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Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament

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The Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament is an NCAA Division I postseason single-elimination tournament. The winner of the tournament receives the Mid-American Conference (MAC) automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. As of 2021, the top eight teams in conference play qualify for the tournament.[1] Since 2000, the MAC Tournament has been held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland and is planned to be held there through at least 2030.[2] The finals are broadcast on ESPN2 while the semifinals on CBS Sports Network & the quarterfinals are on ESPN+ for streaming.

Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament
Conference basketball championship
SportBasketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Number of teams8
FormatSingle-elimination tournament
Current stadiumRocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Current locationCleveland, Ohio
Played1980–present
Last contest2024
Current championAkron Zips (5th)
Most championshipsBall State Cardinals, Kent State Golden Flashes, Ohio Bobcats (7)
TV partner(s)CBS Sports Network, ESPN2
Official websitegetsomemaction.com – Men's basketball
Sponsors
VisitMyrtleBeach.com (2016–2019)
FirstEnergy (2009–2015)
Kraft Foods (2001–2008)
Host stadiums
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (2000–present)
SeaGate Centre (1996–1999)
Savage Arena (1985, 1987–1989, 1995)
Battelle Hall (1993–1994)
Cobo Arena (1990–1992)
Rockford MetroCentre (1984, 1986)
Crisler Arena (1980–1982)
Host locations
Cleveland, Ohio (2000–present)
Toledo, Ohio (1985, 1987–1989, 1995–1999)
Columbus, Ohio (1993–1994)
Detroit, Michigan (1990–1992)
Rockford, Illinois (1984, 1986)
On-campus sites (1983)
Ann Arbor, Michigan (1980–1982)

The tournament was first played in 1980 and expanded to include all conference members in 2000. The tournament continued to involve all conference members (barring postseason bans due to NCAA sanctions) through the 2020 edition, which was canceled in progress due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, as part of a broader suite of changes to MAC postseason tournaments triggered by the pandemic, the MAC announced it would reduce its men's and women's basketball tournaments to 8 teams, with all qualifying teams playing in Cleveland. Additionally, the MAC eliminated its basketball divisions and increased its conference schedule from 18 to 20 games. These changes will remain in place through at least the 2023–24 season.[1] Ball State, Kent State, and Ohio have the most tournament championships with seven.

Format

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Seeding for the tournament is determined by winning percentage in conference play; during the era of MAC divisional play, divisional alignment did not figure into tournament seeding. The following tiebreakers are used:

1. Between two teams: A. Head-to-head competition; B. Division Record (only used if the two teams in question are tied for the Division lead); C. Winning percentage vs. ranked conference teams (top to bottom, regardless of division, vs. common opponents regardless of the number of times played); D. Coin flip

2. For multiple (3 or more) team ties: A. Total won-lost record/winning percentage of games played among the tied teams; B. Two (2)-team tie-breaker procedure goes into effect

Historical formats

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From 2016 through the abbreviated 2020 edition, all 12 conference members participated in the tournament. The top four seeds received byes into the quarterfinals; seeds 5-12 played first-round games at the campus of the higher seed. Winners of the first-round games advanced to face the top four seeds in the quarterfinal round in Cleveland.

From 2012 through 2015, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds received byes straight to the semifinals, with the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds beginning tournament play in the quarterfinals. Teams seeded 5–12 played an additional two rounds. First round games were played at the home sites of the higher seeds, with the remaining rounds being contested at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, then known as Quicken Loans Arena.[3] Under this format, a team seeded fifth or lower had to win four games in six days, while playing five games in eight days, to win the conference tournament. The division winners were guaranteed to receive a seed not lower than four.[4]

From 2002 through 2011, the format for the conference tournament was similar to the 2016 through 2020 format. Each conference member received a berth in the tournament, with the top four seeds receiving byes into the quarterfinals. Unlike the current format, division winners were guaranteed at least the No. 2 seed. First round games for seeds 5–12 were played at the home sites of the higher seeds, with the remaining rounds being contested at Quicken Loans Arena.

From 1980 through 1988, seven teams qualified for the three-round tournament. The No. 1 seed received a bye into the semifinals. In 1989, an eighth team was added and each of the teams participated in all three rounds. The tournament was expanded in 2000 to four rounds and included all 13 conference teams. The top three teams received byes into the quarterfinals.[5]

Tournament champions

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Year Champion Score Runner-up Tournament MVP Venue City
1980 Toledo 85–70 Bowling Green Jim Swaney, Toledo Crisler Arena (first round on-campus) Ann Arbor, Michigan
1981 Ball State 79–66 Northern Illinois Ray McCallum, Ball State
1982 Northern Illinois 79–75 (OT) Ball State Allen Rayhorn, Northern Illinois
1983 Ohio 59–56 Bowling Green John Devereaux, Ohio On-campus (championship at Anderson Arena) Bowling Green, Ohio
1984 Miami 42–40 Kent State Chuck Stahl, Miami MetroCentre Rockford, Illinois
1985 Ohio 74–64 Miami Ron Harper, Miami Centennial Hall Toledo, Ohio
1986 Ball State 87–79 Miami Dan Palombizio, Ball State MetroCentre Rockford, Illinois
1987 Central Michigan 64–63 Kent State Dan Majerle, Central Michigan Centennial Hall Toledo, Ohio
1988 Eastern Michigan 94–80 Ohio Grant Long, Eastern Michigan
1989 Ball State 67–65 Kent State Billy Butts, Ball State
1990 Ball State 78–56 Central Michigan Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan
1991 Eastern Michigan 67–66 Toledo Marcus Kennedy, Eastern Michigan
1992 Miami 58–57 Ball State Bill Gillis, Ball State
1993 Ball State 79–64 Western Michigan Steve Payne, Ball State Battelle Hall Columbus, Ohio
1994 Ohio 89–66 Miami Gary Trent, Ohio Battelle Hall (first round on-campus)
1995 Ball State 77–70 Eastern Michigan Steve Payne, Ball State Savage Hall (first round on-campus) Toledo, Ohio
1996 Eastern Michigan 77–63 Toledo Brian Tolbert, Eastern Michigan SeaGate Convention Centre (first round on-campus)
1997 Miami 96–76 Eastern Michigan Devin Davis, Miami
1998 Eastern Michigan 92–77 Miami Earl Boykins, Eastern Michigan
1999 Kent State 49–43 Miami John Whorton, Kent State
2000 Ball State 61–58 Miami Duane Clemens, Ball State Gund Arena (first round on-campus) Cleveland, Ohio
2001 Kent State 67–61 Miami Trevor Huffman, Kent State
2002 Kent State 70–59 Bowling Green
2003 Central Michigan 77–72 Kent State Chris Kaman, Central Michigan
2004 Western Michigan 77–66 Kent State Mike Williams, Western Michigan
2005 Ohio 80–79 (OT) Buffalo Leon Williams, Ohio
2006 Kent State 71–66 Toledo Kevin Warzynski, Kent State Quicken Loans Arena (first round on-campus)
2007 Miami 53–52 Akron Tim Pollitz, Miami Quicken Loans Arena
2008 Kent State 74–55 Akron Haminn Quaintance, Kent State
2009 Akron 65–53 Buffalo Nate Linhart, Akron
2010 Ohio 81–75 (OT) Akron Armon Bassett, Ohio Quicken Loans Arena (first round on-campus)
2011 Akron 66–65 (OT) Kent State Zeke Marshall, Akron
2012 Ohio 64–63 Akron D. J. Cooper, Ohio
2013 Akron 65–46 Ohio Demetrius Treadwell, Akron
2014 Western Michigan 98–77 Toledo David Brown, Western Michigan
2015 Buffalo 89–84 Central Michigan Xavier Ford, Buffalo
2016 Buffalo 64–61 Akron Willie Conner, Buffalo
2017 Kent State 70–65 Akron Jaylin Walker, Kent State
2018 Buffalo 76–66 Toledo Wes Clark, Buffalo
2019 Buffalo 87–73 Bowling Green Jeremy Harris, Buffalo[6]
2020 Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic[7] Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
2021 Ohio 84–69 Buffalo Jason Preston, Ohio[8]
2022 Akron 75–55 Kent State Enrique Freeman, Akron[9]
2023 Kent State 93–78 Toledo Sincere Carry, Kent State
2024 Akron 62–61 Kent State Enrique Freeman, Akron
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030

Performance by school

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School Championships Winning years Appearances W L Pct
Ball State 7 1981, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 2000 33 37 27 .578
Ohio 7 1983, 1985, 1994, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2021 33 38 26 .594
Kent State 7 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2017, 2023 32 34 27 .557
Akron 5 2009, 2011, 2013, 2022, 2024 17 20 13 .606
Miami 4 1984, 1992, 1997, 2007 33 38 28 .576
Eastern Michigan 4 1988, 1991, 1996, 1998 33 25 28 .472
Buffalo 4 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 15 11 14 .440
Central Michigan 2 1987, 2003 22 14 20 .412
Western Michigan 2 2004, 2014 29 20 29 .408
Toledo 1 1980 30 26 28 .481
Northern Illinois 1 1982 21 11 18 .379
Bowling Green 0 – 32 19 31 .380
Marshall * 0 – 8 5 8 .385

* No longer member of MAC

Broadcasters

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Year Network Play-by-play Analyst
2024 ESPN2 Eric Rothman Mark Adams
2023 Robert Lee David Padgett
2022 Mark Wise
2021 Jason Benetti Jon Crispin
2020 Roy Philpott David Padgett
2019 Robert Lee Julianne Viani
2018 Clay Matvick Rob Kennedy
2017 Mike Morgan Chris Spatola
2016
2015 Bob Wischusen LaPhonso Ellis
2014
2013 Stephen Bardo
2012[10]
2011[11]
2010[12] Ron Franklin Mark Adams
2009[13] Bob Wischusen
2008[14] Jon Sciambi
2007[15] Michael Reghi

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Strack, Jordan (May 12, 2020). "Major changes coming to Mid-American Conference". Toledo, OH: WTOL. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  2. ^ "MAC Tournament staying in downtown Cleveland through 2030". Cleveland 19 News. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  3. ^ "MAC Announces New Basketball Tournament Format". Mid-American Conference. August 18, 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-04-07. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  4. ^ Graham, Couch (August 18, 2011). "MAC changes its basketball tournament format, adds emphasis to regular season and protects teams with NCAA tournament at-large chances". Kalamazoo Gazette. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  5. ^ "Mid-American Conference Record Book" (PDF). Mid American Conference. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  6. ^ "Late Run Sends Top-Seeded Buffalo Past BGSU in Championship Game". BGSU Athletics. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  7. ^ Wright, Branson (March 12, 2020). "Mid-American Conference cancels basketball tournament in Cleveland because of coronavirus concerns". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  8. ^ "Bobcats Win First MAC Championship Since 2012". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  9. ^ "Akron Takes Home MAC Tournament Title". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  10. ^ Humes, Michael (2012-02-27). "Championship Week: Coverage of a Record 137 Men's Games Begins March 1". ESPN MediaZone. Archived from the original on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  11. ^ Humes, Michael (2011-02-28). "Championship Week Presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods Schedule". ESPN MediaZone. Archived from the original on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  12. ^ "Championship Week Begins Thursday, March 4". ESPN MediaZone. 2010-03-02. Archived from the original on 2010-04-12. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  13. ^ "Championship Week Begins Thursday, March 5". ESPN MediaZone. 2009-02-26. Archived from the original on 2009-03-07. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  14. ^ http://www.espnmediazone.com/press_releases/2008_03_mar/20080303_ChampionshipWeek.htm[permanent dead link‍]
  15. ^ "What to Watch: College Basketball Lovers Rejoice". MySanAntonio. 2007-03-02. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
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