2025 MAC men's basketball tournament
| 2025 MAC men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2024–25 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Site | Rocket Arena Cleveland, Ohio |
| Champions | Akron (6th title) |
| Winning coach | John Groce (5th title) |
| MVP | Nate Johnson (Akron) |
| Attendance | 31,312 (Total) 7,099 (Championship) |
| Television | ESPN+, CBSSN, ESPN2 |
MAC men's basketball tournaments | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Akron † | 17 | – | 1 | .944 | 28 | – | 7 | .800 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miami (OH) | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 25 | – | 9 | .735 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kent State | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 24 | – | 12 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Toledo | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 18 | – | 15 | .545 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 16 | – | 16 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Michigan | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 12 | – | 20 | .375 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Michigan | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 16 | – | 16 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling Green | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 14 | – | 18 | .438 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ball State | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 14 | – | 17 | .452 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Michigan | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 14 | – | 17 | .452 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buffalo | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 9 | – | 22 | .290 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Illinois | 2 | – | 16 | .111 | 6 | – | 25 | .194 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2025 MAC tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2025 Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) held March 13–15, 2025.[1] The entire tournament was played at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.[2] Akron defeated Bowling Green and Toledo in the first two rounds and then Miami in the final[3][4][5][6] Nate Johnson of Akron was the MVP.
Format
[edit]As with all MAC tournaments since 2021, only the top eight teams qualified. The winner of the tournament, Akron, received the MAC's automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA tournament.[7]
Venue
[edit]The 2025 MAC tournament was held at Rocket Arena for the 26th 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.[8][9]
Seeds
[edit]Eight out of the 12 MAC teams qualified for the tournament. Teams were be seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.[10]
| Seed | School | Conference record |
Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akron† | 17–1 | |
| 2 | Miami (OH) | 14–4 | |
| 3 | Kent State | 11–7 | |
| 4 | Toledo | 10–8 | 2–0 vs. Ohio |
| 5 | Ohio | 10–8 | 0–2 vs. Toledo |
| 6 | Western Michigan | 9–9 | 1–0 vs. Eastern Michigan |
| 7 | Eastern Michigan | 9–9 | 0–1 vs. Western Michigan |
| 8 | Bowling Green | 8–10 | |
| DNQ | Ball State | 7–11 | 1–0 vs. Kent State |
| DNQ | Central Michigan | 7–11 | 0–1 vs. Kent State |
| DNQ | Buffalo | 4–14 | |
| DNQ | Northern Illinois | 2–16 |
Schedule
[edit]| Session | Game | Time* | Matchup | Score | Attendance | Television | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 13 – Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH | |||||||
| 1 | 1 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 1 Akron vs. No. 8 Bowling Green | 96–67 | 8,737 | ESPN+ | |
| 2 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 4 Toledo vs. No. 5 Ohio | 90–85OT | ||||
| 3 | 4:30 p.m. | No. 2 Miami (OH) vs. No. 7 Eastern Michigan | 81–75 | ||||
| 4 | 6:30 p.m. | No. 3 Kent State vs. No. 6 Western Michigan | 73–66 | ||||
| Semifinals – Friday, March 14 – Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH | |||||||
| 2 | 5 | 5:00 p.m. | No. 1 Akron vs. No. 4 Toledo | 100–90 | 15,476 | CBSSN | |
| 6 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 2 Miami (OH) vs. No. 3 Kent State | 72-64 | ||||
| Championship – Saturday, March 15 – Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH | |||||||
| 3 | 7 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 1 Akron vs. No. 2 Miami (OH) | 76-74 | 7,099 | ESPN2 | |
| *Game times in EDT. ()-Rankings denote tournament seeding. | |||||||
Source[11]
Bracket
[edit]| Quarterfinals Thursday, March 13, 2025 | Semifinals Friday, March 14, 2025 | Championship Saturday, March 15, 2025 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Akron | 96 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Bowling Green | 67 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Akron | 100 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Toledo | 90 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Toledo | 90OT | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Ohio | 85 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Akron | 76 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Miami (OH) | 74 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Miami (OH) | 81 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Eastern Michigan | 75 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Miami (OH) | 72 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Kent State | 64 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Kent State | 73 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Western Michigan | 66 | ||||||||||||
All-Tournament team
[edit]Tournament MVP – Nate Johnson
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| Nate Johnson | Akron |
| Tavari Johnson | Akron |
| Peter Suder | Miami |
| Kam Craft | Miami |
| Jalen Sullinger | Kent State |
Source[12]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "2024-25 MAC Championships" (PDF). Mid-American Conference. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
- ^ "MAC Tournament staying in downtown Cleveland through 2030". Cleveland 19 News. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- ^ Beaven, Michael (March 15, 2025). "LeBron James, Donovan Mitchell congratulate Akron Zips on MAC basketball title, NCAA bid". Akron Beacon Jornal. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
- ^ "Akron 100, Toledo 90". ESPN. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
- ^ "Akron 65, Ohio 62". ESPN. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
- ^ "Akron 96, Bowling Green 67". ESPN. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
- ^ "MAC eliminating and scaling back postseason tournaments". AP. May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
- ^ "About". Rocket Arena. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- ^ "A-Z Guide". Rocket Arena. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- ^ "Tie-Breaker Procedures". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
- ^ "2025 MAC Men's Basketball Championship". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
- ^ "No. 1 Akron Claims Second-Straight MAC Tournament Championship". Mid-American Conference. March 15, 2025. Retrieved March 15, 2025.