MAC Bandwagon Podcast, ep. 87: The Episode About the 2022 MAC Basketball Tournament!

If you’re a college hoops fan, these next two weeks are the best weeks of the year. It’s March Madness folks! The regular season has concluded, and the MAC men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are set to tip off. We’re excited to preview both tournaments for you on this weeks pod!

To lead off the show, the boys discuss Clayton Bates’ resignation at Western Michigan. Bates was elevated to head coach after parting ways with Steve Hawkins and compiled an 11-39 record in his two seasons at the helm. This will be the first significant hire for new AD Dan Bartholomae. Vannzee gives some thoughts on potential candidates.

In the men’s preview, Zach and Zack analyze the main storylines heading into the tournament. What’s wrong with Ohio? The Bobcats have lost four of five heading to Cleveland, and do not look like the same team that started MAC play 10-1. Elsewhere, Akron and Buffalo give us the best match up of the first round, and the winner of this four/five game will have a legitimate shot to cut down the nets. The boys round out the men’s preview by picking every game. Next week, we’ll see who comes out on top!

In the women’s preview, Zach and Zack both agree that Toledo is the team to beat. The Rockets were picked eighth in the pre-season coaches poll but turned in a historic season, finishing 19-1 in MAC play. Toledo is securely in the one seed and will take on Ohio on Wednesday. Speaking of Ohio, the Bobcats ended up in the eight seed despite losing to Kent State on Saturday. The Flashes finished the season 10-10, and the Bobcats 9-10, yet Ohio ended up claiming eighth place due to the MAC’s no contest COVID cancellation policy. Our hosts close out the show by picking the bracket on the women’s side, and we’ll see next week who was more accurate!

As always, thanks for stopping by this week folks. Enjoy the conference tournaments, and we’ll see you back here next week!