MAC Conference Tournament Preview & Betting Guide: Toledo & Kent State on Collision Course for Championship

If you like points, the MAC Tournament just might be for you. The conference is home to some of the best offenses the mid-major level offers, along with some porous defenses that struggle to get stops. To prepare you for the MACtion, we will discuss the favorite, another contender, and the best bet we think could go dancing on the league’s behalf.MAC Tournament Dates & Sites

• Dates: March 9-11
• Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse | Cleveland, OH
• Championship Game: Saturday, March 11th, 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2

• Toledo: +160 | Kent State: +185
• Akron: +380 | Ohio: +850
• Ball State: +1500 | Buffalo: +3000
• Northern Illinois: +10000 | Miami (OH): +13000

UConn, Purdue, and Kansas. What do these national championship contenders all have in common? They all have lower-ranked offenses based on efficiency on KenPom! That’s right, the Rockets have the 8th-ranked offense in the entire nation.

Two facets make this team so lethal on offense: their unrivaled sharpshooting and low turnover rate. Both emphases are staples of head coach Tod Kowalczyk’s coaching style since arriving at Toldeo in 2011. They rank second in the nation in three-point percentage, seventh in turnover rate, and 17th in free-throw percentage.

RayJ Dennis is the straw that stirs the drink for Toledo. The junior guard has poured in 19.5 points and dished 5.9 assists per game as the MAC Player of the Year so far in 2022-23. Setric Milner, JT Shumate, and Dante Maddox are all starters on the team that rank in the top 85 nationally in three-point shooting.

Dennis can command the floor and find plenty of open space with the ball in his hands when his teammates are out on the perimeter awaiting a pocket pass for a triple. And if any defenders sag off, he knows he can find an open shooter to convert from downtown.

Fifth-year senior Sincere Carry has done everything a player would want in their collegiate career at a mid-major. The 6’1″ guard has won MAC Player of the Year, made the First-Team All-MAC, and even a spot on the conference’s Defensive Team. The only thing that has alluded to the mid-major star in his five-year career has been a trip to the NCAA Tournament to show off his capability.

If we get that, Carry will be a household name by the conclusion of the first weekend. He can explode in games when he’s feeling it or get his teammates involved when he’s struggling to get to the bucket. They are home to the highest-ranked defense in the conference, and the Golden Flashes may be the only team in the league that can contain Toledo in a hypothetical championship game.

It’s a significant reason they sit just 25 cents behind the Rockets in the pricing on the FanDuel Sportsbook.

This offense is terrifying. Surrounding a player of Dennis’s caliber with so many lethal shooters on such an experienced team has kept coaches up at night throughout the season. Toledo also enters the MAC Tournament on a 15-game winning streak, the second-longest in the nation. Getting a plus-money price on the Rockets feels like value, so back them to find their way to the NCAA Tournament.

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