2009 MAC Tournament Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd on March 9, 2009

mac-3909The 2009 Mid-American Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament tips off Tuesday, March 10th and continues through Saturday, March 14th at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. You can catch the MAC Tournament championship game on ESPN 2. No team in this conference is looking at an at large bid so this will be a winner take all scenario. All 12 teams will get the opportunity to compete for the automatic NCAA Tournament bid with the top four seeds gaining a nice advantage with byes in the second round. 2008 MAC Tourney champ Kent State will have its work cut out for itself as the Golden Flashes are a No. 6 seed in this year’s tournament. In this article, we’ll analyze the favorite and also the team with the next best chance of winning it all. Bet the 2009 MAC Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bookmaker.

The Favorite: Bowling Green Falcons
Bowling Green tied with Buffalo at 11-5 atop the MAC East, but the Falcons earned the No. 1 seed by sweeping the season series with the Bulls. Bowling Green has come a long way in a year’s time as it was a No. 9 seed in the 2008 tournament and was knocked out in the opening round. The Falcons won 10 of their last 13 games so they should come in with plenty of momentum and confidence. The Falcons win with exceptional defense, holding opponents to 60.8 points per game (29th in the nation) and just 39.1 percent shooting from the field (16th in the nation). The Falcons are led by 6’4” forward Nate Miller, who leads the team in scoring (12.7 ppg), rebounding (7.5 rpg), and steals (2-1 spg).

Another Team That Can Win: Buffalo Bulls
I really can’t see the champion coming from the much weaker MAC West Division, which did not have a team with a winning record in conference play. I know Buffalo lost both regular season meetings to the Falcons, but both games were close and the Bulls pose the biggest threat to knocking off Bowling Green. After winning 9 straight during the meat of the season, the Bulls finished by winning just 2 of their last 7. However, the Bulls did regroup to win 2 of their last 3 and I don’t expect to see this slump continue. This Buffalo team, which played UConn to a 4-point game is very capable of winning this tournament. The Bulls are led by 6’2” guard Rodney Pierce and his 14.7 points per game average. Calvin Betts and Greg Gamble also average close to double digits and help make up the most talented guard corps in the league.

2008 MAC Tournament Recap:
The 2008 MAC Tourney went according to play with No. 1 seed Kent State taking the title with a 74-55 blowout win in the championship game over Akron. The best game of the tournament actually came in the semifinals when Miami Ohio played the Golden Flashes to a 2-point contest. The win marked Kent State’s 5th conference tournament title and earned the Golden Flashes a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament. UNLV made quick work of the Golden Flashes in the first round.

Do your basketball betting on Jimmy Boyd’s college basketball picks this March for the most winners against the NCAA basketball odds.