1981 MAC men's basketball tournament

The 1981 MAC men's basketball tournament was held March 3–5 at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[1] Ball State defeated Northern Illinois in the championship game by the score of 79–66 to win their first MAC men's basketball tournament and a bid to the NCAA tournament. There they lost to Boston College in the first round.[2][3] Ray McCallum of Central Michigan was named the tournament MVP.[4]

1981 MAC men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season1980–81
Teams7
First round siteCampus Arenas
Campus Sites
Finals siteCrisler Arena
Ann Arbor, MI
ChampionsBall State (1st title)
Winning coachSteve Yoder (1st title)
MVPRay McCallum (Ball State)
MAC men's basketball tournaments
← 1980
1982 →
1980–81 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Western Michigan 10 6   .625 15 13   .536
Ball State 10 6   .625 20 10   .667
Toledo 10 6   .625 21 10   .677
Bowling Green 10 6   .625 15 12   .556
Northern Illinois 10 6   .625 17 12   .586
Eastern Michigan 8 8   .500 13 14   .481
Ohio 6 10   .375 7 20   .259
Miami 6 10   .375 11 15   .423
Central Michigan 5 11   .313 12 14   .462
Kent State 5 11   .313 7 19   .269
1981 MAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Format

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Seven of the ten MAC teams participated. First Round games were played in the home arena of the higher seeded team. The semi-finals and final were played at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Bracket

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Quarterfinals
March 3
Semifinals
March 4
Final
March 5
         
1 Western Michigan 73
5 Northern Illinois 75
5 Northern Illinois 79
4 Bowling Green 72
5 Northern Illinois 66
2 Ball State 79
3 Toledo 95
6 Eastern Michigan 88
3 Toledo 77 Third place
2 Ball State 79
7 Ohio 70 3 Toledo 71
2 Ball State 85 1 Western Michigan 65

[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "1980-81 Mid-American Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  2. ^ "1981 NCAA tournament: Bracket, scores, stats, records". NCAA. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  3. ^ "1980-81 Ball State Cardinals Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  4. ^ "Mid-American Conference men's basketball championship history". FOX News. Retrieved February 18, 2022.