The 2024 Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) held March 14–16, 2024. The entire tournament was played at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.[1] Akron defeated Miami and Ohio in the MAC tournament and then Kent State in the final[2][3][4][5] Enrique Freeman was the MVP.
| 2024 MAC men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2023–24 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Site | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, Ohio |
| Champions | Akron (5th title) |
| Winning coach | John Groce (4th title) |
| MVP | Enrique Freeman (Akron) |
| Television | ESPN+, CBSSN, ESPN2 |
MAC men's basketball tournaments | |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Toledo | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 20 | – | 12 | .625 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Akron † | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 24 | – | 11 | .686 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 20 | – | 13 | .606 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Michigan | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 18 | – | 14 | .563 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling Green | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 20 | – | 14 | .588 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Michigan | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 12 | – | 20 | .375 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miami (OH) | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 15 | – | 17 | .469 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kent State | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 17 | – | 17 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ball State | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 15 | – | 16 | .484 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Michigan | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 13 | – | 18 | .419 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Illinois | 5 | – | 13 | .278 | 11 | – | 20 | .355 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buffalo | 2 | – | 16 | .111 | 4 | – | 27 | .129 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2024 MAC tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Format
editAs with the 2021, 2022, and 2023 tournament only the top eight teams qualified. The winner of the tournament received the MAC's automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA tournament.[6]
Venue
editThe 2024 MAC tournament was held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for the 25th consecutive season. The venue, located in downtown Cleveland at One Center Court, is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and has a seating capacity for basketball of 19,432.[7][8]
Seeds
editEight out of the 12 MAC teams qualified for the tournament. Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.[9]
| Seed | School | Conference record |
Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toledo | 14–4 | |
| 2 | Akron | 13–5 | 1–1 vs Toledo |
| 3 | Ohio | 13–5 | 0–2 vs Toledo |
| 4 | Central Michigan | 12–6 | |
| 5 | Bowling Green | 10–8 | |
| 6 | Western Michigan | 9–9 | 2–0 vs Miami (OH) |
| 7 | Miami (OH) | 9–9 | 0–2 vs Western Michigan |
| 8 | Kent State | 8–10 | |
| DNQ | Ball State | 7–11 | |
| DNQ | Eastern Michigan | 6–12 | |
| DNQ | Northern Illinois | 5–13 | |
| DNQ | Buffalo | 2–16 |
Schedule
edit| Session | Game | Time* | Matchup | Score | Attendance | Television | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 14 – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH | |||||||
| 1 | 1 | 11:00 am | No. 1 Toledo vs. No. 8 Kent State | 59–67 | 7,854 | ESPN+ | |
| 2 | 30 mins after Game 1 | No. 4 Central Michigan vs. No. 5 Bowling Green | 56–66 | ||||
| 3 | 30 mins after Game 2 | No. 2 Akron vs. No. 7 Miami (OH) | 75–63 | ||||
| 4 | 30 mins after Game 3 | No. 3 Ohio vs. No. 6 Western Michigan | 82–55 | ||||
| Semifinals – Friday, March 15 – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH | |||||||
| 2 | 5 | 5:00 pm | No. 8 Kent State vs. No. 5 Bowling Green | 73–60 | 7,802 | CBSSN | |
| 6 | 7:30 pm | No. 2 Akron vs. No. 3 Ohio | 65–62 | ||||
| Championship – Saturday, March 16 – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH | |||||||
| 3 | 7 | 7:30 pm | No. 8 Kent State vs. No. 2 Akron | 61-62 | 7,955 | ESPN2 | |
| *Game times in ET. ()-Rankings denote tournament seeding. | |||||||
Source[10]
Bracket
edit| Quarterfinals Thursday, March 14, 2024 | Semifinals Friday, March 15, 2024 | Championship Saturday, March 16, 2024 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Toledo | 59 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Kent State | 67 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Kent State | 73 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Bowling Green | 60 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Central Michigan | 56 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Bowling Green | 66 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Kent State | 61 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Akron | 62 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Akron | 75 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Miami (OH) | 63 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Akron | 65 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Ohio | 62 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Ohio | 82 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Western Michigan | 55 | ||||||||||||
All-Tournament team
editTournament MVP – Enrique Freeman
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| Ali Ali | Akron |
| Enrique Freeman | Akron |
| VonCameron Davis | Kent State |
| Jalen Sullinger | Kent State |
| Jaylin Hunter | Ohio |
Source
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "MAC Tournament staying in downtown Cleveland through 2030". Cleveland 19 News. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- ^ "MAC basketball tournament bracket set; Miami RedHawks face Akron in first round". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
- ^ "Akron 75, Miami 63". ESPN. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
- ^ "Akron 65, Ohio 62". ESPN. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
- ^ "Akron vs. Kent State". ESPN. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
- ^ "MAC eliminating and scaling back postseason tournaments". AP. May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
- ^ "About". Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- ^ "A-Z Guide". Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- ^ "Tie-Breaker Procedures". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
- ^ "2024 MAC Men's Basketball Championship". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved October 19, 2023.