MAC Basketball: 2020 conference tournament preview and predictions

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 20: Channel Banks #11 of the Akron Zips celelebrates a shot during a first round DC Holiday Fest college basketball game against the Tulane Green Wave at the Entertainment & Sports Arena on December 20, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

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BUFFALO, NY – FEBRUARY 29: Loren Cristian Jackson #1 of the Akron Zips (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images) /

Players to watch

Jr Justin Turner – Bowling Green

2019-20 stats: 18.8 pts, 4.6 rebs, 2.5 asts, 85 FT%

Bowling Green was the top team in the MAC and leading the way for them has been junior Justin Turner who is fourth in the MAC in scoring with his 18.8. He also grabs 4.6 rebounds, but where he excels is at the free-throw line where he has missed just 20 times on the year, at the end of the game he’s the guy with the ball in his hands. While his backcourt mate Dylan Frye does a little bit more rebounding and distributing the ball, Turner is much more efficient in his offensive game.

Sr Eugene German – Northern Illinois

2019-20 stats: 20.5 pts, 4.1 rebs, 2.7 asts

Ball State (18-13,11-7) won the West division on the last day of the regular season with a win over Northern Illinois. It is the Huskies are a team that can be dangerous and with the conference’s leading scorer Eugene German who averages 20.5 points per game, the Huskies will pose a threat to Bowling Green or anyone else that wants the MAC title.

German is a volume-shooting guard who can score double figures rolling out of bed, he has scored 16 or more points in all but two contests this season, but he is going to get his shots no matter who the opponent is, hoisting up more than twice as many shots (542) as the next highest Husky (253).

Jr Loren Cristian Jackson – Akron

2019-20 stats: 19.8, 2.7 rebs, 4.5 asts

The No. 1 Akron Zips are led by a little dynamo in the backcourt, 5-8 junior guard Loren Cristian Jackson. Jackson leads the team, who averages 76 points, in points (19.8) and assists (4.5). The native of Chicago is balanced offensively with a slash line of 46.5/87.7/42.8, but unlike a lot of guards, the balance between his three-point and the mid-range game is pretty even, having taken 215 three-point shots and 202 from inside the arc on the year.

After a season split with Bowling Green, a rubber match in the MAC final would give Jackson another shot at a team he has averaged 31.5 points against this season.