2018–19 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season
The 2018–19 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in January 2019 and concluded in March 2019. The season marked the 76th season of Mid–American Conference basketball.
| 2018–19 Mid–American Conference men's basketball season | |
|---|---|
|  | |
| League | NCAA Division I | 
| Sport | Basketball | 
| Duration | November 2018 through March 2019 | 
| Number of teams | 12 | 
| TV partner(s) | ESPN+, ESPN, ESPN3, CBSSN | 
| Regular Season | |
| Champion | Buffalo | 
| Season MVP | C. J. Massinburg, Buffalo | 
| Tournament | |
| Champions | Buffalo | 
| Runners-up | Bowling Green | 
| Finals MVP | Jeremy Harris | 
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 Buffalo † | 16 | – | 2 | .889 | 32 | – | 4 | .889 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling Green | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 22 | – | 12 | .647 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kent State | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 22 | – | 11 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Akron | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 17 | – | 16 | .515 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miami (OH) | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 15 | – | 17 | .469 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 14 | – | 17 | .452 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Toledo | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 25 | – | 8 | .758 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Michigan | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 23 | – | 12 | .657 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Michigan | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 15 | – | 17 | .469 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Illinois | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 17 | – | 17 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ball State | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 16 | – | 17 | .485 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Michigan | 2 | – | 16 | .111 | 8 | – | 24 | .250 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2019 MAC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preseason
    
In the preseason, Buffalo, which returned five of its six leading scorers from a team that defeated Arizona Wildcats men's basketball in the NCAA tournament, was discussed as a team that could potentially make a "Cinderalla run" in the NCAA Tournament.[1][2]
The preseason poll and league awards were announced by the league office on October 30, 2019.[3]
Preseason men's basketball poll
    
(First place votes in parentheses)
East Division
    
- Buffalo 210 (35)
- Miami 127
- Kent State 122
- Ohio 121
- Akron 97
- Bowling Green 58
West Division
    
- Eastern Michigan 183 (17)
- Ball State 175 (11)
- Toledo 156 (5)
- Western Michigan 81 (1)
- Northern Illinois 73
- Central Michigan 67 (1)
Tournament Champs
    
Buffalo (25), Eastern Michigan (3), Toledo (3), Central Michigan (1), Miami (1), Northern Illinois (1), Western Michigan (1)
Honors
    
| Honor | Recipient | 
|---|---|
| Preseason All-MAC East | Demajeo Wiggins, Sr., Forward, Bowling Green | 
| C.J. Massinburg, Sr., Guard, Buffalo | |
| Jeremy Harris, Sr., Guard, Buffalo | |
| Nick Perkins, Sr., Forward, Buffalo | |
| Jaylin Walker, Sr., Guard, Kent State | |
| Preseason All-MAC West | Tayler Persons, Sr., Guard, Ball State | 
| James Thompson IV, Sr., Forward/Center, Eastern Michigan | |
| Elijah Minnie, Sr., Forward, Eastern Michigan | |
| Eugene German, Jr., Guard, Northern Illinois | |
| Jaelan Sanford, Sr., Guard, Toledo | |
Regular season
    
    Conference matrix
    
This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
| Akron | Ball St | BGSU | Buffalo | CMU | EMU | Kent St | Miami | N. Illinois | Ohio | Toledo | WMU | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs. Akron | – | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | –1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 
| vs. Ball St. | 0–1 | – | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 
| vs. BGSU | 1–1 | 0–1 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0– | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 
| vs. Buffalo | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | – | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 
| vs. CMU | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | – | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 
| vs. EMU | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 
| vs. Kent St. | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 
| vs. Miami | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | – | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 
| vs. N. Illinois | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | – | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 
| vs. Ohio | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 1–0 | 0–1 | 
| vs. Toledo | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | – | 0–2 | 
| vs. WMU | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | – | 
| Total | 8–10 | 6–12 | 12–6 | 16–2 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 13–5 | 2–16 | 
Points scored
    
    
Postseason
    
    Mid–American Tournament
    
NCAA Tournament
    
National Invitation Tournament
    
Awards and honors
    
    Honors
    
| Honor | Recipient | 
|---|---|
| All-MAC First Team | Justin Turner, G, Bowling Green, R-So. | 
| C.J. Massinburg, G, Buffalo, Sr. | |
| Nick Perkins, F, Buffalo, Sr. | |
| Jaylin Walker, G, Kent State, Sr. | |
| Jaelan Sanford, G, Toledo, Sr. | |
| All-MAC Second Team | Demajeo Wiggins, F, Bowling Green, Sr. | 
| Jeremy Harris, G, Buffalo, Sr. | |
| Larry Austin Jr., G, Central Michigan, Sr. | |
| James Thompson IV, F/C, Eastern Michigan, Sr. | |
| Eugene German, G, Northern Illinois, Jr. | |
| All-MAC Third Team | Tayler Persons, G, Ball State, R-Sr. | 
| Shawn Roundtree Jr., G, Central Michigan, Sr. | |
| Nike Sibande, G, Miami, So. | |
| Jason Carter, F, Ohio, R-So. | |
| Seth Dugan, C, Western Michigan, Sr. | |
| All-MAC Honorable Mention | Daniel Utomi, F, Akron, Jr. | 
| Paul Jackson, G, Eastern Michigan, R-Sr. | |
| Elijah Minnie F, Eastern Michigan, R-Sr. | |
| Nate Navigato, F, Toledo, Sr. | |
| Marreon Jackson, G, Toledo, So. | |
| All-MAC Freshman Team | Anthony Roberts, G, Kent State, Fr. | 
| Mekhi Lairy, G, Miami, Fr. | |
| Ben Vander Plas, F, Ohio, Fr. | |
| Jason Preston, G, Ohio, Fr. | |
| AJ Edu, F, Toledo, Fr. | |
| All-MAC Defensive Team | Dontay Caruthers, G, Buffalo, Sr. | 
| Davonta Jordan, G, Buffalo, Jr. | |
| Larry Austin Jr., G, Central Michigan, Sr. | |
| James Thompson IV, F/C, Eastern Michigan, Sr. | |
| Darrian Ringo, G, Miami, Sr. | |
References
    
- Boone, Kyle (October 19, 2018). "College basketball preview: 11 potential Cinderella squads who could surprise in 2019 NCAA Tournament". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- Johnson, Raphielle (October 19, 2018). "Nine mid-majors that can be the next Loyola-Chicago". NBC Sports. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- "2018-19 MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL & ALL-MAC TEAMS RELEASED". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- "MAC ANNOUNCES MEN'S ALL-MAC, ALL-FRESHMAN & ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAMS". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved May 21, 2022.