MAC CONFERENCE
Quicken Loans Arena
Cleveland, Ohio
March 9-11
AKRON
Record: 24-7, 14-4
This is Akron’s Tournament to lose having won the Conference by three Games. But it’s going to be hard to trust the Zips with how they closed out the season, losing three of their final five Games. Two of those losses came against some of the worst teams in the MAC, Bowling Green and Miami OH. But at the end of the day, they started Conference play with a 12-1 record and were easily the most consistent team. However, putting money on the Zips, or any MAC team for that matter, will be difficult. Akron split with the 2-seed, Ohio, and swept 3-seed Buffalo, although neither Game was easy. They shouldn’t have any problems with Eastern, but Western and Ball State are no freebies in the semis.
OHIO
Record: 19-10, 11-7
On the outside, the Bobcats look like a great value pick as they gave the most trouble to Akron this season. However, only a couple weeks ago they lost at home to Buffalo, their likely opponent in the semifinals. Ohio closed the season losing two of its last three and get to play a Toledo team that also beat them at home back in late January.
BUFFALO
Record: 18-14, 11-7
Buffalo had one of the toughest non-Conference Schedules in the MAC and we’ll get to see just how much that helped. The Bulls closed the season winning eight of their last 10 and that could be reason enough to back them. Unfortunately, their first Game is against Kent State, which ran through all the top teams in the Conference in the last two weeks, including Buffalo.
WESTERN Michigan
Record: 17-15, 11-7
As the 5-seed, Western Michigan is the MAC team no one is talking about, but the Broncos have been the best team in the last month, having won nine-straight Games. While none of those were against the best teams in the conference, they still won at 2-seed Toledo and were never truly blown out in Conference play, outside of the opener. The Broncos challenged themselves in non-Conference play and stayed competitive with the likes of Villanova and UCLA. While they are one of the younger teams, could be one of the better underdogs to put money on in this Tournament.
As seen above, none of these teams have been quite dominant this season, even if Akron won by three Games. Because of that, betting on the 1-seed probably isn’t the best idea with underdogs like Western Michigan and Kent State playing just as well over the past month.