2026 MAC men's basketball tournament
Basketball tournament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) held March 12–14, 2026.[1] The tournament was played at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.[2] The tournament winner, Akron, received the conference's automatic invitation to the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament.
| 2026 Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| |
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2025–26 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Site | Rocket Arena Cleveland, Ohio |
| Champions | Akron (7th title) |
| Winning coach | John Groce (6th title) |
| Television | ESPN2 Final CBSSN Semifinals ESPN+ Quarterfinals |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miami (OH) | 18 | – | 0 | 1.000 | 32 | – | 2 | .941 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Akron † | 17 | – | 1 | .944 | 29 | – | 6 | .829 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kent State | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 24 | – | 10 | .706 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Toledo | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 19 | – | 15 | .559 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling Green | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 18 | – | 14 | .563 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 15 | – | 17 | .469 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buffalo | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 17 | – | 15 | .531 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UMass | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 17 | – | 16 | .515 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ball State | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 12 | – | 19 | .387 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Michigan | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 10 | – | 21 | .323 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Michigan | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 10 | – | 21 | .323 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Illinois | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 9 | – | 21 | .300 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Michigan | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 10 | – | 21 | .323 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2026 MAC tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top seeded Miami entered the tournament undefeated at 31–0 and they were also ranked #20 in the AP poll.[3] They suffered their first loss of the season when eighth seeded UMass upset them in the first round.[4] Second seeded Akron defeated Buffalo, Kent State, and Toledo to win their third straight MAC tournament title to advance to the 2026 NCAA tournament.[5] Tavari Johnson of Akron was named tournament MVP.[6]
Format
As with all MAC tournaments that have done since 2021, only the top eight teams qualified.[7] The winner of the tournament received the MAC's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA tournament.[8]
Venue
The 2026 MAC tournament was held at Rocket Arena for the 27th 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.[9][10]
Seeds
The top eight out of the thirteen MAC teams qualified for the tournament. Teams will be seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.[11]
| Seed | School | Conference Record |
Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami (OH) | 18–0 | |
| 2 | Akron | 17–1 | |
| 3 | Kent State | 14–4 | |
| 4 | Toledo | 11–7 | |
| 5 | Bowling Green | 9–9 | 1–0 vs. Ohio |
| 6 | Ohio | 9–9 | 0–1 vs. Bowling Green |
| 7 | Buffalo | 7–11 | 3–1 vs. UMass & Ball State |
| 8 | UMass | 7–11 | 2–2 vs. Buffalo & Ball State |
| DNQ | Ball State | 7–11 | 1–3 vs. Buffalo & UMass |
| DNQ | Central Michigan | 6–12 | |
| DNQ | Western Michigan | 4–14 | 2–1 vs. Northern Illinois & Eastern Michigan |
| DNQ | Northern Illinois | 4–14 | 1–1 vs. Western Michigan & Eastern Michigan |
| DNQ | Eastern Michigan | 4–14 | 1–2 vs. Western Michigan & Northern Illinois |
Schedule
| Session | Game | Time * | Matchup | Score | Attendance | Television | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 12 | |||||||
| 1 | 1 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 1 Miami (OH) vs. No. 8 UMass | 83−87 | 9,123 | ESPN+ | |
| 2 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 4 Toledo vs. No. 5 Bowling Green | 77−76 | ||||
| 3 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 2 Akron vs. No. 7 Buffalo | 73−70 | ||||
| 4 | 6:30 p.m. | No. 3 Kent State vs. No. 6 Ohio | 86–75 | ||||
| Semifinals – Friday, March 13 | |||||||
| 2 | 5 | 5:00 p.m. | No. 4 Toledo vs. No. 8 UMass | 77−67 | 10,936 | CBSSN | |
| 6 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 2 Akron vs. No. 3 Kent State | 75−68 | ||||
| Final – Saturday, March 14 | |||||||
| 3 | 7 | 8:00 p.m. | No. 2 Akron vs. No. 4 Toledo | 79−76 | 11,072 | ESPN2 | |
| * Game times are in EDT. ()-Rankings denote tournament seeding. | |||||||
Source:[12]
Bracket
Game summaries
Quarterfinal round
| No. 1 Miami (OH) 83, No. 8 UMass 87 | ||
| Scoring by half: 39–37, 44−50 | ||
| Pts: 17 – Byers Rebs: 5 – Tied (2) Asts: 7 – Tied (2) |
Pts: 25 – Bettiol Rebs: 8 – Tied (3) Asts: 8 – Carbuccia | |
| Game 1 | ||
ESPN+ |
March 12 1:30 p.m. EDT |
| No. 4 Toledo 77, No. 5 Bowling Green 76 | ||
| Scoring by half: 37−38, 40−38 | ||
| Pts: 23 – Blyden Jr. Rebs: 7 – Wilson Asts: 3 – Tied (2) |
Pts: 16 – Campbell Rebs: 9 – Towns Asts: 4 – Tied (2) | |
| Game 2 | ||
Rocket Arena Cleveland, OH Referees: Griffith, Love. Smith |