The compilations in this article are the post I could make them. If anyone finds mistakes, let me know and I’ll correct them.
With two games to go in the regular season, the Mid-American Conference Tournament field is set. But seedings are as open as they could be at this point.
BOWLING GREEN (13-3) has clinched first place. Even if the Falcons lose against Kent State and Buffalo, they’ll still have the top winning percentage in the MAC. In this season of COVID-19, winning percentage decides position in the standing.
If OHIO (10-5) wins its last two games, it will take second. On paper, the Bobcats have the league’s easiest final two games — at 11th-place Akron and home against last-place Miami. Ohio beat both earlier in the season. But OU has had three games in a row canceled because of COVID-19 problems on the team. If Ohio can’t play one or both games, Central Michigan and Kent State could slip by them in the standings. If the Bobcats can play both games, they’ll have to win through post-COVID fatigue and rustiness.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN plays at seventh-place Ball State and at home against eighth-place Northern Illinois. If CMU wins both and Ohio doesn’t play or loses a game, the Chippewas finish ahead of the Bobcats. If Central and Kent State both win their last two, KSU will have a. 003 lead in winning percentage. But Central’s Saturday game against Eastern Michigan was canceled because of COVID trouble at CMU. It’s unclear how bad is it, though the MAC cancellation announcement seemed to say there was at least one active case at Central. Who knows whether more cancellations are ahead for the Chippewas?
If KENT STATE (9-5) wins its last two at first-place Bowling Green and against 11th-place Akron, it will have a winning percentage of .6875 and claim second place. Even if Central wins its last two, its winning percentage would be .6842. Ohio would finish behind KSU if it loses either of its final games. If Kent State loses one or both of its final games, the rest of the standings could be pretty scrambled.
Actually, the rest of the top eight looks pretty scrambled no matter what happens. If Ohio, Central and Kent State lose both of their final games, any team in the top eight (but BG, of course) could finish second, depending on all of the results.
Here’s the schedule for the current fifth-through-eighth teams:
BALL STATE (11-7): Third-place CMU and 10th-place WMU, both at home.
BUFFALO (9-6): Home against 12th-place Miami, at first-place BG.
EASTERN MICHIGAN (7-5): At eighth-place NIU, at ninth-place Toledo.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (9-7): Home vs. seventh-place Eastern Michigan, at third-place Central Michigan.
Do seedings make any difference this year, anyway?
Seedings in the MAC Tournament are the same as a team’s place in the standings. They determine which teams play each other: The first place team plays No. 8, No. 2 plays No. 7, No. 3 plays No. 6, and the fourth- and fifth-place seeds meet.
Most years it can make a significant difference. Logically, it should be easier to play the seventh-place team than the fifth-place team.
But this season every MAC team from second and eighth place has lost at least five games. They’ve beaten up on each other. Second-place Ohio has lost to seventh-place Eastern Michigan. Eighth-place Northern Illinois beat third-place Central Michigan by 31 points in January. In successive games, Buffalo lost to Ball State in Buffalo by 13, then beat Ball State on its home floor.
And first-place Bowling Green, which has lost only three games? If the tournament started today, the Falcons would play Northern Illinois in the quarterfinals.
NIU beat Bowling Green twice in the regular season.
MAC Standings
Through games of Wednesday, Feb. 24
| MAC W-L | Pct. | MAC Home | MAC Away | All games | |
| BGSU | 12-3 | .800 | 7-1 | 5-2 | 16-4 |
| Ohio | 10-5 | .667 | 5-2 | 5-3 | 12-6 |
| CMU | 11-6 | .647 | 4-4 | 7-2 | 13-8 |
| Kent St | 9-5 | .643 | 5-1 | 4-4 | 10-7 |
| Ball St | 11-7 | .611 | 2-6 | 9-1 | 13-9 |
| Buffalo | 9-6 | .600 | 4-2 | 5-4 | 12-8 |
| EMU | 7-5 | .583 | 2-4 | 5-1 | 10-7 |
| NIU | 9-7 | .563 | 5-3 | 4-4 | 11-10 |
| Toledo | 6-12 | .333 | 3-6 | 3-6 | 10-12 |
| WMU | 5-12 | .294 | 4-4 | 1-8 | 6-13 |
| Akron | 3-13 | .188 | 1-6 | 2-7 | 6-13 |
| Miami | 3-15 | .167 | 2-8 | 1-7 | 4-18 |