2017-18 MAC Post-Mortem

The Mid-American Conference is always a competitive league, for decades as closely bunched on a consistent basis as any NCAA Division I basketball conference out there. (Go all the way back to 1980-81, and the MAC had a five-way tie for first place in its final standings.)

‘Solid’ is a plenty fair adjective to describe it. With such rampant parity, though, rarely has the MAC had a single program emerge as a bully, setting itself head and shoulders above the rest of the league and appearing capable of doing some damage nationally on more than a one-off basis. Some might argue Akron did just that in the recently ended Keith Dambrot era, or that Kent State hit that stage in the early 2000s. Otherwise, one would have to go back to the late 70s with Toledo and the late 60s/early 70s when Miami (Ohio) and Ohio University ruled the league on a regular basis and earned some national rep for it.

The Buffalo Bulls, though, just might be ready to take the banner for the MAC, and maybe even plant it firmly in the middle of the national scene. It certainly was the case that the 2017-18 Mid-American season belonged to Buffalo, and UB also can now firmly claim that it has been the MAC’s top program over the past four years.

The Bulls dominated the East Division and the conference as a whole, posting a 15-3 MAC mark to win the East by six games and finishing two games better than West Division winner Toledo, and at least four games better than the rest of the league. Buffalo then rolled through the conference tournament, winning its first two games by 15 and 17 points and then disposing of Toledo in the tourney final for its third MAC Tournament title in the last four years.

The Bulls have done so with a style of play unique to the rest of the conference, with an array of scoring weapons on the perimeter who relentlessly drive to the basket and score in bunches. This year it was to the tune of better than 84 points per game, ranking sixth in the country in scoring offense.

The real statement came in the NCAA Tournament, though, when the 13th-seeded Bulls broke through for their first-ever NCAA tourney win. Buffalo topped Arizona, and it didn’t just sneak by the Wildcats-the Bulls put a spanking on the national power, shooting 54.8% in an 89-68 rout. Buffalo then faced another big name in the second round and even in a cold-shooting performance from outside hung with Kentucky most of the way before the Wildcats pulled away in the final minutes.

Buffalo was the first MAC team to win in the NCAA Tournament since Ohio’s run to the Sweet 16 in 2012, and the Bulls’ win and fearlessness was some much-needed validation for a conference that has been measuring up solidly the last couple years. For the second time in three years, the league ranked 10th in conference RPI (per NCAA data), and the MAC has finished 12th or better in four of the last five years now.

Being the No. 10-rated conference “should” be putting a league’s regular season champion firmly in the at-large discussion for the NCAAs. Of course, the MAC this year meets the 20th anniversary of its last at-large spot to the Big Dance, so there is still work to do. For all of its regular parity, though, it did the MAC some good to have a program throwing its weight around a bit, showing the rest of the conference just what can be done from here.

Final Standings:

Conference Tournament
The Mid-American Conference once again invited all 12 teams to its tournament, opening with first round games on campus sites before finishing in tried-and-true host city Cleveland for the 19th straight season.

This year’s event was marked by down-to-the-wire finishes (six of the 11 games were decided by one possession or in overtime) an untimely injury to the conference’s top player and, ultimately, the top seed taking care of business. For while almost every other team in the field played at least one barnburner, No. 1 seed Buffalo won all three of its games by double-digit margins for its third MAC tourney title in four years.

The Bulls handled No. 8 Central Michigan 89-74 in the quarterfinals and then eliminated defending tourney champs No. 5 Kent State 78-61 in the semis. Buffalo dismissed a pair of teams coming off narrow wins (CMU outlasted 9 seed Bowling Green 81-77 in overtime in the first round; Kent edged No. 12 Northern Illinois 61-59 in the first round and then No. 4 Ball State 76-73 in the quarterfinals). Jeremy Harris scored 27 against CMU and 22 against the Golden Flashes as his team trailed for a total of just 1 minute, 45 seconds in the two contests.

No. 2 seed Toledo also had a close shave in the quarterfinals, edging seventh-seeded Miami (Ohio) 71-69 when the Redhawks’ game-winning three-point attempt was off. The Rockets then nipped 3 seed Eastern Michigan 64-63 when freshman Marreon Jackson hit the winning three-pointer with 6.8 seconds left, capping off a career-high 26-point performance. Toledo suffered a big loss, though, when MAC Player of the Year Tre’Shaun Fletcher was injured right at the end of the Miami game, and then started the game but collapsed to the floor with a knee injury after scoring the opening points 21 seconds into the game against EMU.

Fletcher missed the rest of the semifinal contest, and he did not play in the championship game matching the top two seeds Buffalo and Toledo. The Rockets gave it their best shot in the final, holding a slim lead into late in the first half and then battling back from a 10-point second half deficit to tie the game on a three by Jackson with 4:50 left. The Bulls’ defensive effort and pressure was exceptional all game, though, and the top seed held Toledo to three points the rest of the way. Wes Clark also was almost unstoppable with 26 points, and Buffalo went on to the 76-66 win.

Postseason Awards
Player of the Year: Tre’Shaun Fletcher, G/F, Sr., Toledo
Defensive Player of the Year: Tim Bond, G, Sr., Eastern Michigan
Freshman of the Year: Nike Sibande, G, Miami (Ohio)
Sixth Man of the Year: Nick Perkins, F, Jr., Buffalo
Coach of the Year: Nate Oats, Buffalo

All-Conference Team
Tre’Shaun Fletcher, G/F, Sr., Toledo
C.J. Massinburg, G, Jr., Buffalo
Nick Perkins, F, Jr., Buffalo
James Thompson, F/C, Jr., Eastern Michigan
Thomas Wilder, G, Sr., Western Michigan

Season Highlights

• Buffalo qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years and also throttled Arizona in the first round for its first-ever NCAA Division I tourney win. The Bulls also earned the first win in the NCAAs by a MAC team since Ohio University made it to the Sweet 16 in 2012.
• Central Michigan won the 40th and final edition of the Great Alaska Shootout, and head coach Keno Davis joined his father Tom-who won the event in 1986 with Iowa-as the only father and son to have won the tourney.
• Central Michigan also was second in Division I in free throw percentage, hitting 80.6% from the line. Eastern Michigan’s stinginess on defense also was reflected in statistics as it was third in blocked shots/game (6.5) and total blocks (227), fourth in total steals (303) and seventh in steals/game (8.7). Buffalo also was sixth in the nation in scoring offense (84.6 ppg).
• Individually, Kent State’s Jalen Avery led the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.04 to 1). Eastern Michigan’s James Thompson IV was second in field goal percentage (67.2%), third in offensive rebounds/game (4.11) and eighth in rebounds/game (11.2), and Miami (Ohio) junior point guard Darrian Ringo was fourth nationally in total steals (91), seventh in assists/game (6.9) and steals/game (2.68) and ninth in total assists (236).

What we expected, and it happened: Buffalo was a contender, to the surprise of very few, though few also saw the dominance the Bulls would deliver. On the other end, Akron also slipped after the departure of longtime winner Keith Dambrot, as a massively inexperienced roster struggled from Christmas on and placed last in the MAC East.

What we expected, and it didn’t happen: We thought Ball State was a team possibly ready for a breakthrough, but the Cardinals were a mid-pack team in the conference and finished the year with four straight losses. It was a year mixed with triumphs and tumult; Ball State was good enough to knock off Notre Dame and had three buzzer beaters from Tayler Persons, but there also were some lopsided losses as Ball State lacked consistent support around Persons.

What we didn’t expect, and it happened: Toledo has been regularly solid under Tod Kowalczyk, but the Rockets were even better than that, with another potent offensive team joining Buffalo in rising above the rest of the MAC pack and winning the West Division. Also, Miami (Ohio) was a pleasant surprise, with first-year coach Jack Owens making the Redhawks competitive on short notice with a very young team.

Teams on the rise: Buffalo, Miami (Ohio). The Bulls already have risen to status as the MAC’s premier program, and have the look of being on the verge of even bigger things. My how quickly things have changed at Miami, which is now loaded with young talent and is poised to be a tough out for some time.

Team on the decline: Ohio. The Bobcats already were facing a challenge last year replacing stars Antonio Campbell and Jaaron Simmons. Then had up-and-coming center Jason Carter’s sophomore season was limited to three games due to injury, and the result was a 14-17 record for a program that had won at least 20 games in five of the previous six years.

2018-19 MAC Outlook
There’s little doubt that entering next season, Buffalo is the MAC’s heavyweight. The Bulls will return scoring, athleticism and perimeter defense galore, and after getting the job done in March three of the last four years, they’re certainly the team the rest of the conference is chasing.

Buffalo’s road to another MAC title will not be a cakewalk, though. For one thing, it will certainly miss Wes Clark, who ran the point and could get into the paint seemingly at will. Also, Toledo is poised to make another run at the Bulls, and while the loss of do-it-all MAC Player of the Year Tre’Shaun Fletcher undoubtedly hurts, the Rockets still have three other double-figure scorers returning, and that doesn’t include point guard Marreon Jackson and forward Willie Jackson, who both could certainly get there this year.

Beyond those two, Ball State also is loading up for a serious run at the title, with Tayler Persons back for one more year and leading an experienced team that adds what should be some impact transfers. Surprisingly in a sport where the three-pointer only takes more precedence every season, the Cardinals shot a whole lot less triples a year ago and were less effective when taking them, so whether last year was a blip or the start of a trend will be worth watching. Eastern Michigan also is very capable-the Eagles were playing very well at the end of last season with Paul Jackson and Elijah Minnie providing some sorely needed scoring punch, and EMU also has one more year of James Thompson in the middle of its sticky 2-3 zone.

Miami (Ohio) should only get better, while history says it stands to reason that at least one or two from the trio of Akron, Kent State and Ohio will be better than the mediocre (or worse) seasons all three had this past year. All three teams feature veteran stars-Daniel Utomi (Akron), Jaylin Walker (Kent State) and Jordan Dartis (Ohio)-who could make a big difference in a league where experience is frequently rewarded handsomely.

If they don’t, then it is quite possible that the balance of power in the MAC will shift from its customary place in the East Division to the West. Even if the West is deeper, though, the road to the title still runs now through a certain team in the East.

Twitter: @HoopvilleAdam