MAC Tournament byes (* indicates guaranteed bye)
1. Ohio* (22-5, 14-2)
2. Central Michigan* (19-8, 13-3)
3. Ball State* (19-8, 11-5)
4. Toledo (16-11, 11-5)
Can still earn bye
Eastern Michigan (18-9, 9-7)
Akron (15-2, 9-7)
The top four teams in the MAC start the tournament in Cleveland, Ohio, skipping the first round at campus sites.
Head coach Brady Sallee said he had no idea the Cardinals had guaranteed them a trip to Cleveland, where the last three rounds of the tournament will be held.
“I don’t know how all of that standings stuff is playing out — I haven’t paid that much attention to it,” he said. “But you’ve gotta win this time of year. ... You’ve gotta come in and beat good teams on their home floor.”
Eastern Michigan had won five consecutive games before losing to Ball State. Sallee said it was a difficult victory because it was Senior Night for the Eagles, and junior guard Jill Morrison had to sit with a foot injury.
“I don’t know that I can put it into words how tough it was to win this game,” he said. “We had a lot of reasons to think that maybe we couldn’t win it — you know, you’re playing against the zone and one of your best shooters can’t play. But I love the mentality, … we just try to find ways to win games.”
Sophomore forward Moriah Monaco stepped up to fill the void by scoring a career-high 28 points and sinking eight 3-pointers. Sallee said he was happy to see his team step up on a night when leading scorer Nathalie Fontaine was held to just 14 points.
“We needed this one because we did it tonight without [Fontaine] going crazy,” he said. “[Fontaine] was good, but they did a great job against her, and some other people stepped up.”
Ball State is tied with Toledo (16-11, 11-5 MAC) for second in the MAC West Division. Though Eastern Michigan still has an outside shot at a top-four seed and the resulting entry to the quarterfinals, Ball State’s 2-0 record against the Eagles and head-to-head victory over Akron (15-12, 9-7 MAC) guarantees the Cardinals finish no worse than fourth.
The Cardinals, however, are 0-4 against East Division leader Ohio (22-5, 14-2 MAC) and West Division leader Central Michigan (19-8, 13-3 MAC).
Ball State’s next game will be against Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. in Worthen Arena.
The Cardinals will close out the regular season on the road against Toledo March 5, with the winner set to earn the third-seed in the MAC tournament.
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