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 NCAA Final Fours NCAA ChampionshipsAkron John Groce Illinois7 1 1 1 0 0Ball State Michael Lewis 2 0 0 0 0 0Bowling Green Todd Simon Southern Utah1 0 0 0 0 0Buffalo George Halcovage Villanova (Assoc. HC)1 0 0 0 0 0Central Michigan Tony Barbee Kentucky (Asst.)3 0 0 0 0 0Eastern Michigan Stan Heath Lakeland Magic3 0 0 0 0 0Kent State Rob Senderoff Kent State (Asst.)13 1 2 2 0 0Miami Travis Steele Xavier2 0 0 0 0 0Northern Illinois Rashon Burno Arizona State (Asst.) 3 0 0 0 0 0Ohio Jeff Boals Stony Brook 5 0 1 1 0 0Toledo Tod Kowalczyk Green Bay 14 4 0 0 0 0Western Michigan Dwayne Stephens 2 0 0 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."MAC Announces 2023-24 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll & Teams" getsomemaction.com. Retrieved 2023-11-01. 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 TeamAli 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 TeamTyson 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

  Pre Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 Wk17 Wk18 Wk19 Final Akron AP C Ball State AP C Bowling Green AP C Buffalo AP C Central Michigan AP C Eastern Michigan AP C Kent State AP C Miami AP C Northern Illinois AP C Ohio AP C Toledo AP C Western Michigan AP 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  AkronBall StateBowling GreenBuffaloCentral MichiganEastern MichiganKent StateMiami (OH)Northern IllinoisOhioToledo Western Michiganvs. Akron — 0–1 0–1 0–2 0–1 1–1 0–2 1–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1vs. Ball State 1–0 — 2–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 1–0 1–0 1–1vs. Bowling Green 1–0 0–2 — 0–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–1 0–2vs. Buffalo 2–0 1–0 1–0 — 0–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0vs. Central Michigan 1–0 1–1 0–2 1–0 — 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–0 0–1 0–2vs. Eastern Michigan 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 — 0–1 2–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–1vs. Kent State 2–0 1–1 0–1 0–2 1–1 1–0 — 1–0 0–2 2–0 2–0 0–1vs. Miami (OH) 0–1 0–2 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–2 0–1 — 1–0 2–0 2–0 2–0vs. Northern Illinois 2–0 2–0 1–0 0–2 2–0 0–1 2–0 0–1 — 2–0 1–1 1–0vs. Ohio 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–2 0–2 0–2 — 2–0 1–0vs. Toledo 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–2 1–0 0–1 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 — 0–1vs. 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

WeekPlayer(s) of the WeekSchoolNov 13Enrique FreemanAkronNov 20Enrique Freeman (2)AkronNov 27Marcus HillBowling GreenDec 4Basheer JihadElmore JamesBall StateOhioDec 11Enrique Freeman (3)Basheer Jihad (2)AkronBall StateDec 18Tyler CochranToledoDec 25Enrique Freeman (4)Brian TaylorAkronCentral MichiganJan 1Seth HubbardWestern MichiganJan 8Enrique Freeman (5)AkronJan 15Enrique Freeman (6)Rashaun AgeeAkronBowling GreenJan 22Enrique Freeman (7)Marcus Hill (2)AkronBowling GreenJan 29Basheer Jihad (3)Anthony PritchardBall StateCentral MichiganFeb 5Enrique Freeman (8)AkronFeb 12Jaylin HunterMarcus Hill (3)OhioBowling GreenFeb 19Tyson AcuffEastern MichiganFeb 26Marcus Hill (4)Bowling GreenMar 4David CoitNorthern IllinoisMar 11Shareef MitchellOhio

Postseason

Mid–American Tournament

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

NCAA tournament

Akron was defeated by Creighton in the opening round.

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 TeamAli Ali, Senior, Guard, AkronEnrique Freeman, Senior, Forward, AkronMarcus Hill, Junior, Guard, Bowling GreenAnthony Pritchard, Junior, Guard, Central MichiganRa’Heim Moss, Junior, Guard, Toledo Postseason All-MAC Second TeamBasheer Jihad, Junior, Forward, Ball StateRashaun Agee, Senior, Forward, Bowling GreenJaylin Hunter, Senior, Guard, OhioDante Maddox Jr., Junior, Guard, ToledoTyler Cochran, Junior, Guard, Toledo Postseason All-MAC Third TeamBrian Taylor, Graduate Student, Guard, Central MichiganTyson Acuff, Junior, Guard, Eastern MichiganJalen Sullinger, Junior, Guard, Kent StateDavid Coit, Junior, Guard, Northern IllinoisAJ Clayton, Junior, Forward, Ohio Postseason All-MAC Honorable MentionGreg Tribble, Senior, Guard, AkronVonCameron Davis, R-Junior, Forward, Kent StateAnderson Mirambeaux, Senior, Center, MiamiDarweshi Hunter, Graduate Student, Guard, MiamiB. Artis White, R-Junior, Guard, Western Michigan All-MAC Freshman TeamArne Osojnik, Guard, Eastern MichiganEian Elmer, Wing, MiamiWill Lovings-Watts, Guard, Northern IllinoisJavan Simmons, Forward, ToledoSonny Wilson, Guard, Toledo All-MAC Defensive TeamEnrique Freeman, Senior, Forward, AkronGreg Tribble, Senior, Guard, AkronAnthony Pritchard, Junior, Guard, Central MichiganTyler Cochran, Junior, Guard, ToledoRa’Heim Moss, Junior, Guard, Toledo

See also 2023–24 Mid-American Conference women's basketball season

References