For mid-major conferences like the Mid-American Conference that don’t have ranked teams to boost its members’ NCAA Tournament credentials, the upcoming MAC tourney is everything. An automatic bid to the Big Dance is what’s up for grabs in this single-elimination tournament, which begins this March 7. Which team will emerge on top and punch their tickets to the March Madness?
Read on for a breakdown of the MAC tournament. You can also check out our preview for the Conference USA tourney.
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2016 Mid-American Conference Tournament Preview
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Akron Zips
LeBron James isn’t the only pertinent basketball figure making the city of Akron proud this year. There’s also the Zips, who’ve just won the MAC East division by going 13-5 in conference play. With that record, the Zips will enter the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed. That’s a nice rebound for the Zips, who finished just seventh in the conference but managed to make it all the way to the quarterfinal round last year.
And unlike LeBron, the Zips have a totally dependable outside shooting touch. They’re No. 1 in the nation with 12.1 threes per game on a scary good 40.0 percent clip. Akron enters the tournament on the heels of a three-game win streak.
Ohio Bobcats
Ohio offers some similarities with Akron. Like the Zips, Ohio can torch foes with its terrific offense, one that even ranks higher in the nation than Akron. The Bobcats average 78.9 PPG, good for 47th overall. They are dangerous from beyond the arc, too, with the Bobcats nailing 8.2 3FG/G (68th) on 38.3% shooting (32th). They’re more than just a bunch of players that jacks up lots of threes, though.
The Bobcats also are efficient inside the arc, where they have nailed 53.0% of their two-point shots this season. These numbers definitely say a lot about the positive impact of transfers guard Jaaron Simmons forward Kenny Kaminski. Both players have given Ohio’s offense a tremendous boost, as Simmons averaged 15.3 PPG in the regular season, while Kaminsky put up 12.9 PPG.
Last season, Ohio mustered just 67.6 PPG. Together with leading scorer Antonio Campbell (17.2 PPG), Simmons and Kaminski will spearhead Ohio in its quest to win the program’s third MAC tournament title since 2005.
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Sleeper
Central Michigan Chippewas
It doesn’t look good on the Chippewas’ resume that they were swept in their regular season series with Western Michigan, a team that’s scraping the bottom of the MAC West. Central Michigan also took a step back this season after finishing with 23 wins last year, as it managed a disappointing 17-14 overall record this campaign.
Still, it’s hard to deny the appeal of a team that beat both Akron and Ohio this season. Those wins over the conference’s heavyweights serve as a reminder of how good CMU can be when it plays to its full potential. Head coach Keno Davis is banking on his team’s experience to help them get that automatic bid they desperately want, as they have virtually zero percent chance to make it to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team.
The Chippewas have eight players who have logged in at least 15.0 minutes per game last season, when CMU reached the MAC tourney’s finals, albeit losing to Buffalo. Their best player is senior Chris Fowler, who averaged 16.2 points. 6.0 assists, and 3.9 rebounds back in the regular season.
Central Michigan is another team with players opposing teams don’t want to see unmanned in three-point territory. The Chippewas are 13th in the nation with 9.8 thres per contest.
Long Shot
Western Michigan Broncos
Western Michigan could’ve ended up with a better MAC and overall record (7-11/13-18) if it weren’t for the season-long absence of All-MAC forward Connar Tava. Tava was gone even before the season even began after breaking his foot back in October. Without him, the Broncos didn’t have their top playmaker and rebounder from last season, when Tava led the team with 3.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Winning the MAC tournament title is a stretch for the Broncos, but if they could get the likes of Drake LaMont and Anthony Avery to muscle up better numbers in support of the team’s 1-2 punch of Thomas Wilder and Tucker Haymond, then WMU might just be the team to make a surprise run in the tourney.
Writer’s Prediction
Ohio defeats Central Michigan in the finals.
