The Mid-American Conference Tournament’s opening round begins today. The MAC is an interesting conference, in which it’s the only one to feature divisions (East, West). However, seeding is based on winning percentage and not on positioning within your division. So in other words, the divisions are entirely meaningless. Anyways, the The Mid-American Conference Tournament schedule are as follows…

Opening Round: March 7 (ESPN3)
Game 1: No. 9 Toledo Rockets at No. 8 Eastern Michigan Eagles
Game 2: No. 12 Bowling Green Falcons at No. 5 Kent State Golden Flashes
Game 3: No. 10 Western Michigan Broncos at No. 7 Northern Illinois Huskies
Game 4: No. 11 Miami (Ohio) RedHawks at No. 6 Ball State Cardinals

Quarterfinals: March 10 (TWCS/BCSN/ESPN3)
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. No. 1 Akron Zips
Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. No. 4 Central Michigan Chippewas
Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. No. 2 Ohio Bobcats
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. No. 3 Buffalo Bulls

Semifinals: March 11 (TWCS/BCSN/ESPN3)
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8

Championship: March 12 (ESPN2)
Game 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10

Prediction: While the Akron Zips are the safe pick here, I’m going to reach and predict that the Central Michigan Chippewas will represent the MAC. I just can’t phantom how this same exact team had 23-9 record last year, only to follow that up with a 17-14 record this year. However, I’m making this prediction on behalf of the talent they have and that I believe their real potential will come out in this tournament. It’s not going to be easy either, as they most likely have to play the Kent St. Golden Flashes and Akron Zips before reaching the finals. But, if the Chippewas can get their three pointers going (averaging 9.8 per game), get to the free line (.726%) and tap into what made them successful last year, they have great shot at winning the MAC Tournament.