2021 MAC women's basketball tournament

The 2021 MAC women's basketball tournament was the postseason basketball tournament that ended the 2020–21 college basketball season in the Mid-American Conference. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the entire tournament was held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, in Cleveland, Ohio between March 10 and 13. The MAC Women's Tournament champion received the conference's automatic bid into the 2021 NCAA tournament.^[1] Central Michigan won the conference tournament championship game 77–72 over Bowling Green. Micaela Kelly was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.^[2]

2021 MAC women's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	2020–21
Teams	8
Quarterfinals site	Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland, Ohio
Semifinals site	Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland, Ohio
Finals site	Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland, Ohio
Champions	Central Michigan (5th title)
Winning coach	Heather Oesterle (1st title)
MVP	Micaela Kelly (Central Michigan)
Television	CBSSN, ESPN+
MAC women's basketball tournaments ← 2020 2022 →

2020–21 Mid-American Conference women's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Bowling Green	14	–	4		.778			20	–	5		.800
Central Michigan†	13	–	6		.684			17	–	8		.680
Ohio	11	–	6		.647			14	–	8		.636
Buffalo	11	–	6		.647			15	–	9		.625
Kent State	10	–	6		.625			11	–	9		.550
Ball State	12	–	8		.600			14	–	11		.560
Northern Illinois	10	–	8		.556			12	–	12		.500
Eastern Michigan	7	–	7		.500			10	–	10		.500
Toledo	8	–	12		.400			12	–	12		.500
Western Michigan	5	–	14		.263			6	–	15		.286
Akron	4	–	14		.222			7	–	14		.333
Miami (OH)	3	–	17		.150			4	–	20		.167
† 2021 MAC tournament winner As of July 7, 2024 Rankings from AP poll

Format

Unlike the 2020 MAC women's basketball tournament only the top 8 finishing teams qualified and all games were played on a neutral court.

Seeds

Seed	School	Conference record	Division	Tiebreaker
1	Bowling Green	14-4	20-5
2	Central Michigan	13-6	17-8
3	Ohio	11-6	14-8
4	Buffalo	11–6	15–9
5	Kent State	10-6	11-9
6	Ball State	12-8	15-9
7	Northern Illinois	10–8	12–12
8	Eastern Michigan	7–7	10-10

Schedule

Game	Time	Matchup	Score	Television
First round – Monday March 11 – Campus sites
Quarterfinals – Wednesday March 10 – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
1	11:00 pm	No. 8 Eastern Michigan vs. No. 1 Bowling Green	47-63	ESPN+
2	1:45 pm	No. 5 Kent State vs. No. 4 Buffalo	66-73
3	4:25 pm	No. 7 Northern Illinois vs. No. 2 Central Michigan	69-83
4	6:50 pm	No. 6 Ball State vs. No. 3 Ohio	54–72
Semifinals – Friday March 12 – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
5	10:00 am	No. 1 Bowling Green vs. No. 4 Buffalo	80-67	ESPN+
6	12:45 pm	No. 2 Central Michigan vs. No. 3 Ohio	100-92, OT
Championship – Saturday March 13 – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
7	11:00 am	No. 1 Bowling Green vs. No. 2 Central Michigan	72-77	CBSSN
Game times in ET. Rankings denote tournament seed

Bracket

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Championship
	1	Bowling Green	63
	8	Eastern Michigan	47
						1	Bowling Green	80
						4	Buffalo	82
	4	Buffalo	73
	5	Kent State	66
											1	Bowling Green	72
											2	Central Michigan	77
	2	Central Michigan	83
	7	Northern Illinois	69
						2	Central Michigan	100
						3	Ohio	92
	3	Ohio	61
	6	Ball State	59

See also

2021 MAC men's basketball tournament

References

1. "2021 MAC Women's Basketball Championship". Mid-American Conference.
2. "2021 MAC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament Finals Recap: #1 Bowling Green Falcons vs. #2 Central Michigan Chippewas".