mid-american
Dec 10, 2016; Spokane, WA, USA; Akron Zips guard Jimond Ivey (0) is foul getting up after a play against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second half at McCarthey Athletic Center. The Bulldogs won 61-43. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
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The NCAA season has reached it first round of the postseason. With the regular season now in the books, we are in the heart of the conference tournaments. As of today, Thursday, March 9th, all but one conference tournament will be underway. Several tickets have already have been punched, with more to come each and every day in the coming week.

One of the tournaments that is actually  underway already is the Mid-American Conference Tournament. The first round has concluded, with no upsets, meaning the bottom four teams are eliminated. Here at INSC we have you covered, with predictions for the rest of the games down below. This tourney will conclude on Saturday, March 11th.

You can check out the seedings and a link to the bracket below.

[Kenny]

(1) Akron
(2) Ohio
(3) Buffalo

(4) Ball State
(5) Western Michigan

(6) Kent State
(7) Toledo

(8) Eastern Michigan
(9) Northern Illinois – eliminated
(10) Bowling Green – eliminated
(11) Central Michigan – eliminated
(12) Miami (OH) – eliminated

Link to the bracket

So now that we have the opening round in the books already, we can jump right into the quarterfinals! To kick things off, we have a game between Akron and Eastern Michigan. Eastern Michigan pulled through with a three-point win in their opening contest. They do have some solid qualities, but they simply cannot shoot like Akron can. Akron will hit the big shots when they need to in this one, giving them a close win, 77-75.

Game two will feature Ball State taking on Western Michigan. Western Michigan survived game one with a 65-61 win over the likes of the conference’s worst team. Round two they face off with the conference’s four seed. But in all honest, these two are pretty equal. They are only one seed apart, but Western Michigan will still be seen as the underdogs. In this case, I like the underdog. Give me WMichigan by the score of 80-78.

Next up we have Toledo taking on Ohio. Toledo was able to win game one with ease, taking down Bowling Green 77-62. There will be one major key that stops their fun however. They do not play any defense inside the three-point line. They allow their opponents to shoot over 52 percent from inside, which is just unacceptable. That comes to bite them here, with Ohio taking this one 78-74.

To wrap up the quarterfinals, we have Buffalo and Kent State. Kent State is pretty bad when it comes to shooting the ball, but they do know how to create possessions thanks to their ability to pull down rebounds. Buffalo are no slouches either however when it comes to pulling down boards, which will likely cancel out their only true advantage. So give me Buffalo, 79-76.

Bring on the semis. The first of the two games here will pit Akron against Western Michigan. When you have a team that shoots better and plays better defense than their opponents, they typically are a good bet to win the game. Well, that is the case here with Akron. So I will be siding with Akron by the score of 78-73.

Their opponents in the championship game will either be Ohio or Buffalo. Overall, the numbers give a big indication that this one is going to Ohio. The biggest edge, shooting the three. Ohio not only shoots the three a lot better, but they also play better defense. So I am going with Ohio in this one, 78-74.

So our championship game will have Akron taking on Ohio. This one will be a good one. These two are the class of this conference, and it will show in this one. They will go back and forth, fighting for that spot in the NCAA Tournament. But when all is said and done, I have this one going to Akron, but only by a slim margin. Akron, 76-75.

So what do you think? Who will emerge with a NCAA Tournament bid? Will it be an upset, or will the top seed claim their auto bid? Tell us in the comments!

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