Quarterfinal MACtion Heats Up The Q Today
MAC Basketball Tournament Central
MAC Basketball Tournament Bracket
Wednesday, March 14th — MAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals
3.14.19 Release (PDF)
GAME 5: #1 Buffalo (28-3, 16-2 MAC) vs. #8 Akron (17-15, 8-10 MAC), Noon ET
WATCH LIVE: ESPN+
BUFFALO: Buffalo senior CJ Massinburg was named the MAC Player of the Year and Nate Oats earned his second straight MAC Coach of the Year honor. Massinburg becomes the fifth different Buffalo player in school history named the MAC Player of the Year. Oats earns his second straight MAC Coach of the Year honor, just the sixth time dating back to 1970 that a MAC coach has won the award in back-to-back years. On Tuesday, the league announced that Nick Perkins was named the league's Sixth Man of the Year and Dontay Caruthers was named the Defensive Player of the Year. The Bulls will open Mid-American Conference Tournament action on Thursday at Noon when the top-seeded Bulls face #8 Akron at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH.
AKRON: For the 15th consecutive season, the Akron Zips won at least one game in the Mid-American Conference Tournament by defeating Miami 80-51 on Monday. Akron advances to the quarterfinal round to face the top-seeded No. 18 ranked Buffalo Bulls on Thursday, March 14 at Noon. The Zips own an all-time 10-3 record in the quarterfinal round and have a 24-12 record at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Akron is 30-18 in its 22-year MAC Tournament history and 1-2 overall against Buffalo. A win would give Akron its first win over a Division I Top 25 opponent in school history.
GAME 6: #4 Kent State (22-9, 11-7 MAC) vs. #5 Central Michigan (22-10, 10-8 MAC), *30 miniutes following Game 1
WATCH LIVE: ESPN+
KENT STATE: The Kent State men's basketball team will meet with No. 5 seed Central Michigan in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena. Kent State finished the regular season at 22-9 (11-7 MAC). Senior Jaylin Walker and freshman Anthony Roberts were each recognized on Monday with the announcement of the Mid-American Conference all-league squads. Walker earned a spot on the first team, marking the fourth time in the last five seasons a Golden Flash has been tabbed as one of the league's top five players.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN: The Chippewas opened the tournament at home on Monday with an 82-75 victory over rival Western Michigan. CMU has won six of its last eight games. Included in that stretch is an 84-74 home win over Kent State. Austin (17.3) and Roundtree (16.5) rank fifth and seventh, respectively, in the league in scoring. Austin flirted with the first triple-double in program history in Monday's victory over Western, finishing with 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists against just one turnover.
GAME 7: #2 Toledo (25-6, 13-5 MAC) vs. #7 Northern Illinois (16-16, 8-10 MAC), 6:30 PM ET
WATCH LIVE: ESPN+
TOLEDO: The Toledo men's basketball team heads to Cleveland with back-to-back MAC West Division titles in its pocket and looking to achieve its goal of getting to the NCAA Tournament. The Rockets will face West Division foe Northern Illinois on Thursday, March 14.Toledo swept its season series vs. Northern Illinois for a second consecutive season, posting a 69-55 victory in DeKalb before pulling out a 57-54 triumph in Savage Arena. Four Rockets earned recognition in voting by the conference's head coaches. Senior Jaelan Sanford received first-team All-MAC honors.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS: NIU stormed out of the gates against the Bobcats in the tournament opener, shooting 62.1 percent (18-of-29) in the first half, including 8-of-10 from beyond the arc, to build a 16-point halftime lead as NIU cruised to an 80-61 win. Junior Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) scored a game-high 23 points in the win over Ohio, in the process becoming just the eighth player in NIU history to eclipse the 1,500-point plateau. The Huskies head to Cleveland with a three-game winning streak, having won their final two games of the regular season.
GAME 8: #3 Bowling Green (20-11, 12-6 MAC) vs. #11 Ball State (16-16, 6-12 MAC), *30 minutes following Game 3
WATCH LIVE: ESPN+
BOWLING GREEN: Bowling Green and Ball State will be meeting for the 86th time in series history on Thursday (March 14)night. In the only game between the two schools in 2018-19, the Falcons picked up a 79-78 victory on Jan.15 inside the Stroh Center. BGSU is 5-1 versus Ball State in the MAC Tournament all-time. Redshirt-sophomore guard Justin Turner was named First Team All-MAC on Monday (March 11), becoming the first BGSU sophomore since 1973 to earn the league’s top accolades. Senior forward Demajeo Wiggins picked up Second Team All-MAC honors for the second-straight season.
BALL STATE: Ball State meets No. 3 seed Bowling Green in the last MAC Tournament quarterfinal game. The 11th-seeded Cardinals reached Cleveland with a 61-43 victory at No. 6 seed Eastern Michigan in Monday's first round, avenging a loss to the Eagles six days earlier on the same court. Ball State and Bowling Green met just once in the regular season, back in the fourth game of league play, with the Falcons pulling out a 79-78 victory on their home court. The past four meetings have been decided by five points or fewer, including Ball State's 59-56 victory last season in Muncie on Tayler Persons' game-winning 3-pointer.
