Previously covered: (1) Big South and Horizon, (2) A-Sun, Northeast, Patriot, OVC, and WCC, (3) MVC, (4) SoCon, MAAC, and Sun Belt, and (5) America East, Summit, and Colonial.
As the clear-cut best teams in the conference and armed with double byes to the semifinals (actually a triple-bye), Akron and Ohio are the clear favorites to win the MAC. However, Akron just lost their starting PG, Alex Abreu, which should make Ohio the odds-on favorite. Kent State and Western Michigan get the two double byes as the 3rd and 4th seeds and are dark horse candidates. Look for the Golden Flashes, especially, as they appear on Akron’s half of the bracket.
| Sd | Team | 2nd Rd | Qtrs | Semis | Finals | Champ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akron | 78.4 | 51.2 | |||
| 2 | Ohio | 74.8 | 34.6 | |||
| 4 | Kent State | 69.1 | 16.8 | 6.4 | ||
| 3 | Western Michigan | 71.5 | 21.2 | 5.7 | ||
| 8 | Buffalo | 77.6 | 47.9 | 18.3 | 3.4 | 1.2 |
| 6 | Bowling Green State | 80.2 | 64.1 | 22.9 | 3.5 | 0.6 |
| 5 | Ball State | 41.5 | 10.7 | 1.3 | 0.2 | |
| 11 | Miami (OH) | 19.8 | 13.4 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| 7 | Eastern Michigan | 77.8 | 18.7 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| 9 | Central Michigan | 22.4 | 10.6 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| 10 | Northern Illinois | 22.2 | 3.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
North Carolina Central is a decent favorite, but the conference is very balanced behind them. Last year’s tournament cinderella Norfolk State, who knocked off Missouri as a 15-seed, is the top seed here and the most likely team to knock of NC Central.
| Sd | Team | Qtrs | Semis | Finals | Champ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | North Carolina Central | 76.9 | 59.8 | 39.6 | |
| 1 | Norfolk State | 68.7 | 35.3 | 18.0 | |
| 5 | Morgan State | 87.7 | 54.0 | 31.8 | 15.5 |
| 4 | Savannah State | 85.3 | 41.2 | 20.2 | 8.8 |
| 3 | Hampton | 54.4 | 16.0 | 5.2 | |
| 7 | North Carolina A&T | 76.1 | 20.2 | 11.8 | 5.0 |
| 8 | Bethune-Cookman | 67.9 | 25.6 | 11.5 | 4.5 |
| 6 | Delaware State | 61.3 | 30.3 | 8.5 | 2.3 |
| 11 | Howard | 38.7 | 15.3 | 2.8 | 0.5 |
| 10 | Florida A&M | 23.9 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.3 |
| 9 | Coppin State | 32.1 | 5.7 | 1.0 | 0.2 |
| 12 | South Carolina State | 12.3 | 2.8 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| 13 | Maryland-Eastern Shore | 14.7 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Next up: Big East, Mountain West, and WAC.