Toledo: Toledo was honored for its tremendous 2020-21 season on Wednesday morning with the Mid-American Conference's announcement of the specialty awards and all-conference teams.Senior guard Marreon Jackson received MAC Player of the Year, guard Ryan Rollins earned MAC Freshman of the Year and Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk was named MAC Coach of the Year. Jackson also earned a spot on the All-MAC First-Team squad, with senior guard Spencer Littleson receiving a selection to the All-MAC Second-Team and All-MAC Defensive Team units. Rollins also was an Honorable-Mention All-MAC and MAC All-Freshman Team selection.
 

Ball State: Ishmael El-Amin and K.J. Walton earned All-MAC honors, as announced this week by the conference office. El-Amin, BSU's leading scorer at 16.3 points per game, was voted second team All-MAC. He was a third-team honoree last season and second-team in the preseason. K.J. Walton, BSU's leading rebounder, earned honorable mention honors. Toledo, Ball State's opponent on Thursday, had the league's coach (Tod Kowalczyk) and player of the year (Marreon Jackson).

Kent State: Since the MAC Tournament moved to Cleveland in 2000, Kent State is 11-6 in quarterfinal games at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Last season, the Flashes were defeated by Central Michigan, 89-81, in the Quarterfinals. A KSU win against Ohio would mean the Flashes advance to the Semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Kent State would play Friday, March 12, against either No. 1 seed Toledo or No. 8 seed Ball State in the semifinals Friday at 5:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network). Kent State's Danny Pippen, Justyn Hamilton and Tervell Beck have combined to score 46 percent of the team's points this season and have accounted for 49 percent of all Golden Flashes scoring over the last five games

Ohio: The Bobcats enter the matchup with Bowling Green with a 13-7 overall record and a 9-5 mark in MAC play after falling to Buffalo on Saturday, Feb. 27. The Bobcats game at Kent State on Tuesday was canceled. Overall, the Bobcats are averaging 80.2 points per game, while shooting 48.4 percent from the field, 35.1 percent from three-point range and 70.3 percent from the free throw line. The Bobcats also average 34.5 rebounds a game to go along with 18.1 assists, 6.7 steals and 2.3 blocks per game. Individually, Jason Preston leads Ohio with 15.4 points per game, while shooting 50.3 percent from the field, 36.2 percent from three-point range and 62.9 percent from the free throw line. He also adds 7.2 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game.

Buffalo: Buffalo heads back to Cleveland to begin the 2021 Mid-American Conference Tournament as the second-seeded Bulls face #7 Miami (OH).  It will be the second straight season that the Bulls and RedHawks meet in the conference tournament. This will be the sixth time that Buffalo and Miami (OH) have met in the MAC Tournament with the RedHawks holding a 4-1 advantage, including a first round win last year at Alumni Arena.  The Bulls won the last meeting in Cleveland, a quarterfinals win in 2015-16. Buffalo has won 11 of their last 12 games at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, formerly known as Quicken Loans Arena.  With last year's tournament canceled due to COVID-19, the Bulls travel to Cleveland as the defending MAC Champions, winners of four of the last five MAC Tournaments. The Bulls also head to Cleveland having won five straight games, the longest in the MAC and eight of their last nine games since the start of February.
 

Miami: Miami opens its stint in the 2021 Mid-American Conference Tournament facing No. 2 seed Buffalo in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 11. The RedHawks play the third game of the day with the first game tipping off at 11 a.m. and each game following 30 minutes after the conclusion of the previous game. Miami's game will be at approximately 4 p.m. Miami sophomore guard Dae Dae Grant was named to the All-MAC Third Team. In MAC play, Grant ranks among conference leaders in scoring (14.53, 14th), free throw percentage (.902, 2nd), three-point field goal percentage (.434, 6th) and made three-pointers per game (2.71, 7th). On the season, Grant ranks among league leaders in scoring (13.73, 18th), three-point field goal percentage (.414, 7th), and made three-pointers per game (2.50, 8th).

Akron: The Akron Zips are looking to snap a three-game setback skid as the Zips enter the 2021 Mid-American Conference Tournament as a No. 3 seed, playing No. 6 Bowling Green on Thursday night at approximately 7 p.m. at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Akron is 30-19 all-time in the MAC Tournament, 23-8 in its last 31 tournament games. The Zips have won at least one game in the MAC Tournament every year since the 2004-05 season and has advanced to the MAC Tournament title game in nine consecutive seasons with an unprecedented 12-of-13 semifinal appearances. 

Bowling Green: Bowling Green opens the 2021 MAC Tournament on Thursday (March 11) evening with a quarterfinal game versus Akron in Cleveland at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on ESPN+. The winner of the game will play the winner of No. 2 Buffalo / No. 7 Miami in the league semifinals on CBS Sports Network on Friday (March 12). Thursday’s game will mark BGSU’s 62nd (24-37 all-time) game in the MAC Tournament. The Orange and Brown are 3-2 in Cleveland at the MAC Tournament under head coach Michael Huger.  BGSU and Akron split the home-and-home series in 2020-21, with each school grabbing a road victory. The two teams met less than two weeks ago, as the Falcons claimed their first win at James A. Rhodes Arena since 2009, posting an 83-71 victory on Feb. 26. Earlier in the season in the Stroh Center, Akron defeated the Falcons by a score of 69-57 on Jan. 19.