A TRIP TO THE FINALS IS ON THE LINE!
MAC Basketball Tournament Central
MAC Basketball Tournament Bracket
Friday, March 15th — MAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Semifinals
3.14.19 Release (PDF)
GAME 9: #1 Buffalo (29-3, 16-2 MAC) vs. #5 Central Michigan (23-10, 10-8 MAC), 6:30 PM ET
WATCH LIVE: CBS Sports Network
BUFFALO
The University at Buffalo men's basketball team cruised to an 82-46 win over Akron in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday afternoon. The top-seeded Bulls never trailed in the 36-point victory. Entering the game, Akron was one of the top defensive teams in the MAC and frustrated the Bulls in both regular-season matchups. However, Buffalo was the defensive aggressor on Thursday, holding the Zips to only 24 percent shooting for the game, including just a 4-for-24 performance from the field in the first half. Akron's 46 points were the fewest the Bulls allowed in a game all season. Conversely, it was the most points the Zips allowed in a regulation game this year.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Energy and intensity, CMU men's basketball coach Keno Davis said, were critical to his Chippewas' chances in the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Doesn't hurt to shoot it well, either. The Chippewas went on a 20-2 run midway through the second half on Thursday in downing Kent State, 89-81, in a Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinal at Quicken Loans Arena. CMU (23-10), the fifth seed, will play top-seeded Buffalo (29-3) on Friday in a semifinal game at 6:30 p.m. Buffalo rolled past Akron, 82-46, in a quarterfinal on Thursday.
GAME 10: #3 Bowling Green (21-11, 12-6 MAC) vs. #7 Northern Illinois (17-16, 8-10 MAC), 30 Minutes following.
WATCH LIVE: Fox College Sports
BOWLING GREEN
For just the fourth time this millennium, the Bowling Green State University men's basketball team will be playing in the semifinals at the MAC Tournament. BGSU defeated Ball State University, 99-86, Thursday night in the MAC Tournament Quarterfinals. The ballgame was played at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Bowling Green improves to 21-11 on the campaign with the victory, marking just the 13th time in school history that the Falcons have won 21-plus games in one season.The Falcons will be playing in the MAC Tournament Semifinals for the 13th time in school history. BGSU has advanced to the league semifinals three times over the last 17 seasons – two of those appearances have come during the Michael Huger Era (2015-16 and 2018-19).
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Following its victory over Toledo on Thursday night, the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team will square off with Bowling Green on Friday, March 15, in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena. Tip-off between the Huskies and Falcons will follow the first semifinal between Buffalo and Central Michigan at approximately 8 p.m. CT. NIU is seeded seventh in the Mid-American Conference Tournament and opened with an 80-61 victory over No. 10 seed Ohio on Monday night (March 11) in DeKalb. The Huskies then upset second-seeded Toledo, 80-76, on Thursday (March 14) in Cleveland to advance to the MAC Semifinals for the first time since 2003, and just the fifth time in program history. The victory was just NIU's second ever at Quicken Loans Arena, and the first since that 2003 MAC Tournament. The only Huskie victory prior to Thursday night came in its first tournament game in Cleveland, a 2003 quarterfinal against Western Michigan.
