Michigan schools will have sparse representation at next week’s Mid-American Conference men’s basketball tournament at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.
Under the format adopted by the conference last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, only the top eight ranked teams will travel to the shores of Lake Erie for the tournament, which begins Thursday.
Central Michigan? You’re in the game, despite going 6-12 in conference and 7-22 overall. Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan? Sorry, Eagles and Broncos fans, you’ll be out.
Still, it’s a step up from last season, in which all three Michigan schools failed to qualify.
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EMU dropped its regular season finale against Miami, Ohio on Friday night to fall to 5-15 in conference and 10-21 overall in coach Stan Heath’s first season at his alma mater. The .322 winning percentage is the school’s worst since the 2010-11 season, the last under Charles Ramsey as coach.
WMU also lost 64-63 to Ball State on Friday when Lamar Norman’s 3-point attempt with a second left went awry. The loss dropped the Broncos to 8-23 overall and 4-16 in conference.
The Eagles and Broncos finished 11th and 12th respectively in the 12-team conference.
But CMU, led by first-year head coach Tony Barbee, remains the No. 8 seed in Cleveland. The Chips’ payoff: A matchup with No. 1 seed Toledo, who won Friday night to improve to 25-6 overall and 17-3 in conference. CMU has lost both games to the Rockets this season, although the most recent, Feb. 19 in Toledo, was just two points.
The Chips will get their chance for revenge at 11 a.m. Thursday (online only via ESPN+); if they upset Toledo, they will play in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Friday, airing on CBS Sports Network. The men’s final is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on March 12 on ESPN2.
Central Michigan hasn’t won the MAC tournament since 2003, when future NBA lottery pick Chris Kaman roamed the boards at Mount Pleasant.
The women’s team, meanwhile, will be determined after the regular season finals on Saturday. There, WMU is tied for fifth in the conference, with EMU and CMU (last year’s tournament champions) at 11th and 12th.
Here’s how male support breaks down:
2022 MAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Schedule
All games at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.
Thursday: quarter-finals
Game 1: No. 1 Toledo (25-6, 17-3 MAC) vs. No. 8 Central Michigan 7-22, 6-12, 11 a.m.
Game 2: No. 4 Akron (21-9, 14-6) vs. No. 5 Buffalo (19-10, 13-6), around 1:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 2 Kent State (21-9, 16-4) vs. No. 7 Miami (Ohio) (14-17. 8-12), around 4 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Ohio (23-8, 14-6) against No. 6 Ball State (14-16, 9-10), around 6:30 p.m.
Friday: Semi-finals
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 5 p.m., CBS Sports Network.
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, circa 7:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network.
Saturday: Final
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2.
Contact Ryan Ford at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @theford.
