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MAC Basketball: 2021 conference tournament preview and predictions

By Sean Cole

Mar 12, 2020; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Empty seats at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse before the game between the Akron Zips and the Ohio Bobcats. The game and the Mid-American Conference basketball tournament was cancelled in an attempt to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2020; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Empty seats at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse before the game between the Akron Zips and the Ohio Bobcats. The game and the Mid-American Conference basketball tournament was cancelled in an attempt to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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MAC Basketball Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
MAC Basketball Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

The 2020-2021 college basketball season has been a crazy year for all of college basketball, as the 2020 season was like no other season in modern times, This time last year, teams were gearing up for the 2019-2020 conference tournaments, and the NCAA Tournament. So, after some conference tournament winners were crowned and the at-large teams being discussed.

Things got real and that is when normal life was no more, as the 2019 – 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled and the college basketball season came to a crashing ending. Because of an unforeseen pandemic that hit the country, life and things as we knew it to be before, are no longer that way, things that were normal are no longer normal.

The pandemic has affected every facet of our lives, which includes college basketball. Not having a 2019 March Madness tournament, was sad and somewhat depressing, as March Madness is one of most college basketball fans’ best time of the year.

MAC Basketball has not been immune, to the new norm, as they have faced many ups and downs this season, but the conference and the conference leadership has been proactive and have made the best effort they could to make the 2020 season happen, as safety and the integrity of all involved was a top priority for conference officials. There are no fans in the stands, everyone is wearing masks,  social distancing is mandated, well you get my drift.

So, as we enter March, the MAC did not disappoint and they did it! As there was a 2020 MAC college basketball season.  It has been a crazy 2020 season, but finally, the MAC Conference Tournament is upon us and that could mean only one thing!. It is time to see who goes dancing!

After a much-anticipated off-season, in November 2020 teams began to get back on the court, with some teams confident and some not knowing what kind of team they will have on the court this year, as practice and other activities were basically non-existent because of the pandemic. There was no question that the MAC was ready to get back on the hardwood, as some teams had something to prove, some teams had reason to be optimistic, some teams just wanted to see how good they really are and some teams had to make up for last season.

So, it was almost time to start the 2020-2021 MAC Men’s College Basketball Season and just as in many of the previous years there was a 2020-2021 preseason coaches poll in which, coaches from the MAC Conference place their vote on what the standings will be for the upcoming season.  After the votes were tallied the poll looked like this:

2020-21 MAC Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Bowling Green (8) – 132 points
2. Ohio (1) – 117 points
3. Akron (2) – 115 points
4. Buffalo – 109 points
5. Ball State – 104 points
6. Toledo (1) – 93 points
7. Kent State – 65 points
8. Eastern Michigan – 57 points
9. Miami – 48 points
10. Northern Illinois – 43 points
11. Central Michigan – 40 points
12. Western Michigan – 13 points

During the season it was determined that because of the pandemic that the MAC Conference was going to do the 2020-2021 MAC Tourney seedings differently than in years past, with the top eight teams in the regular season advancing to play in the MAC Championship tournament. This would leave four schools ending their 2020-2021 MAC season and looking forward to next season. This new seeding alignment made this year’s MAC season more action-packed and also made each and every game that much more important.

So, after a long and hard-fought MAC regular season in which all the teams, players, coaching staffs, officials, and all those in the commissioner’s office must be commended on how the season was handled and how the season played out. Playing through a pandemic was a challenge and I applaud the MAC for doing everything in their power to make sure of the safety of all those involved, while at the same time, making sure the MAC season, would without question, be a season to remember.

Before showing the bracket for this year’s tournament, we need to acknowledge those four teams that did not qualify for the tournament and to congratulate the schools on a well-played season. Those four schools are:

Finishing 9th: Western Michigan

Finishing 10th: Central Michigan

Finishing 11th: Eastern Michigan

Finishing 12th: Northern Illinois

And now, without further ado!. Here are the 2020-2021 MAC Conference Tournament Seedings:

https://twitter.com/macsports/status/1368020038578495490?s=21