Thursday, March 12th -- MAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals
Game 1: No. 1 Miami (31-0, 18-0 MAC) vs. No. 8 Massachusetts (16-15, 7-11 MAC),
Michael Reghi (PxP), Rhett Boyd (Analyst) | LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats | 11 AM ET
No. 1 Miami: Miami opens its stint in the 2026 Mid-American Conference Tournament with a quarterfinal contest with No. 8 seed UMass on Thursday, March 12 at 11 a.m. on ESPN+. The Red and White enter this Thursday's game as the only remaining undefeated team in the country with a 31-0 (18-0 MAC) record, its best start to a season in program history. Miami holds a new program record for wins in a season, breaking the mark of 25 established last year. The RedHawks hold the program record for most consecutive road wins overall (15) and in a season (14) as well. The Red and White have also secured the best start for a program in MAC history (originally set by WMU in 1975-76 at 19-0), the most consecutive conference wins in MAC history (originally set by Miami in 1956-57 at 16-0) and the longest win streak in MAC history (originally set by Kent State in 2001-02 at 21-0).
Head Coach Travis Steele was a unanimous selection as MAC Coach of the Year, while Peter Suder was named MAC Player of the Year and earned First-Team honors. Brant Byers received a spot on the All-MAC Second Team, Eian Elmer was selected to the All-MAC Second Team, Luke Skaljac was placed on the All-MAC Third Team and Antwone Woolfolk was recognized as All-MAC Honorable Mention. Steele is the first coach for the Red and White to take MAC Coach of the Year since Charlie Coles received the award in 2005. Suder becomes the seventh player in Miami program history and the first since Michael Bramos in 2009 to be named MAC Player of the Year.
With Friday's victory over Ohio, Miami became just the fifth program this century (NCAA Division I) to go undefeated during regular season play. The other teams to reach this accomplishment include Saint Joseph's (2003-04), Wichita State (2013-14), Kentucky (2014-15) and Gonzaga (2020-21). The Red and White are also the first team since Indiana State (1978-79) to enter its conference tournament unbeaten after being unranked in the preseason AP poll. Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, there have only been four teams to enter the NCAA Tournament undefeated. This list consists of UNLV (1990-91), Wichita State (2013-14), Kentucky (2014-15) and Gonzaga (2020-21).
No. 8 Massachusetts: UMass is currently 16-15 (7-11 MAC), as the Minutemen closed out the regular season with a 94-82 win at home over Ohio on Tuesday night. UMass went 12-20 (7-11 A10) last year. Head coach Frank Martin is in his fourth season with the Minutemen. Heading into the 2025-26 season, UMass was selected to finish fifth overall in the 2025-26 MAC Preseason Men's Basketball Poll. Senior forward Daniel Hankins-Sanford was named to the Preseason All-MAC Second Team.
Graduate student forward Leonardo Bettiol leads the Minutemen in points (17.8/game) and graduate student guard Marcus Banks Jr. follows closely behind (16.9/game). Bettiol has brought down the most rebounds (7.9/game), freshman guard Danny Carbuccia has recorded the most assists (6.3/game), Banks Jr. has totaled the most steals (1.3/game) and Hankins-Sanford has produced the most blocks (0.6/game).
Game 2: No. 4 Toledo (17-14, 11-7 MAC) vs. No. 5 Bowling Green (18-13, 9-9 MAC),
Michael Reghi (PxP), Rhett Boyd (Analyst) | LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats | Time TBD
No. 4 Toledo: The Toledo men's basketball team (17-14, 11-7 MAC) opens play in the 2026 Mid-American Conference Tournament as the No. 4 seed on Thursday, March 12 against No. 5 seed Bowling Green (18-13, 9-9 MAC). The contest will be televised on ESPN+ and tip off in Cleveland's Rocket Arena at approximately 1:30 p.m. (Thirty minutes after Miami's game vs. UMass.)
The Rockets have earned a Top Four seed in the MAC Tournament for a sixth consecutive season after finishing two games ahead of the Falcons in the league standings. UT split its two meetings vs. BG this season, posting a 73-72 home win on Jan. 24 and dropping an 80-70 road decision on Feb. 14.
The Rockets are led by the backcourt duo of Wilson (17.4 ppg) and Blyden (16.2 ppg) along with the frontcourt tandem of Sean Craig (11.6 ppg) and Austin Parks (10.8 ppg). Blyden leads all MAC freshmen in scoring, while Wilson is dishing out a team-high 4.5 apg.
No. 5 Bowling Green: Bowling Green and Toledo will be meeting for the 187th time in program history and the 11th time on a neutral floor. The last neutral floor matchup came 18 years ago to the day of this matchup, being March 12, 2008. However, BGSU and Toledo did play in the MAC Tournament on March 6, 2017, but it was in Savage Arena. BGSU and UT were originally scheduled to play in 2020 quarterfinals before the tournament was canceled due to COVID. BGSU's last win over Toledo as part of the MAC Tournament came in the quarterfinals of the 1997 tournament with a 94-69 victory.
The Falcons are playing in the MAC Tournament for the third-straight season, making it each year under head coach Todd Simon. With the MAC Tournament now beginning in the quarterfinals (Round of 8), the Falcons will be playing in the quarterfinals in three-straight years for the first time since 2003-05. One small caveat, the Falcons did make the quarterfinals each season from 2019-21, but the game wasn't played in 2020 due to the tournament being canceled for COVID. Had the tournament been played, Bowling Green would have faced Toledo in the Round of 8.
Game 3: No. 2 Akron (26-5, 17-1 MAC) vs. No. 7 Buffalo (17-14, 7-11 MAC),
Michael Reghi (PxP), Rhett Boyd (Analyst) | LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats | Time TBD
No. 2 Akron: No. 2 Akron battles No. 7 Buffalo in the first round of the 2026 Mid-American Conference Tournament on Thursday.
The Zips enter the MAC Tournament with a 26-5 overall record. The Blue and Gold went 17-1 in conference action.
Akron recently defeated Northern Illinois to conclude the regular season 94-55 to record its 31st consecutive home victory. The Zips shot 66.7 percent from beyond the arc and had five players score in double figures, led by Bowen Hardman's 20 points.
Tavari Johnson leads the Zips in points (20.2) and assists (5.2). Amani Lyles leads the Blue and Gold in rebounds (7.5) while Evan Mahaffey leads the way in steals (1.8). Lyles and Mahaffey both have recorded a team-high 20 blocks.
Akron is scoring 89.6 points per game while outscoring its opponents by 15.9 points. The Zips shoot .507 from the field while shooting .385 from beyond the arc and average 11.1 3s per game. The Blue and Gold hold a .771 ft percentage while averaging 38.2 rebounds, 19.0 assists, 11.1 turnovers, 7.7 steals and 3.0 blocks per game.
No. 7 Buffalo: The Bulls are 24-20 (.545) all-time in the MAC Tournament and are 4-3 against the Zips. In neutral site games at Rocket Arena, the Bulls are 18-14 (.563). In the MAC Quarterfinals, they're 7-8 (.467). Four of their last five MAC Tournament games have been against Akron.
No. 7 Buffalo enters the MAC Tournament with a 17-14 overall record. The Huskies Bulls went 7-11 in conference action.
Buffalo fell to Toledo to conclude the regular season 99-78 on the road. Ryan Sabol scored 26 points while hitting six three-pointers. Sabol ranks 1st in Buffalo history for made 3s in a single season with 116. Angel Brizzi added 21 points while Tim Oboh added 15.
Daniel Freitag leads Buffalo in points (19.8) and assists (3.8). Oboh and Noah Batchelor share the lead in rebounds (4.6) while Brizzi leads the team in steals (1.6). Oboh holds the high mark for total blocks (46).
Buffalo is scoring 78.3 points per game while outscoring its opponents by 2.0 points. The Bulls shoot .473 from the field while shooting .383 from beyond the arc and average 9.6 3s per game. Buffalo holds a .741 ft percentage while averaging 31.6 rebounds, 14.6 assists, 10.8 turnovers, 7.6 steals and 2.8 blocks per game.
Game 4: No. 3 Kent State (23-8, 14-4 MAC) vs. No. 6 Ohio (15-16, 9-9 MAC),
Michael Reghi (PxP), Rhett Boyd (Analyst) | LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats | Time TBD
No. 3 Kent State: The Golden Flashes closed out their regular season with a Senior Night 86-78 victory over Western Michigan. Kent State came out firing in the opening half establishing an early lead and never trailing in the ballgame. Morgan Safford scored the first seven points for the Flashes with a jumper and a pair of free throws before drilling a three. Jahari Williamson added an early triple as Kent State jumped ahead 13-3. Quinn Woidke provided a spark off the bench with five first-half three-pointers, including three consecutive triples in a four-minute span that extended the lead. Cian Medley orchestrated the offense and contributed his own three-pointer as the Flashes built momentum. Kent State shot a scorching 58.6% from the field in the opening half, including 66.7% from beyond the arc, making 10-of-15 three-point attempts. The Golden Flashes led 46-37 at the half. The Blue and Gold maintained control throughout the second half. Woidke continued his hot shooting with two more three-pointers in the opening minutes of the second half to extend his personal total to seven triples. Rob Whaley Jr. scored efficiently inside, while Safford battled for rebounds and key baskets. Western Michigan made a push down the stretch trimming the lead to three points at 71-68 with 6:19 left to play. Kent State responded as Williamson knocked down a clutch three-pointer with six minutes remaining to push the lead back to six, and Magnus Entenmann hit a momentum-swinging triple on the next possession to make it 79-70. The Flashes sealed the victory at the free-throw line to maintain their advantage winning by eight.
Kent State renews their series with another one of their oldest foes. Thursday will be the 165th meeting between the Kent State Golden Flashes and Ohio Bobcats in men's basketball. The two programs first met during the 1930-1931 season. While Ohio has a lead in the series all-time (101-63), Kent State has won nine of the last 15 meetings. The Flashes split the season series last year against OU with each squad taking their home matchup in a pair of close contests. Kent State won their most recent game 76-75 in the MACC on Feb. 14, 2025. The Blue and Gold also have a slight advantage in neutral site meetings holding a MAC Tournament record of 6-5 over Ohio. Thursday will be their 12th meeting in MAC Tournament history.
No. 6 Ohio: Ohio is 15-16 overall and 9-9 in MAC play and are coming off a 110-108 loss to No. 19 Miami in an overtime thriller in Athens on Friday to close out the regular season.
Ohio is averaging 78.0 points a game, while shooting 46.2 percent from the field, 31.0 percent from three and 70.4 percent from the line. The Bobcats also add 33.6 rebounds a game, while dishing out 13.6 assists and recording 6.2 steals a contest. Ohio is also forcing opponents to turn the ball over 12.0 times a game, scoring on average 14.0 points off them.
Meanwhile, Ohio opponents are averaging 78.4 points a game, while shooting 46.1 percent from the field, 36.3 percent from three and 72.8 percent from the line. Opponents are averaging 36.3 rebounds, 13.2 assists and 5.9 steals a game, while forcing Ohio to turn the ball over an average of 10.8 times a game, while scoring on average 11.6 points off them.
Individually, Ohio is led by senior guard Jackson Paveletzke with 17.5 points and 5.2 assists a game, while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 32.6 percent from three. Senior forward Aidan Hadaway averages 14.1 points and a team-leading 7.5 rebounds a game, while shooting 48.2 percent from the field, while redshirt junior froward Javan Simmons adds 14.9 points and 5.7 rebounds, while shooting 53.2 percent from the field.
