2017 MAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Live Thread: First Round

The MAC Tournament begins play tonight as we have four games taking place at campus sites, starting with a pair of intriguing games at 7 p.m. The No. 8 seed Eastern Michigan Eagles host the No. 9 seed Northern Illinois Huskies, as the two teams split the two regular season meetings with the home team winning by double digits in eac instance. Neither team has been setting the world ablaze as EMU has lost eight of its last ten games while NIU has dropped seven of its last eight, so expect a pair of hungry teams that have a lot to prove in Ypsilanti.

Also at 7 p.m. is the contest between the No. 6 seed Kent State Golden Flashes and the No. 11 seed Central Michigan Chippewas in Kent. KSU lost 105-98 to CMU at home earlier in the season, but the Chips have stumbled to the finish line with losing seven straight games. We shall see if the dynamic duo of Marcus Keene and Braylon Rayson can carry the Chippewas, or if Kent State can continue its late season roll.

At 7:30 p.m., we’ve got a match-up between the No. 12 seed Miami RedHawks and the No. 5 Western Michigan Broncos in Kalamazoo. WMU trounced the ‘Hawks 72-55 in their previous meeting this season as the Broncos are as hot as anyone in the MAC with eight consecutive victories. However, Miami isn’t a stranger to first round upsets in the MAC Tournament as it knocked off Ball State 49-47 last year.

To close the evening, the No. 7 seed Toledo Rockets invites the No. 10 seed Bowling Green Falcons to their humble abode for the third edition of the Battle of I-75 this season. The home teams took each of the meetings, so it would seem that UT has the advantage. The Rockets also has the edge on the offensive end and momentum as well, so we’ll see if the Falcons can pull off a major upset and bring some madness to March.

With all this fun #MACsketball on deck, let’s hop down in the comments and have fun discussing all shooty hoops you want.