Friday, March 14th, 2025 — MAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Semifinals
Game 5: No. 1 Akron (26-6, 17-1 MAC) vs. No. 4 Toledo (18-14, 10-8 MAC), 5:00 PM ET (CBS Sports Network)
Chris Lewis (PxP), Tre Demps (Analyst), Hailey Sutton (Sideline)
Watch (CBSSN) | Live Stats
Akron Zips
The Zips battle Toledo in the MAC Tournament Semifinals on Friday with a chance to advance to the Conference Tournament Championship in consecutive seasons. Akron defeated Bowling Green in the quarterfinals 96-67 on Thursday to increase it's overall record to 26-6.
Six Zips put up double-digit points in the win. Akron was led by Bowen Hardman, who had 17 points. Seth Wilson added 15 points and two steals and Tavari Johnson chipped in as well with 14 points, seven assists and two steals.
Nate Johnson leads the Zips in scoring (13.2) and steals (1.8). Nate is one of two Zips to average 10 or more points per game with Tavari Johnson (12.9) joining him. T. Johnson leads Akron in assists (4.1) while James Okonkwo leads the Zips in rebounds (7.4). Amani Lyles leads the Zips in blocks (37).
Akron is currently scoring 84.4 points per game and has outscored its opponents by 10.3 points per game. The Zips are shooting .471 from the field while shooting .362 from beyond the arc and averages 10.9 3-pointers per game. The Blue and Gold hold a .749 ft percentage while averaging 39.2 rebounds, 18.4 assists,12.3 turnovers, 7.8 steals and 3.6 blocks per game.
The Zips rank 29th in the NCAA for assist-turnover ratio (+1.50), 3rd in assists per game (18.4), 4th in bench points (34.63), 33rd in effectient fg pct. (.555), 22nd in fastbreak points (14.03), 60th in fg pct. (.471), 99th in fg defense (.425), 76th in ft pct. (.749), 51st in rebound margin (+4.4),29th in def. rebounds (27.31), 62nd in off. rebounds (12.13), 20th in rebounds per game (39.44), 27th in scoring margin (+10.3), 11th in scoring offense (84.4), 70th in steals per game (7.8), 4th in 3pt attempts (30.3) and 5th in made 3's per game (10.9). James Okonkwo ranks 95th in off. rebounds per game (2.72) while Nate Johnson ranks 56th in total steals (59) and 66th in steals per game (1.84).
Toledo Rockets
Sophomore Sam Lewis' 21 points vs. Ohio was his third straight 20-point outing and his 10th of the season. He also tied a school MAC Tournament record with a career-high four blocked shots and registered a season-high three steals.
Lewis ranks seventh in the MAC with a team-high 16.0 ppg and second with a 43.8 three-point FG%.
Sophomore Sonny Wilson's 13 rebounds in the MAC Quarterfinals were the most by a Rocket this season. He is leading the MAC with a 1.91 assist/turnover ratio and ranks eighth in the MAC with 15.3 ppg. Wilson also leads MAC guards and ranks ninth overall in the MAC with a 51.6 FG%.
Sophomore Javan Simmons leads the MAC with 3.1 offensive rpg (3.8 in MAC play).
Simmons is averaging 18.8 ppg and 7.8 rpg with a 73.5 FG% (25-of-34) and a 92.3 FT% (24-of-26) in his last FOUR games. He has hit 33 of his last 36 FTs.
Fifth-year senior Isaiah Adams' 26 points vs. Ohio in the MAC Quarterfinals were the most scored by a Rocket this season.
Junior Seth Hubbard is Toledo's top scorer off the bench with 7.8 ppg. He has scored in double digits in back-to-back games for the first time since November with 17 points vs. Ohio last Friday and 12 points vs. Ohio yesterday.
Game 6: No. 2 Miami (24-8, 14-4 MAC) vs. No. 3 Kent State (22-10, 11-7 MAC), Time TBA (CBS Sports Network)*
Chris Lewis (PxP), Tre Demps (Analyst), Hailey Sutton (Sideline)
Watch (CBSSN) | Live Stats
Miami RedHawks
Miami continues its stint in the 2025 Mid-American Conference Tournament with a semifinal contest versus No. 3 seed Kent State on Friday, March 14. The RedHawks play at 7:30 p.m. in the second game of the day. Miami is looking for its first win in the semifinal of the MAC Tournament since 2007. This season, the RedHawks are 3-0 in neutral site games. Entering the MAC Tournament, the RedHawks ranked fifth nationally in three-point percentage (.394), eighth in effective field goal percentage (.571), 15th in threes per game (10.5), 21st in field goal percentage (.485), 30th in turnovers forced per game (14.61), 31st in scoring offense (81.1) and 47th in turnover margin (2.4). Miami also led the MAC in six statistical categories, including steals per game (8.4).
The second-seeded Miami University men's basketball team wore down seventh-seeded Eastern Michigan Thursday at Rocket Arena, using a 17-2 run late in the second half to rally from behind for an 81-75 victory. Miami outscored the Eagles 35-8 in bench points and set the tone with five offensive rebounds on a single-first half possession en route to a quarterfinal win, the RedHawks' first MAC Tournament victory in Cleveland since 2010. The Red and White moved into second all-time in team assists (524) and fifth all-time in team blocks (114) over the course of a season.
Averaging 81.06 points per game, the RedHawks are averaging the most points by a team in 60 years since the 1964-65 season by a Miami team that averaged 82.2 ppg and was led by Jeff Gehring (17.1 ppg) and Charlie Coles (16.2 ppg). The current 81.06 average would rank third all-time by a team in program history behind the 1965 squad and the 1952-53 team that averaged 83.8 ppg that was led by Dick Walls (21.5) and a starting lineup that also included Darrell Hedric.
Kent State Golden Flashes
Kent State Men's Basketball (22-10, 11-7 MAC) has advanced in the 2025 MAC Tournament defeating Western Michigan 73- 66 on Thursday, March 13, and will now take on the Miami (OH) RedHawks on Friday, March 14. The Golden Flashes will tipoff against the RedHawks inside Rocket Arena 7:30 p.m. It marks four straight season in which Kent State Men's Basketball has advanced to at least the MAC tourney semifinals, and the eighth time in Head Coach Rob Senderoff's 14 years at Kent State.The Golden Flashes seek to eliminate a team that won the two regular season meetings, and advanced in the Tournament having eliminated Eastern Michigan. The opposite side of the bracket pits the Toledo Rockets and Akron Zips against each other in other MAC semifinal.
