MAC Basketball Tournament Bracket: It's Finally Set

Finally. [crumples up scratch paper, tosses into recycle bin]

Western Michigan and Ball State both took down overmatched teams to win first-round byes, with WMU taking the MAC West crown. Bowling Green built a huge lead over Buffalo, broke it down, then built it back up to secure the 7-seed, but with Central Michigan's loss, UB still clinched that final first-round home game.

And now we rest from men's basketball for a couple days to prepare for the #MACMadness that's about to ensue. Honestly, anyone from 1 to 8 can win this thing. Let's throw Central Michigan a bone and give 'em an outside shot to get hot for a week. Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, and Toledo ... thanks for playing, but this wasn't your year.

The concern for the casual MAC fan is that if someone other than Kent State doesn't win the tournament, that winner is probably staring a 15- or 16-seed right in the face. They probably won't get lumped into a first-round play-in game, but ... you know, we'll just discuss this at a later time. In the meantime, size up the bracket and determine how much of a chance your favorite team has.