# 2023–24 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season

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 Championships |
| Akron | John Groce | Illinois | 7 | 296–201 (.596) | 116–70 (.624) | 67–43 (.609) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ball State | Michael Lewis | UCLA (Asst.) | 2 | 20–12 (.625) | 20–12 (.625) | 11–7 (.611) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bowling Green | Todd Simon | Southern Utah | 1 | 127–114 (.527) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Buffalo | George Halcovage | Villanova (Assoc. HC) | 1 | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Central Michigan | Tony Barbee | Kentucky (Asst.) | 3 | 148–171 (.464) | 17–44 (.279) | 11–25 (.306) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eastern Michigan | Stan Heath | Lakeland Magic | 3 | 227–251 (.475) | 18–44 (.290) | 10–28 (.263) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kent State | Rob Senderoff | Kent State (Asst.) | 13 | 247–147 (.627) | 247–147 (.627) | 130–84 (.607) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Miami | Travis Steele | Xavier | 2 | 82–70 (.539) | 12–20 (.375) | 6–12 (.333) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Illinois | Rashon Burno | Arizona State (Asst.) | 3 | 22–40 (.355) | 22–40 (.355) | 15–23 (.395) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ohio | Jeff Boals | Stony Brook | 5 | 133–89 (.599) | 78–47 (.624) | 41–29 (.586) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Toledo | Tod Kowalczyk | Green Bay | 14 | 394–281 (.584) | 258–169 (.604) | 142–89 (.615) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Western Michigan | Dwayne Stephens | Michigan State (Assoc. HC) | 2 | 8–23 (.258) | 8–23 (.258) | 4–14 (.222) | 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. 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 Team | Ali Ali, Guard, Akron, Sr. |
| Preseason All-MAC First Team | Enrique Freeman, Forward, Akron, Sr. |
| Preseason All-MAC First Team | Chris Payton, Forward, Kent State, Grad. |
| Preseason All-MAC First Team | Jaylin Hunter, Guard, Ohio, Sr. |
| Preseason All-MAC First Team | Dante Maddox Jr., Guard, Toledo, Jr. |
| Preseason All-MAC Second Team | Tyson Acuff, Guard, Eastern Michigan, Jr. |
| Preseason All-MAC Second Team | Jalen Sullinger, Guard, Kent State, Jr. |
| Preseason All-MAC Second Team | Anderson Mirambeaux, Center, Miami, Sr. |
| Preseason All-MAC Second Team | David Coit, Guard, Northern Illinois, Jr. |
| Preseason All-MAC Second Team | AJ Brown, Guard, Ohio, So. |

## Regular season
### Rankings

| Akron | AP |
| Akron | C |
| Ball State | AP |
| Ball State | C |
| Bowling Green | AP |
| Bowling Green | C |
| Buffalo | AP |
| Buffalo | C |
| Central Michigan | AP |
| Central Michigan | C |
| Eastern Michigan | AP |
| Eastern Michigan | C |
| Kent State | AP |
| Kent State | C |
| Miami | AP |
| Miami | C |
| Northern Illinois | AP |
| Northern Illinois | C |
| Ohio | AP |
| Ohio | C |
| Toledo | AP |
| Toledo | C |
| Western Michigan | AP |
| Western Michigan | 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

| | Akron | Ball State | Bowling Green | Buffalo | Central Michigan | Eastern Michigan | Kent State | Miami (OH) | Northern Illinois | Ohio | Toledo | Western Michigan |
| vs. Akron | — | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Ball State | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Bowling Green | 1–0 | 0–2 | — | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Buffalo | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Central Michigan | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Eastern Michigan | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Kent State | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| vs. Miami (OH) | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Northern Illinois | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| vs. Ohio | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Toledo | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | — | 0–1 |
| vs. 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

| Week | Player(s) of the Week | School |
| Nov 13 | Enrique Freeman | Akron |
| Nov 20 | Enrique Freeman (2) | Akron |
| Nov 27 | Marcus Hill | Bowling Green |
| Dec 4 | Basheer Jihad Elmore James | Ball State Ohio |
| Dec 11 | Enrique Freeman (3) Basheer Jihad (2) | Akron Ball State |
| Dec 18 | Tyler Cochran | Toledo |
| Dec 25 | Enrique Freeman (4) Brian Taylor | Akron Central Michigan |
| Jan 1 | Seth Hubbard | Western Michigan |
| Jan 8 | Enrique Freeman (5) | Akron |
| Jan 15 | Enrique Freeman (6) Rashaun Agee | Akron Bowling Green |
| Jan 22 | Enrique Freeman (7) Marcus Hill (2) | Akron Bowling Green |
| Jan 29 | Basheer Jihad (3) Anthony Pritchard | Ball State Central Michigan |
| Feb 5 | Enrique Freeman (8) | Akron |
| Feb 12 | Jaylin Hunter Marcus Hill (3) | Ohio Bowling Green |
| Feb 19 | Tyson Acuff | Eastern Michigan |
| Feb 26 | Marcus Hill (4) | Bowling Green |
| Mar 4 | David Coit | Northern Illinois |
| Mar 11 | Shareef Mitchell | Ohio |

## 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 Team | Ali Ali, Senior, Guard, Akron |
| Postseason All-MAC First Team | Enrique Freeman, Senior, Forward, Akron |
| Postseason All-MAC First Team | Marcus Hill, Junior, Guard, Bowling Green |
| Postseason All-MAC First Team | Anthony Pritchard, Junior, Guard, Central Michigan |
| Postseason All-MAC First Team | Ra’Heim Moss, Junior, Guard, Toledo |
| Postseason All-MAC Second Team | Basheer Jihad, Junior, Forward, Ball State |
| Postseason All-MAC Second Team | Rashaun Agee, Senior, Forward, Bowling Green |
| Postseason All-MAC Second Team | Jaylin Hunter, Senior, Guard, Ohio |
| Postseason All-MAC Second Team | Dante Maddox Jr., Junior, Guard, Toledo |
| Postseason All-MAC Second Team | Tyler Cochran, Junior, Guard, Toledo |
| Postseason All-MAC Third Team | Brian Taylor, Graduate Student, Guard, Central Michigan |
| Postseason All-MAC Third Team | Tyson Acuff, Junior, Guard, Eastern Michigan |
| Postseason All-MAC Third Team | Jalen Sullinger, Junior, Guard, Kent State |
| Postseason All-MAC Third Team | David Coit, Junior, Guard, Northern Illinois |
| Postseason All-MAC Third Team | AJ Clayton, Junior, Forward, Ohio |
| Postseason All-MAC Honorable Mention | Greg Tribble, Senior, Guard, Akron |
| Postseason All-MAC Honorable Mention | VonCameron Davis, R-Junior, Forward, Kent State |
| Postseason All-MAC Honorable Mention | Anderson Mirambeaux, Senior, Center, Miami |
| Postseason All-MAC Honorable Mention | Darweshi Hunter, Graduate Student, Guard, Miami |
| Postseason All-MAC Honorable Mention | B. Artis White, R-Junior, Guard, Western Michigan |
| All-MAC Freshman Team | Arne Osojnik, Guard, Eastern Michigan |
| All-MAC Freshman Team | Eian Elmer, Wing, Miami |
| All-MAC Freshman Team | Will Lovings-Watts, Guard, Northern Illinois |
| All-MAC Freshman Team | Javan Simmons, Forward, Toledo |
| All-MAC Freshman Team | Sonny Wilson, Guard, Toledo |
| All-MAC Defensive Team | Enrique Freeman, Senior, Forward, Akron |
| All-MAC Defensive Team | Greg Tribble, Senior, Guard, Akron |
| All-MAC Defensive Team | Anthony Pritchard, Junior, Guard, Central Michigan |
| All-MAC Defensive Team | Tyler Cochran, Junior, Guard, Toledo |
| All-MAC Defensive Team | Ra’Heim Moss, Junior, Guard, Toledo |