Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament

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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 contest2021
Current championAkron Zips (4th)
Most championshipsBall State Cardinals, Ohio Bobcats (7)
TV partner(s)Spectrum Sports, ESPN2
Official websitegetsomemaction.com – Men's basketball
Sponsors
VisitMyrtleBeach.com (2016–present)
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 Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament is the NCAA Division I postseason single-elimination tournament for the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The winner of the tournament receives the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. As of the next MAC tournament in 2021, the top eight teams in conference play will qualify for the tournament.[1] Since 2000, the MAC Tournament has been held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. The finals are broadcast on ESPN2 and the semi and quarterfinals are broadcast on Spectrum Sports and ESPN3.

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 and Ohio have the most tournament championships with seven, followed by Kent State with six titles.

Format[]

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[]

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.[2] 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.[3]

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.[4]

Tournament champions[]

Year Champion Score Runner-up Tournament MVP Venue City
1980 Toledo 85–70 Bowling Green , 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 , 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 , Miami MetroCentre Rockford, Illinois
1985 Ohio 74–64 Miami Ron Harper, Miami Centennial Hall Toledo, Ohio
1986 Ball State 87–79 Miami , 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 , 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 , 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 , 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 , Kent State
2000 Ball State 61–58 Miami , Ball State Gund Arena (first round on-campus) Cleveland, Ohio
2001 Kent State 67–61 Miami , 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 , Western Michigan
2005 Ohio 80–79 (OT) Buffalo Leon Williams, Ohio
2006 Kent State 71–66 Toledo , Kent State Quicken Loans Arena (first round on-campus)
2007 Miami 53–52 Akron , Miami Quicken Loans Arena
2008 Kent State 74–55 Akron , 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 , Akron
2012 Ohio 64–63 Akron D. J. Cooper, Ohio
2013 Akron 65–46 Ohio Demetrius Treadwell, Akron
2014 Western Michigan 98–77 Toledo , Western Michigan
2015 Buffalo 89–84 Central Michigan , Buffalo
2016 Buffalo 64–61 Akron , Buffalo
2017 Kent State 70–65 Akron , Kent State
2018 Buffalo 76–66 Toledo Wes Clark, Buffalo
2019 Buffalo 87–73 Bowling Green Jeremy Harris, Buffalo
2020 Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
2021 Ohio 84–69 Buffalo Jason Preston, Ohio
2022 Akron 75–55 Kent State , Akron

Performance by school[]

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 6 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2017 32 34 27 .557
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
Akron 4 2009, 2011, 2013, 2022 17 20 13 .606
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[]

Year Network Play-by-play Analyst
2022 ESPN2 Robert Lee
2021 Jason Benetti Jon Crispin
2020 David Padgett
2019 Robert Lee
2018 Clay Matvick
2017 Mike Morgan
2016
2015 Bob Wischusen LaPhonso Ellis
2014
2013 Stephen Bardo
2012[5]
2011[6]
2010[7] Ron Franklin Mark Adams
2009[8] Bob Wischusen
2008[9] Jon Sciambi
2007[10] Michael Reghi

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Strack, Jordan (May 12, 2020). "Major changes coming to Mid-American Conference". Toledo, OH: WTOL. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-04-07. Retrieved 2011-08-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ Graham, Couch. "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 24 August 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  4. ^ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20160303205424/http://mac-sports.com/downloads1/360193.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2010. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2012-02-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2011/02/28/championship-week-presented-by-dick%e2%80%99s-sporting-goods-schedule/?s-sporting-goods-schedule/
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-04-12. Retrieved 2010-12-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-03-07. Retrieved 2009-03-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ http://www.espnmediazone.com/press_releases/2008_03_mar/20080303_ChampionshipWeek.htm[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2009-03-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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