2024 MAC women's basketball tournament

The 2024 MAC women's basketball tournament was the postseason basketball tournament for the 2023–24 college basketball season in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The entire tournament was held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, in Cleveland, Ohio on March 13 and 15-16, 2024.[1] Kent State defeated Northern Illinois, Ball State, and Buffalo to win their fourth MAC tournament title and first since 2002, and advance to the 2024 NCAA tournament. Katie Shumate was the tournament MVP.[2]

2024 MAC women's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2023–24
Teams8
SiteRocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Cleveland, Ohio
ChampionsKent State (4th title)
Winning coachTodd Starkey (1st title)
MVPKatie Shmuate (Kent State)
TelevisionCBSSN, ESPN+
MAC women's basketball tournaments
← 2023
2025 →
2023–24 Mid-American Conference women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Toledo 17 1   .944 28 6   .824
Ball State 16 2   .889 28 6   .824
Kent State 13 5   .722 21 12   .636
Buffalo 10 8   .556 19 14   .576
Bowling Green 10 8   .556 16 15   .516
Northern Illinois 8 10   .444 15 16   .484
Ohio 8 10   .444 11 19   .367
Western Michigan 7 11   .389 12 18   .400
Miami (OH) 6 12   .333 9 20   .310
Akron 6 12   .333 11 18   .379
Central Michigan 4 14   .222 6 22   .214
Eastern Michigan 3 15   .167 7 22   .241
2024 MAC tournament winner

Format

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As with the 2021, 2022, and 2023 tournaments, only the top eight teams qualify. The winner of the tournament will receive the MAC's automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA tournament.[3]

Venue

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The 2024 MAC tournament was held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for the 24th consecutive season. The venue is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA,[4] has a capacity for basketball of 19,432, and is located in downtown Cleveland at One Center Court.[5]

Seeds

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Eight out of the 12 MAC teams qualified for the tournament. Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.[6]

Seed School Conference
record
Tiebreaker
1 Toledo 17–1
2 Ball State 16–2
3 Kent State 13–5
4 Buffalo 10–8 2–0 vs. Bowling Green
5 Bowling Grenn 10–8 0–2 vs. Buffalo
6 Northern Illinois 8–10 1–0 vs. Ohio
7 Ohio 8–10 0–1 vs. Northern Illinois
8 Western Michigan 7–11
DNQ Miami 6–12 1–0 vs. Akron
DNQ Akron 6–12 0–1 vs. Miami
DNQ Central Michigan 4–14
DNQ Eastern Michigan 3–15

Schedule

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Session Game Time* Matchup Score Attendance Television
Quarterfinals – Wednesday, March 13 – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
1 1 11:00 am No. 1 Toledo vs. No. 8 Western Michigan 72–61 1,426 ESPN+
2 30 mins after Game 1 No. 4 Buffalo vs. No. 5 Bowling Green 70–64
3 30 mins after Game 2 No. 2 Ball State vs. No. 7 Ohio 77–53
4 30 mins after Game 3 No. 3 Kent State vs. No. 6 Northern Illinois 63–60
Semifinals – Friday, March 15 – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
2 5 10:00 am No. 1 Toledo vs. No. 4 Buffalo 74–77OT ESPN+
6 30 mins after Game 5 No. 2 Ball State vs. No. 3 Kent State 50–65
Championship – Saturday, March 16 – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
3 7 11:00 am No. 4 Buffalo vs. No. 3 Kent State 60–78 2,292 CBSSN
*Game times in ET. ()-Rankings denote tournament seeding.

Source[7]

Bracket

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Quarterfinals
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Semifinals
Friday, March 15, 2024
Championship
Saturday, March 16, 2024
         
1 Toledo 72
8 Western Michigan 61
1 Toledo 74
4 Buffalo 77*
4 Buffalo 70
5 Bowling Green 64
4 Buffalo 60
3 Kent State 78
2 Ball State 77
7 Ohio 53
2 Ball State 50
3 Kent State 65
3 Kent State 63
6 Northern Illinois 60

All-Tournament team

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Tournament MVP – Katie Shumate

Player Team
Quinesha Lockett Toledo
Chellia Watson Buffalo
Rana Elhusseini Buffalo
Bridget Dunn Kent State
Katie Shumate Kent State

Source[8]

See also

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2024 MAC men's basketball tournament

References

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  1. ^ "MAC Tournament staying in downtown Cleveland through 2030". Cleveland 19 News. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  2. ^ Mascitti, Carly. "'It still feels unreal': Kent State prepares for first NCAA tournament appearance in decades". News 5 Cleveland. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  3. ^ "MAC eliminating and scaling back postseason tournaments". ABC News. May 12, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  4. ^ "About". Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  5. ^ "A-Z Guide". Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  6. ^ "Tie-Breaker Procedures". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  7. ^ "2024 MAC Women's Basketball Championship". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  8. ^ "Kent State Crowned 2024 MAC Women's Basketball Tournament Champions". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
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