2026 MAC Tournament

[NWAkron]

1 minute ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Toledo fouls every time down the floor per Aidan Hadaway. 

there are always a few random MAC players i hope to never see again:  Hadaway is one.  Sabol is another but hes a junior...of course, Suder.

[UAZipster0305]

2 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

there are always a few random MAC players i hope to never see again:  Hadaway is one.  Sabol is another but hes a junior...of course, Suder.

Suder is the Christian Laettner of the MAC but with much less talent and far fewer accomplishments. He's a tough pretty boy that everyone despises, but he thrives on that negative energy.

[HoopsFan03]

1 hour ago, Westie said:

This is the first year I bought tickets through the university. The email said tickets will be sent out the morning of the game. So I presume I will be getting an email soon? Anyone else have experience on this?
 

Go Zips!!

I would expect 2-3 pm

[Let'sGoZips94]

 

This is the first time I've seen this part of the presser. Wow. Miami OH needs to be likeable for their at-large case. Nobody would root for Cinderella if she complained and made excuses the entire time.

[NWAkron]

9 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

This is the first time I've seen this part of the presser. Wow. Miami OH needs to be likeable for their at-large case. Nobody would root for Cinderella if she complained and made excuses the entire time.

the idea wa that they get a few hours more rest.  but a top seed with a good fan base should get the prime time slot

[Let'sGoZips94]

2 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

the idea wa that they get a few hours more rest.  but a top seed with a good fan base should get the prime time slot

 

Michigan is playing Ohio State at noon today. 

[NWAkron]

5 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Michigan is playing Ohio State at noon today. 

lots of ways to make things better or worse.  top 4 to cleveland and the other 8 with play in games worked the best.

[Zippy87]

I actually agree with Steele on a few of the things he is saying, but his blaming the format, the time, daylight savings time (lol what???) comes across as super whiny. His team is more unlikable than Kent this year IMO.

 

With that said, I do think the MAC should adjust, and I think there's a simple answer.

 

Thursday

Bye - #1, #2 seeds

#4 vs #5 

#3 vs #6 

 

Friday

#1 vs #4/#5 winner 

#2 vs #3/#6 winner

 

Saturday 

Championship

 

Evening games both Thursday and Friday to allow more fans a chance to attend. The top two seeds start in the semis and earn an advantage for their regular season performance. 

 

 

[Let'sGoZips94]

2 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

I actually agree with Steele on a few of the things he is saying, but his blaming the format, the time, daylight savings time (lol what???) comes across as super whiny. His team is more unlikable than Kent this year IMO.

 

With that said, I do think the MAC should adjust, and I think there's a simple answer.

 

Thursday

Bye - #1, #2 seeds

#4 vs #5 

#3 vs #6 

 

Friday

#1 vs #4/#5 winner 

#2 vs #3/#6 winner

 

Saturday 

Championship

 

Evening games both Thursday and Friday to allow more fans a chance to attend. The top two seeds start in the semis and earn an advantage for their regular season performance. 

 

 

 

So seeds 3-6 get a warm up game in Cleveland to get acclimated to the sightlines, depth perception, etc.? 

 

No matter the format, unless the top 2 teams from the regular season are automatically sent to the title game, games have to be played prior to the championship and there is no perfect format. How it is currently is fine, Steele is just a whiny prick. Akron won by 20 last year at 11am as the 1 seed. UMass shot 20% from 3P - Miami OH should've steamrolled them (the Redhawks didn't shoot poorly). They didn't, UMass destroyed them on the boards & in the paint, and the rest is history. No matter when that game is played - morning, evening, Thursday, Friday, Saturday - UMass wins because of their game plan and execution. Yesterday was probably one of the most anticipated and exciting quarterfinals in MAC basketball tournament history. All 4 games were fantastic. Don't strip the fans and CBB world of that because some low-rate hot-head with a fragile ego knows they ducked a tougher schedule and are now firmly on the bubble. 

[Reslife4Life]

I cannot believe he is complaining about a time change that happened 5 days ago as a reason for them losing to the MAC 8 seed. I am all for returning to the all 12 team mac tournament from pre covid. You can have reseeding and that would give the #1 seed a chance to play the worst team in the league potentially, there’s an extra advantage. Yes I do think they could at least move the first game up to noon. But come on, how many 1 seeds have actually lost that Thursday game? Imagine that CMU made the 8 seed would you still be complaining about how unfair the bracket is if you played a team that won 1 road game this season?

[NWAkron]

9 minutes ago, Reslife4Life said:

I cannot believe he is complaining about a time change that happened 5 days ago as a reason for them losing to the MAC 8 seed. I am all for returning to the all 12 team mac tournament from pre covid. You can have reseeding and that would give the #1 seed a chance to play the worst team in the league potentially, there’s an extra advantage. Yes I do think they could at least move the first game up to noon. But come on, how many 1 seeds have actually lost that Thursday game? Imagine that CMU made the 8 seed would you still be complaining about how unfair the bracket is if you played a team that won 1 road game this season?

toledo lost to kent 2024 @11am.

[Illini Zip]

I think it’s completely unfair that Miami had to deal with the effects of the time change when UMass and all the other MAC Tournament teams didn’t…Wait, what?!! 🤔🧐🤦‍♂️😔

 

If I’m not mistaken Groce switches up practice times just so the team learns to adjust to them. 

[egregiousbob]

2 hours ago, NWAkron said:

there are always a few random MAC players i hope to never see again:  Hadaway is one.

 

Many Ohio fans share that sentiment.

[Let'sGoZips94]

 

Don't. Touch. The. Format.

[exit322]

1 minute ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Don't. Touch. The. Format.

 

The only thing I would do, honestly, is make the games all on-campus at the higher seed.  Go to 12, whatever, but all of the games at the higher seed.  I'm sure the MAC gets some money from Cleveland, though, and it's been a good host.

[HoopsFan03]

1 hour ago, HoopsFan03 said:

I would expect 2-3 pm

Just got our tickets. 12:50

[Westie]

1 hour ago, HoopsFan03 said:

I would expect 2-3 pm

Thank you!

[Zippy87]

1 hour ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

So seeds 3-6 get a warm up game in Cleveland to get acclimated to the sightlines, depth perception, etc.? 

 

No matter the format, unless the top 2 teams from the regular season are automatically sent to the title game, games have to be played prior to the championship and there is no perfect format. How it is currently is fine, Steele is just a whiny prick. Akron won by 20 last year at 11am as the 1 seed. UMass shot 20% from 3P - Miami OH should've steamrolled them (the Redhawks didn't shoot poorly). They didn't, UMass destroyed them on the boards & in the paint, and the rest is history. No matter when that game is played - morning, evening, Thursday, Friday, Saturday - UMass wins because of their game plan and execution. Yesterday was probably one of the most anticipated and exciting quarterfinals in MAC basketball tournament history. All 4 games were fantastic. Don't strip the fans and CBB world of that because some low-rate hot-head with a fragile ego knows they ducked a tougher schedule and are now firmly on the bubble. 

 

From 2012-2015, the 1 and 2 seeds received byes to the semifinals. The championship games each of those years were:

 

2012: #3 Ohio over #1 Akron

2013: #1 Akron over #2 Ohio

2014: #1 WMU over #2 Toledo 

2015: #2 Buffalo over #1 CMU

 

Since being changed to the current format in 2021:

 

2021: #5 Ohio over #2 Buffalo

2022: #4 Akron over #2 Kent

2023: #2 Kent over #1 Toledo

2024: #2 Akron over #8 Kent State

2025: #1 Akron over #2 Miami

 

Given Miami is already eliminated, the current format has will have resulted in the #1 seed reaching the championship 2 out of 6 years, while the #2 seed has made it every year (let's keep that going!). 

 

On the other hand, the format that sent the 1/2 seeds straight to the semis resulted in a 1/2 championship game in all but 1 season, and the #1 seed made it every year. While adjusting to sightlines is legitimate, I think the historical data shows playing one less game has been more valuable. 

 

Now, the MAC has a choice to make. I'd they want to protect the top seeds and increase the odds of them playing in the championship game, changing the format would help that. If they want more "madness", they can stick to the current format. 

 

A fun and creative solution that may be interesting is to let the #1 and #2 seeds choose their quarterfinal time slots. 

[Westie]

1 hour ago, HoopsFan03 said:

Just got our tickets. 12:50

Just got ours. C-109. Feel like that’s the opposite bench 

[Zippy87]

Looking at MACteam statistical rankings today that I think could be keys tonight: 

 

Offense:

Akron - 2nd

Kent - 3rd

 

Defense:

Akron - 4th

Kent - 13th

 

Rebounding:

Akron - 2nd

Kent - 1st

 

Turnover Margin:

Akron - 2nd

Kent - 11th

[Let'sGoZips94]

33 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

 

From 2012-2015, the 1 and 2 seeds received byes to the semifinals. The championship games each of those years were:

 

2012: #3 Ohio over #1 Akron

2013: #1 Akron over #2 Ohio

2014: #1 WMU over #2 Toledo 

2015: #2 Buffalo over #1 CMU

 

Since being changed to the current format in 2021:

 

2021: #5 Ohio over #2 Buffalo

2022: #4 Akron over #2 Kent

2023: #2 Kent over #1 Toledo

2024: #2 Akron over #8 Kent State

2025: #1 Akron over #2 Miami

 

Given Miami is already eliminated, the current format has will have resulted in the #1 seed reaching the championship 2 out of 6 years, while the #2 seed has made it every year (let's keep that going!). 

 

On the other hand, the format that sent the 1/2 seeds straight to the semis resulted in a 1/2 championship game in all but 1 season, and the #1 seed made it every year. While adjusting to sightlines is legitimate, I think the historical data shows playing one less game has been more valuable. 

 

Now, the MAC has a choice to make. I'd they want to protect the top seeds and increase the odds of them playing in the championship game, changing the format would help that. If they want more "madness", they can stick to the current format. 

 

A fun and creative solution that may be interesting is to let the #1 and #2 seeds choose their quarterfinal time slots. 

 

I don't think seed advancement is relevant when discussing a tourney format. In 2009, 5 seed Akron won 4 games in 5 days. Back then, there were divisions. The 2 seed was Balls at 7-9 in the conference. The East Division had BG (11-5), Buffalo (11-5), Miami OH (10-6), Akron (10-6), and Kent (10-6). Ultimately, there wasn't much separating the top 5 teams in the conference. 

 

Fast forward to 2012...

Kent had a BYE to the QFs - beat 8 seed WMU by 4, lost to 1 seed Akron by 4

Ohio had a BYE to the QFs - beat 7 seed Toledo by 8, beat 2 seed Buffalo by 3, beat 1 seed Akron by 1 (went on to win 2, nearly 3 games in the NCAA tournament - probably the best team in the conference that underperformed in the regular season)

 

2013

Hard to argue that Akron/Ohio weren't the 2 best teams in the conference that year by a mile.

 

2014

WMU had a BYE to the SFs - survived injury-riddled Akron (Robothom injury, correct?), beat 2 seed Toledo by 21

Toledo had a BYE to the SFs - beat 6 seed EMU who upset 3 seed Buffalo despite Buffalo having a QFs BYE

 

2015

Buffalo had a BYE to the SFs - beat 7 seed Akron by 9 who upset Kent by 2 despite Kent BYE to QFs, then beat 1 seed CMU by 5 (Bobby Hurley's 1st year that started a nice 5-6 year run for Buffalo)

 

FORMAT CHANGE

 

2021

5 seed Ohio beats 4 seed Kent by 22, 1 seed Toledo by 7, and 2 seed Buffalo by 15 to win it all; led by NBA player Jason Preston and went on to win a NCAA tourney game (possibly the best team in the conference that year that under achieved in regular season)

 

2022

4 seed Akron beats 5 seed Buffalo by 2, 1 seed Toledo by 8, and 2 seed Kent by 20; nearly beat UCLA in NCAA tournament

 

2023

2 seed Kent beat 7 seed NIU by 19, 3 seed Akron by 6, and 1 seed Toledo by 15; Kent sucks

 

2024

2 seed Akron beat 7 seed Miami OH by 12, 3 seed Ohio by 3, and 8 seed Kent by 1

8 seed Kent beat 1 seed Toledo by 8, 5 seed BG by 13; arguably much more talented than an 8 seed that underachieved in regular season

 

2025

Top 2 seeds Akron and Miami OH - arguably the 2 best in the conference last year by a lot - battled in a classic in the championship game; 1 seed Akron won

 

2026

So far, chalk has held in 2026 outside of Miami OH/UMass. UMass had 12 games decided by 7 pts or less. They could've easily been a top 4 seed and were a nightmare matchup for Miami OH. No matter when those 2 played, UMass would've been selected as the favorite by anyone who knows ball. Miami OH had the opposite regular season, leading the country I believe in single possession victories. They could've easily been much lower than the 1 seed. 

 

If all seeding was erased and we simply looked at matchups/talent/coaching, there haven't really been many shocking upsets in Cleveland in a couple decades. It's not like lowly Directional Michigans are shocking top seeds. My point is, no matter the format, the cream rises to the top in Cleveland. Everyone knew Miami OH was overrated and it showed. The format doesn't need changed; there will never be a perfect format, but this year's tournament is pretty darn exciting with its current layout. 

 

Maybe Steele can get some NIL deals going with Puffs or Kleenux with all the crying they've been doing. Go Zips!

Edited 16 hours ago by Let'sGoZips94

[kreed5120]

About to head downtown for the game. Those who went yesterday and went early today, have you seen any good deals on parking?

[zippy5]

We talk about Miami more than our own team.

 

Go Zips 

[1981 grad]

Keep the format as it now stands.  I remember 2015 when the Zips had to play their 4th game in 5 days.  The played Bobby Hurley's Buffalo squad that were playing their 1st game with the double bye.  And Bobby Hurley did something smart, he pressed our guard Antino Jackson full court the entire game and it tired him out and he shot 1 of 13 from 3 point land.  I remember there was a minute left in the game and they were up by 10 and the Buffalo guard looked at Hurley and he finally took off the full court pressure.  I always felt like KD should have had Big Dog bring up the ball to give Jackson a rest.  Big Dog was actually a very good ball handler for his size.  But it was patently unfair to have a well rested team playing the Zips.  If the Zips or any other MAC team cannot win three in Cleveland, then they do not deserve the tourney. 

[kreed5120]

4 minutes ago, 1981 grad said:

Keep the format as it now stands.  I remember 2015 when the Zips had to play their 4th game in 5 days.  The played Bobby Hurley's Buffalo squad that were playing their 1st game with the double bye.  And Bobby Hurley did something smart, he pressed our guard Antino Jackson full court the entire game and it tired him out and he shot 1 of 13 from 3 point land.  I remember there was a minute left in the game and they were up by 10 and the Buffalo guard looked at Hurley and he finally took off the full court pressure.  I always felt like KD should have had Big Dog bring up the ball to give Jackson a rest.  Big Dog was actually a very good ball handler for his size.  But it was patently unfair to have a well rested team playing the Zips.  If the Zips or any other MAC team cannot win three in Cleveland, then they do not deserve the tourney. 

 

Big Dog was a great athlete. I still think a big reason we lost to UB in 2016 was because he was a bit gassed. 3 games in 3 days is still a lot to ask for someone of his size.