No. 1 Akron Zips (25-6, 17-1) vs No. 8 Bowling Green Falcons (14-17, 8-10)
The Akron Zips started their journey to winning their second straight conference tournament championship and third in four years with a matchup against the last team in.
Akron looked the part of a top seed from tip-off, taking the lead in the first minute, and never giving it back.
It took the Zips just over two minutes to take a 9-2 lead, which Bowling Green was able to dip into with a couple straight baskets, but the Falcons then went cold, going scoreless for over three minutes, allowing Akron to take an 18-6 advantage.
Another cold stretch of four minutes ensued later in the first half for Bowling Green, but the Zips could not do much in that span, only scoring three points to take a 15-point lead.
A 9-3 run brought the lead back to within single digits, but the Falcons could not get any closer despite continuing to give Akron’s offense issues.
The Zips’ offense inevitably came back to life, and the 11.5-point favorites found themselves up by as much as 14 before halftime before walking into the locker room up by a dozen.
Akron made 13 shots from the field in the first half, with 11 of them being three-pointers. In the first half, the Zips were 11 for 21 for three and just two of six for two.
Bowling Green was unable to pull any closer, giving up a 7-0 run in the second half, followed by a back-breaking Akron 23-3 run, making the score 85-49 and putting the game well out of reach. The Falcons would cut into the deficit a little bit, but they were never able to do any serious damage and eventually lost 96-67.
After utilizing the three-point shot in the first half, the Zips were less effective in the second half, making five of 18 three point attempts. However, they were much stronger from inside the arc in the second half, making 16 of their 24 two-point shots.
After some concerning games in the final stretches of the season, Akron got back to what it looked like earlier in the conference season, dominating the opponent for 40 minutes.
No. 4 Toledo Rockets (17-14, 10-8) vs. No. 5 Ohio Bobcats (16-15, 10-8)
Two of the MAC’s best shooting teams both came out firing, combining for 19 points in the first four minutes of the game in a back and forth start.
The pace slowed down in the next four minutes with just 11 combined points, but still, neither team was able to gain a two-possession lead.
However, the Rockets gained the first true advantage when they went on a 7-0 run in just over a minute to take a 24-17 lead with ten minutes to go in the first half.
After going down by eight points, Ohio was able to slow down the Rockets for a little bit, holding them scoreless for nearly three minutes. It looked like the Bobcats would take advantage and go on a run of their own, but after four quick points to cut the lead in half, they would hit a little bit of a cold streak themselves.
Both teams found some offense, and the teams exchanged baskets over the next few minutes, resulting in a 37-32 Toledo lead with three minutes remaining in the half.
Coming out of the timeout, neither team scored for nearly two and a half minutes, but an Ohio layup in which they got fouled brought the Bobcats to within two, only for Toledo to score just before halftime to take a 39-35 lead into halftime.
Both teams shot the ball well in the first half, with Toledo going 16-36 (44.4%) and Ohio going 15-32 (46.9%). Despite having a slightly worse shooting percentage, the Rockets had the lead for multiple reasons.
They got up a few more shots because they had fewer turnovers (four to Ohio’s six) and they had more offensive rebounds (seven to Ohio’s five). Toledo also had four made three-pointers whereas Ohio only had two.
Each of those advantages were slight, but added all up, they resulted in a four-point halftime lead.
The second half did not have the fast-paced start the first half did, but like the early goings on the first half, neither team had an advantage. After the first minutes of the second half, it was still a four-point Toledo lead. Each team had made just two of six shots on one free throw in the opening minutes of the second half.
Ohio’s defense continued to play well over the next few minutes while its offense worked on finding some momentum, which it did, scoring five straight points to tie the game at 45-45.
Toledo responded, however, scoring four quick points to reclaim a lead, but Ohio came right back with another 5-0 run to take its first lead since it was 15-13.
The next few minutes resulted in the two teams exchanging baskets and short 4-0 runs, and with under eight and a half minutes to go, it was Toledo holding a 61-57 lead.
The Bobcats, however, would go on a 10-2 run including seven straight to take a four-point lead with under six minutes remaining.
The lead was as many as five, but six straight free throws for the Rockets gave them the lead with just under two minutes remaining.
After Ohio took the lead, Toledo split a pair of free throws, leaving the game tied at 73 apiece with one minute left.
Ohio hit a jump-shot with 34 seconds, but after what appeared to be a missed double-dribble call, the Rockets tied the game on a second-chance bucket with under ten seconds.
The Bobcats raced down the court and got fouled with under five seconds, but missed one of the free throws, leaving them up just one while Toledo had a chance to win.
Toledo threw up a prayer that was off, but the prayer was answered, and a foul was called on Ohio with one second left.
The first free throw was all net, but the second was no good, and the game went to overtime with a score of 76-76.
Each team only managed one bucket in the first two minutes of overtime, but after Toledo scored its second overtime basket, Ohio nailed a three to take an 81-80 lead halfway through overtime.
After the Rockets retook the lead on a three-pointer, the game was again tied after a pair of Bobcat free throws,
With 43 seconds left, Toledo once again took the lead on a made jumper along with a foul shot.
Ohio knocked down a shot to pull within one, but was forced to foul Toledo to stop the clock.
Toledo made both free throws, and Ohio was forced to take a three, but it was no good, and it was the Rockets who advanced, winning by a score of 90-85.
Toledo will take on Akron in Friday’s first semifinal at 5 p.m.
No. 2 Miami RedHawks (23-8, 14-4) vs No. 7 Eastern Michigan Eagles (16-15, 9-9)
In its first conference tournament appearance since 2018, Eastern Michigan took nearly four minutes to score and found itself down 9-0 before getting on the board.
Despite going down early, the Eagles fought back to make it 12-8 before Miami went back up six after a sixth-chance basket. The run continued, and the Eagles would tie the game at 14-14 with under 12 minutes to go in the first half.
The teams went back and forth over the next few minutes, both knocking down multiple three-pointers, and with under five minutes to go, the Eagles hit their third three in four and a half minutes to take a 27-24 lead.
Up to that point in the first half, Eastern Michigan was seven for 11 for three and just three of 16 on two-point shots.
After giving up an 8-0 run and the lead, Miami tied the game with a three of its own, ending a scoreless drought of over three minutes, and the half would eventually end in a 29-29 tie.
The defenses continued to control the game in the opening minutes of the second half, leaving Central Michigan up 35-34.
The scoring, however, picked up with three-pointers on three consecutive three straight possessions, which seemed to spark both sides. Still though, neither team could take much of a lead, and the game was tied at 47 apiece with under 12 minutes to go.
After each team only scoring 29 in the first half, Central Michigan had racked up 23 in the first ten minutes of the second half while Miami had scored 21, leaving the Eagles with a 52-50 lead.
The teams split the next 14 points, and with under eight minutes to go, Eastern Michigan, who was a five and a half-point underdog, still maintained a slim lead.
The RedHawks’ offense came to life and went on a 17-2 run to take a 74-61 lead with four minutes to go.
Eastern Michigan went on a 9-2 run to keep some hope alive with one minute to go, but it was not enough as Miami won by a score of 81-75 and advanced to the second semifinal game.
No. 3 Kent State Golden Flashes vs. No. 6 Western Michigan Broncos
Kent State started the game slow with three missed shots, an airball, and a turnover on its way to a 4-0 deficit, but quickly woke up, scoring 12 straight to take an early lead.
After finding themselves down 16-8, the Broncos put together an 8-0 run to tie the game halfway through the first half. Shortly after, the Flashes responded with a 13-0 run, taking a 32-19 lead with under five minutes remaining in the first half.
Kent State continued to take control, extending its lead all the way up to 19 before taking a 43-25 lead into the locker room.
Senior guard Marquis Barnett scored 18 first-half points on seven-of-eight shooting from the field along with four three-pointers.
Senior guard and three-point specialist Jalen Sullinger started his night with two missed threes, so decided to drive inside and ended up scoring eight first-half points on four-of-five shooting from inside the arc.
Western Michigan needed to start the second half strong, and it did, scoring seven straight points to cut the lead to 43-32.
The Broncos continued to pull closer, forcing turnovers and cashing them in on their way to cutting the lead to two with under 10 minutes to go.
After surrendering a 28-12 run to open the half that nearly tied the game, the Flashes found themselves again, going on a 16-2 run to take back a 14-point lead with under five minutes to go.
Running out of time, the Broncos scored 11 straight points to cut the lead down to three with just under a minute left.
After watching another double-digit lead disintegrate thanks to a stretch of nearly four and a half minutes with no points, Kent State made a crucial jump-shot to go back up by two possessions.
Western Michigan was unable to muster any more points, and the Golden Flashes, despite a multitude of errors in the second half, advanced to the semifinals to meet the Miami RedHawks Friday at approximately 7:30 p.m.