by fifth-year guard Noelani Cornfield, giving her a season-high 15 assists in the game.
The Bulls will face the winner of Campbell and Southern Indiana in the Super 16 sometime between March 26-28 next week.
