Last season, the MAC women’s basketball tournament quarterfinals was one of the most exciting all day sporting events I ever witnessed on television. This season, there are several interesting story lines. Tomorrow might be a good day to feign illness, sleep in, and tune into ESPN3 and watch women’s shootyhoops all day long. Here is a preview of the action.

Eastern Michigan Eagles Vs. Central Michigan Chippewas

• Start time: Noon

The best team in the conference is taking on the 9 seed. While this game isn’t very close on paper, and might not be close on the floor, this match-up does have some potential. The Eagles are much improved from last season and have played some of their better games against the best competition. The Eagles slumped a bit at the end of the season, but playing in Cleveland might be motivation for this team that has shown potential.

Ohio Bobcats Vs. Miami RedHawks

• Start time: 2:30 PM

Oh, looky here. A rivalry game. On the men’s side, the two teams faced off in the opening round. The gift keeps on giving as the women now face off in the quarterfinals. If you asked me at the start of the season the record of the two teams, I probably would have been pretty close, except I would have given the higher win total to Ohio. The job Megan Duffy has done in Oxford is nothing short of amazing, and Ohio misses Quira Lampkins more than I thought, which is dumb on my part because she was fantastic.

While Miami has the edge, don’t be shocked if this is a game for the ages.

Kent State Golden Flashes Vs. Buffalo Bulls

• Start time: 5 PM

The Golden Flashes got absolutely hammered both times they played the Bulls. However, they did pull of a fairly large upset against last season’s MAC tournament champion Toledo in the opening round.

To win that game, Kent State needed a team effort plus. The plus was Megan Carter in the run to close down the Toledo lead, while Jordan Korinek took over to close the game out. Kent State’s ability to keep the game close even though Korinek didn’t play well for 3 quarters is another plus. I still think Buffalo will win easily, but you never know.

Western Michigan Broncos Vs. Ball State Cardinals

• Start time: 7:30 PM

Probably the most interesting game of the day, the Broncos take on the Cardinals. Ball State ran the table in the non-conference, and compiled a 13-5 record in the MAC. They are playing their best basketball to close out the season, winning 6 of their last 7, their only loss was a relatively close one to Central Michigan.

The Broncos have been streaky all season and dropped both games to Ball State. However, when they are clicking, they are really good.

Prediction

All higher seeds should win easily. That’s not going to happen. There might not be an upset, but at least 2 of these games will be close.