I'm going to say #3 seed Ohio over #4 seed Kent State in the championship. I think OU is the most dangerous team in the tournament and has the best combination/ability of backcourt and front-court scoring. They also do a great job at locking up, doubling down and swarming to take away an opponent's low-post scoring threat like they did against Calhoun when we last played them and what they did against Mavunga yesterday. They make you beat them from the perimeter and there are a lot of team in the MAC who struggle to do so with multiple outside threats. Plus, the Bobcats generally play very well in the MAC Tournament and in Cleveland. I know Akron swept Kent State in the regular season and KSU has been slumping, but it usually seems like one team gets hot in the tournament and KSU is my pick to be it. They have a lot of talent but seem to not be putting it all together right now. But they know how to play well in Cleveland and this could be just the thing to get them going and I don't see any of the teams (EMU, NIU, BSU & WMU) that will try to advance to face Kent State stopping the Golden Flashes from advancing to face Akron for a third time. I know Akron won the MAC regular season and is the #1 seed, but I just don't think they are the best team in the MAC, even if they win this tournament. I think both OU and UB are better teams IMO and UB swept Akron and Ohio just destroyed them recently (OU also swept UB this year).

I see BG getting past CMU, but not by as much or as easy as the first time we played them. I also think we're 50-50 of getting past Toledo or Miami in the second round. Yes, I know we went 3-0 combined against them, but this it the MAC Tournament - which is where BG goes to die (history proves that as BG has never won the tournament). Toledo obviously gave us a run at home in a game that was very close, but UT is the team from the MAC West that concerns me the most. Yes, I know they lost to NIU, but they also destroyed EMU and we saw how they can play tough from their visit in the Stroh. I think UT is the most improved team in the MAC. My heart tells me we can get by either UT or Miami in a nail-bitter, but if we can make it to the quarterfinals to face OU, I think that's it for us. Between us likely being tired at that point (having played Monday in BG and Wednesday in Cleveland) facing a rested Ohio team that last played on Sunday morning (BG also did that night), and the fact that BG simply does not play very well in Cleveland or the MAC Tournament, I can't see us getting any further if we make it that far. But I hope I am very, VERY wrong with all these predictions.

People really have hard-ons for OU, I don't get it.

I'll take- Akron over Kent ; Buffalo over BG.

Akron over Buffalo.

Even if Akron wins the regular season and conference tournament you don't think they're the best team?

I don't think Akron will win the tournament because the number 1 seed never seems to win this tournament

My prediction ... picking Akron is always, always a safe bet. Whether they come in as the number one seed or in the middle of the pack, they always do great in the tournament. Give Dambrot credit, he always has his team peaking at the right time. Outside of Akron ... pure craziness and east dominance over west.
Team to win it all: Akron
Team that will disappoint: Buffalo
Team that will shock: Bowling Green
Team to not sleep on: Eastern Michigan
Team that will embarrass themselves: Northern Illinois. (Also give them the most improved team going into next year. They're all freshmen, watch out for them the next two years for vast improvements)

I never count out Akron and the Zips or Buffalo, IMO, is the best team in the MAC. Buffalo did sweep Akron this year. Would love to see the Falcons win it all but we've got a tough road ahead.

GO FALCONS!

Mike,
Guess you were right on BG...they DID shock...or maybe not, considering how inconcistent they've been. Perhaps the embarrassing status doesn't belong to NIU.

Absolutely. I would be saying the same thing if BG was in their place. I think their are three or four teams you could make a case for as best team in the MAC (Akron, Buffalo, Ohio and probably Kent State). Each is worth consideration. I'm just not sold on Akron. Now I am not saying Akron isn't deserving of the one-seed. They are, they earned it without a doubt per their record. But no, I don't think the Zips are the best team in the MAC. They got past us by one on a last-second shot, needed OT to beat WMU, were swept by Buffalo and were destroyed by Ohio. So if they win two games in the MAC Tournament and win it, it doesn't mean they are the best in my book, nor would it be if NIU ran the table and won it. When BG was the #1 seed a few years ago I didn't think we were the best team in the MAC whatsoever. But we were, by record, the #1 seed. When Ohio won the MAC Tournament as a #9 seed two years ago, I didn't think they were the best team either - but it didn't matter, they played the better games and beat the #1, #2 and #4 seeds en route to the title. Butler made the National Championship game the last two years, but that doesn't make them the second-best "team" in the country. but they certainly were one of only two still standing in the end. Come tournament time, whether it's conference championships or the NCAA Tournament, it's all about seeding and matchups. You play who you advance to meet. You don't have to be the better team, you just have to play the better game. Kentucky is arguably the best tem in the country, but it just takes one loss in the tournment for someone else to win the title and wear that crown.

Sadly tonight didn't "shock" me at all. I've come to expect it ever year from BG anymore. This year, it only came early for me as I felt it would at least happen in Cleveland.

No surprise at all, the top four seeds (all from the MAC East) all advanced. Kent State built a nice lead and withstood a late WMU rally, while Ohio turned a two-poin half-time lead into a 16-point lead hitting Toledo with a haymaker to start the second half. It will be very interesting to see these semifinals matchups as Ohio swept Buffalo and Akron swept Kent State. I think one of them flips that trend.

It's a damn shame that BG is consistently absent from these later rounds of the tournament year after year because it can be exciting to watch and is great for the schools and fans of the respective schools involved. But BG is nothing but an afterthought in this event and I'm damn sick of it. It's a shame BG fans have to sit and watch our peers, our divisional peers often for that matter, play while we sit at home.

Ohio wins the MAC Tournament again. They simply proved to be the best team and found ways to get it done. Ballers! And they'll be running it all again next season too.

Congratulations. Your team won.

Zing!!!

Have you ordered your black OU jersey?

holds true again

always a good night when Akron loses