2023–24 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season

Sports season

2023–24 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season

League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Basketball
Number of teams	12
Regular season
League champions	Toledo
Runners-up	Akron
Season MVP	Enrique Freeman
Tournament
Champions	Akron
Runners-up	Kent State
Finals MVP	Enrique Freeman
Mid-American men's basketball seasons
← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Toledo	14	–	4	.778	20	–	12	.625
Akron †	13	–	5	.722	24	–	11	.686
Ohio	13	–	5	.722	20	–	13	.606
Central Michigan	12	–	6	.667	18	–	14	.563
Bowling Green	10	–	8	.556	20	–	14	.588
Western Michigan	9	–	9	.500	12	–	20	.375
Miami (OH)	9	–	9	.500	15	–	17	.469
Kent State	8	–	10	.444	17	–	17	.500
Ball State	7	–	11	.389	15	–	16	.484
Eastern Michigan	6	–	12	.333	13	–	18	.419
Northern Illinois	5	–	13	.278	11	–	20	.355
Buffalo	2	–	16	.111	4	–	27	.129

† 2024 MAC tournament winner

The 2023–24 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season was the season for Mid-American Conference men's basketball teams. It began with practices in October 2023, followed by the start of the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in January 2024 and concluded in March 2024. The 2024 MAC tournament was held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio for the 25th consecutive season.

Toledo won their fourth straight regular season championship with a 14–4 record in MAC play. Akron defeated Miami and Ohio in the MAC tournament and then Kent State in the final Enrique Freeman was the MVP.

Head coaches

Coaching changes

Bowling Green

on March 5, 2023, Bowling Green fired head coach Michael Huger after three consecutive seasons posting win totals under 15 and with a 126–125 over eight seasons. On March 18, 2023, Bowling Green hired Todd Simon, who had previously been the head coach at Southern Utah.

Buffalo

On March 11, 2023, Buffalo fired Jim Whitesell after four seasons with a 70–49 record at the school. Buffalo hired Villanova associate head coach George Halcovage on March 30, 2023.

Coaches

Team	Head coach	Previous job	Years at school	Overall record	School record	MAC record	MAC titles	MAC Tournament titles	NCAA tournaments
Akron	John Groce	Illinois	7	296–201 (.596)	116–70 (.624)	67–43 (.609)	1	1	1
Ball State	Michael Lewis	UCLA (Asst.)	2	20–12 (.625)	20–12 (.625)	11–7 (.611)	0	0	0
Bowling Green	Todd Simon	Southern Utah	1	127–114 (.527)	0–0 (–)	0–0 (–)	0	0	0
Buffalo	George Halcovage	Villanova (Assoc. HC)	1	0–0 (–)	0–0 (–)	0–0 (–)	0	0	0
Central Michigan	Tony Barbee	Kentucky (Asst.)	3	148–171 (.464)	17–44 (.279)	11–25 (.306)	0	0	0
Eastern Michigan	Stan Heath	Lakeland Magic	3	227–251 (.475)	18–44 (.290)	10–28 (.263)	0	0	0
Kent State	Rob Senderoff	Kent State (Asst.)	13	247–147 (.627)	247–147 (.627)	130–84 (.607)	1	2	2
Miami	Travis Steele	Xavier	2	82–70 (.539)	12–20 (.375)	6–12 (.333)	0	0	0
Northern Illinois	Rashon Burno	Arizona State (Asst.)	3	22–40 (.355)	22–40 (.355)	15–23 (.395)	0	0	0
Ohio	Jeff Boals	Stony Brook	5	133–89 (.599)	78–47 (.624)	41–29 (.586)	0	1	1
Toledo	Tod Kowalczyk	Green Bay	14	394–281 (.584)	258–169 (.604)	142–89 (.615)	4	0	0
Western Michigan	Dwayne Stephens	Michigan State (Assoc. HC)	2	8–23 (.258)	8–23 (.258)	4–14 (.222)	0	0	0

Notes:

Appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
Years at school includes 2023–24 season.
MAC records are from time at current school only.
All records are through the beginning of the season.

Source -

Preseason

The preseason coaches' poll and league awards were announced by the league office on November 1, 2023. Akron was named the MAC favorite over 2023 MAC tournament champion Kent State and Ohio.

Preseason men's basketball coaches poll

Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
Place	Team	Points	First place votes
1.	Akron	121	11
2.	Kent State	104	--
3.	Ohio	102	1
4.	Toledo	93	--
5.	Northern Illinois	82	--
T6.	Bowling Green	64	--
T6.	Miami	64	--
8.	Ball State	55	--
9.	Buffalo	38	--
10.	Western Michigan	33	--
11.	Eastern Michigan	22	--
12.	Central Michigan	14	--

MAC Tournament Champions: Akron (9), Kent State (1), Ohio (1), Toledo (1)

Source

MAC Preseason All-Conference

Honor	Recipient
Preseason All-MAC First Team	Ali Ali, Guard, Akron, Sr.
	Enrique Freeman, Forward, Akron, Sr.
	Chris Payton, Forward, Kent State, Grad.
	Jaylin Hunter, Guard, Ohio, Sr.
	Dante Maddox Jr., Guard, Toledo, Jr.
Preseason All-MAC Second Team	Tyson Acuff, Guard, Eastern Michigan, Jr.
	Jalen Sullinger, Guard, Kent State, Jr.
	Anderson Mirambeaux, Center, Miami, Sr.
	David Coit, Guard, Northern Illinois, Jr.
	AJ Brown, Guard, Ohio, So.

Regular season

Rankings

Main article: 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

		Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17	Wk 18	Wk 19	Final
Akron	AP
Akron	C
Ball State	AP
Ball State	C
Bowling Green	AP
Bowling Green	C
Buffalo	AP
Buffalo	C
Central Michigan	AP
Central Michigan	C
Eastern Michigan	AP
Eastern Michigan	C
Kent State	AP
Kent State	C
Miami	AP
Miami	C
Northern Illinois	AP
Northern Illinois	C
Ohio	AP
Ohio	C
Toledo	AP
Toledo	C
Western Michigan	AP
Western Michigan	C

**Legend**
		Improvement in ranking
		Drop in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
		No change in ranking from previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
т		Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

Source - AP:

Coaches:

Conference matrix

	Akron	Ball State	Bowling Green	Buffalo	Central Michigan	Eastern Michigan	Kent State	Miami (OH)	Northern Illinois	Ohio	Toledo	Western Michigan
vs. Akron	—	0–1	0–1	0–2	0–1	1–1	0–2	1–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1
vs. Ball State	1–0	—	2–0	0–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–0	1–0	1–1
vs. Bowling Green	1–0	0–2	—	0–1	2–0	1–1	1–0	1–1	0–1	1–1	1–1	0–2
vs. Buffalo	2–0	1–0	1–0	—	0–1	1–1	2–0	1–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0
vs. Central Michigan	1–0	1–1	0–2	1–0	—	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–0	0–1	0–2
vs. Eastern Michigan	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	—	0–1	2–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–1
vs. Kent State	2–0	1–1	0–1	0–2	1–1	1–0	—	1–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–1
vs. Miami (OH)	0–1	0–2	1–1	0–1	1–1	0–2	0–1	—	1–0	2–0	2–0	2–0
vs. Northern Illinois	2–0	2–0	1–0	0–2	2–0	0–1	2–0	0–1	—	2–0	1–1	1–0
vs. Ohio	1–1	0–1	1–1	0–2	0–1	0–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	—	2–0	1–0
vs. Toledo	1–1	0–1	1–1	0–2	1–0	0–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	—	0–1
vs. Western Michigan	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–0	0–2	0–1	0–1	1–0	—
Total	13–5	7–11	10–8	2–16	12–6	6–12	8–10	9–9	5–13	13–5	14–4	9–9

All-MAC awards

Mid-American men's basketball weekly awards

Week	Player(s) of the Week	School
Nov 13	Enrique Freeman	Akron
Nov 20	Enrique Freeman (2)	Akron
Nov 27	Marcus Hill	Bowling Green
Dec 4	Basheer Jihad Elmore James	Ball State Ohio
Dec 11	Enrique Freeman (3) Basheer Jihad (2)	Akron Ball State
Dec 18	Tyler Cochran	Toledo
Dec 25	Enrique Freeman (4) Brian Taylor	Akron Central Michigan
Jan 1	Seth Hubbard	Western Michigan
Jan 8	Enrique Freeman (5)	Akron
Jan 15	Enrique Freeman (6) Rashaun Agee	Akron Bowling Green
Jan 22	Enrique Freeman (7) Marcus Hill (2)	Akron Bowling Green
Jan 29	Basheer Jihad (3) Anthony Pritchard	Ball State Central Michigan
Feb 5	Enrique Freeman (8)	Akron
Feb 12	Jaylin Hunter Marcus Hill (3)	Ohio Bowling Green
Feb 19	Tyson Acuff	Eastern Michigan
Feb 26	Marcus Hill (4)	Bowling Green
Mar 4	David Coit	Northern Illinois
Mar 11	Shareef Mitchell	Ohio

Postseason

Mid–American Tournament

Main article: 2024 MAC men's basketball tournament

Akron defeated Miami and Ohio in the MAC tournament and then Kent State in the final Enrique Freeman was the MVP.

NCAA tournament

Main article: 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

Akron was defeated by Creighton in the opening round.

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 2024 National Invitation Tournament

No MAC teams played in the NIT.

Postseason awards

Enrique Freeman of Akron was the unanimous selection for player of the year. Central Michigan's Tony Barbee was named coach of the year

Coach of the Year: Tony Barbee, Central Michigan
Player of the Year: Enrique Freeman, Senior, Forward, Akron
Freshman of the Year: Javan Simmons, Forward, Toledo
Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Pritchard, Junior, Guard, Central Michigan
Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Tyler Cochran, Junior, Guard, Toledo
Sixth Man of the Year: JaVaughn Hannah, Sophomore, Guard, Western Michigan

Honors

Honor	Recipient
Postseason All-MAC First Team	Ali Ali, Senior, Guard, Akron
	Enrique Freeman, Senior, Forward, Akron
	Marcus Hill, Junior, Guard, Bowling Green
	Anthony Pritchard, Junior, Guard, Central Michigan
	Ra’Heim Moss, Junior, Guard, Toledo
Postseason All-MAC Second Team	Basheer Jihad, Junior, Forward, Ball State
	Rashaun Agee, Senior, Forward, Bowling Green
	Jaylin Hunter, Senior, Guard, Ohio
	Dante Maddox Jr., Junior, Guard, Toledo
	Tyler Cochran, Junior, Guard, Toledo
Postseason All-MAC Third Team	Brian Taylor, Graduate Student, Guard, Central Michigan
	Tyson Acuff, Junior, Guard, Eastern Michigan
	Jalen Sullinger, Junior, Guard, Kent State
	David Coit, Junior, Guard, Northern Illinois
	AJ Clayton, Junior, Forward, Ohio
Postseason All-MAC Honorable Mention	Greg Tribble, Senior, Guard, Akron
	VonCameron Davis, R-Junior, Forward, Kent State
	Anderson Mirambeaux, Senior, Center, Miami
	Darweshi Hunter, Graduate Student, Guard, Miami
	B. Artis White, R-Junior, Guard, Western Michigan
All-MAC Freshman Team	Arne Osojnik, Guard, Eastern Michigan
	Eian Elmer, Wing, Miami
	Will Lovings-Watts, Guard, Northern Illinois
	Javan Simmons, Forward, Toledo
	Sonny Wilson, Guard, Toledo
All-MAC Defensive Team	Enrique Freeman, Senior, Forward, Akron
	Greg Tribble, Senior, Guard, Akron
	Anthony Pritchard, Junior, Guard, Central Michigan
	Tyler Cochran, Junior, Guard, Toledo
	Ra’Heim Moss, Junior, Guard, Toledo

References

Zarrella, Tony (March 12, 2021). "MAC Tournament staying in downtown Cleveland through 2030". Cleveland 19 News. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
"MAC basketball tournament bracket set; Miami RedHawks face Akron in first round". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
"Akron 75, Miami 63". ESPN. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
"Akron 65, Ohio 62". ESPN. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
"Akron vs. Kent State". ESPN. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
Lambdin, Nia (March 5, 2023). "BGSU fires men's basketball head coach Michael Huger". ABC 13. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
Couch, Graham (March 18, 2023). "Fowler's Todd Simon comes back close to home, takes over Bowling Green men's basketball program". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
"Buffalo fires men's basketball coach Jim Whitesell after 4 seasons". ESPN. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
Jonah Bronstein (March 30, 2023). "UB hires basketball coach George Halcovage from Villanova". WVIB. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
"John Groce". Sports Reference.
"Michael Lewis". Sports Reference.
"Todd Simon". Sports Reference.
"George Halcovage". Sports Reference.
"Tony Barbee". Sports Reference.
"Stan Heath". Sports Reference.
"Rob Senderoff". Sports Reference.
"Travis Steele". Sports Reference.
"Rashon Burno". Sports Reference.
"Jeff Boals". Sports Reference.
"Tod Kowalczyk". Sports Reference.
"Dwayne Stephens". Sports Reference.
^ "MAC Announces 2023-24 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll & Teams" getsomemaction.com. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
"AP TOP 25 POLL, Preseason".
"AP TOP 25 POLL, Week 1".
"Preseason top 25".
"Men's Basketball Players of the Week".
"Zips' Freeman Named MAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week".
"Akron's Freeman Garners Player of the Week Honors".
"Falcons' Hill Tabbed Men's Basketball Player of the Week".
"Ball State's Jihad, Ohio's James Share Player of the Week Honors". getsomemaction.com. December 4, 2023.
"Freeman, Jihad Share Men's Basketball Weekly Honors".
"Toledo's Cochran Garners Men's Basketball Player of the Week Honors".
"Zips' Freeman, Chippewas' Taylor Tabbed Co-Players of the Week".
"Broncos' Hubbard Garners Player of the Week Honors".
"Akron's Freeman Earns Player of the Week Honors".
"Agee, Freeman Share Player of the Week Honors".
"Freeman, Hill Garner Co-Player of the Week Honors".
"Jihad, Pritchard Garner Player of the Week Honors".
"Zips' Freeman Tabbed Player of the Week".
"Hill, Hunter Garner Co-Player of the Week Accolades".
"Eagles' Acuff Garners Player of the Week Honors".
"Falcons' Hill Collects Player of the Week Honors".
"Huskies' Coit Garners Player of the Week Accolades".
"Ohio's Mitchell Garners Final Player of the Week Honors".
"MAC basketball tournament bracket set; Miami RedHawks face Akron in first round". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
"Akron 75, Miami 63". ESPN. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
"Akron 65, Ohio 62". ESPN. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
"Akron vs. Kent State". ESPN. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
"Akron vs. Creighton". ESPN. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
"MAC Announces 2023-24 MAC Men's Basketball All-MAC Teams, Specialty Award Winners".

v t e Mid-American Conference men's basketball
Teams	Akron Zips Ball State Cardinals Bowling Green Falcons Buffalo Bulls Central Michigan Chippewas Eastern Michigan Eagles Kent State Golden Flashes Miami RedHawks Northern Illinois Huskies Ohio Bobcats Toledo Rockets Western Michigan Broncos
Future teams	UMass Minutemen (joining in 2025)
Championships & awards	MAC tournament Regular season champions Player of the Year
Seasons	1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

v t e 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball conference season
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Category:

2023–24 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season

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