# 2021–22 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season

The 2021–22 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2021, followed by the start of the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference began in January 2021 and concluded in March 2022. Toledo won their second straight MAC regular season title with a 17–3 conference record.
Fourth seeded Akron defeated Kent State in the final of the MAC tournament. With the automatic bid, Akron was the only MAC schools to qualify for the NCAA tournament where they lost to UCLA in the first round. Toledo accepted a bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost to Dayton in the first round. Ohio accepted a bid to the College Basketball Invitational. Kent State accepted a bid to The Basketball Classic.

## Preseason awards

The preseason coaches' poll and league awards were announced by the league office on November 3, 2021.

### Preseason men's basketball coaches poll

(First place votes in parentheses)
* Buffalo (11) 143
* Ohio 126
* Toledo (1) 107
* Kent State 98
* Akron (2) 95
* Bowling Green 93
* Miami 92
* Ball State 54
* Western Michigan 44
* Central Michigan 34
* Eastern Michigan 29
* Northern Illinois 21
MAC tournament champions: Buffalo (8), Bowling Green (1), Kent State (1), Miami (1), Toledo (1)

### Honors

| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason All-MAC First Team | Daeqwon Plowden, Bowling Green |
| Preseason All-MAC First Team | Josh Mballa, Buffalo |
| Preseason All-MAC First Team | Jeenathan Williams, Buffalo |
| Preseason All-MAC First Team | Ben Vander Plas, Ohio |
| Preseason All-MAC First Team | Ryan Rollins, Toledo |
| Preseason All-MAC Second Team | K. J. Walton, Akron |
| Preseason All-MAC Second Team | Sincere Carry, Kent State |
| Preseason All-MAC Second Team | Dae Dae Grant, Miami |
| Preseason All-MAC Second Team | Jason Carter, Ohio |
| Preseason All-MAC Second Team | B. Artis White, Western Michigan |

## Conference matrix

| | Akron | Ball State | Bowling Green | Buffalo | Central Michigan | Eastern Michigan | Kent State | Miami (OH) | Northern Illinois | Ohio | Toledo | Western Michigan |
| vs. Akron | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Ball State | 2–0 | – | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Bowling Green | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Buffalo | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Central Michigan | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Eastern Michigan | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Kent State | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| vs. Miami (OH) | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | – | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Northern Illinois | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| vs. Ohio | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Toledo | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | − | 0–2 |
| vs. Western Michigan | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | - |
| Total | 14–6 | 9–10 | 6–14 | 13–6 | 6–12 | 5–15 | 16–4 | 8–12 | 6–14 | 14–6 | 17–3 | 4–16 |

## All-MAC awards
### Mid-American men's basketball weekly awards

| Week | Player(s) of the Week | School |
| Nov 15 | Mark Sears | Ohio |
| Nov 22 | Maceo Jack | Buffalo |
| Nov 29 | Ryan Rollins | Toledo |
| Dec 6 | Enrique Freeman | Akron |
| Dec 13 | Bryce McBride | Eastern Michigan |
| Dec 20 | Mark Sears | Ohio |
| Dec 27 | Mark Sears | Ohio |
| Jan 3 | Ali Ali / Mekhi Lairy | Akron / Miami |
| Jan 10 | Mark Sears | Ohio |
| Jan 17 | JT Shumate | Toledo |
| Jan 24 | Ryan Rollins | Toledo |
| Jan 31 | Mark Sears / Ryan Rollins | Ohio / Toledo |
| Feb 7 | Jason Carter | Ohio |
| Feb 14 | Ryan Rollins | Toledo |
| Feb 21 | Sincere Carry / Josh Mballa | Kent State / Buffalo |
| Feb 28 | Sincere Carry / Jeenathan Williams | Kent State / Buffalo |
| Mar 7 | Sincere Carry / Setric Millner Jr. | Kent State / Toledo |

## Postseason
### Postseason awards

* Coach of the Year: Rob Senderoff, Kent State
* Player of the Year: Sincere Carry, Kent State
* Freshman of the Year: Payton Sparks, Ball State
* Defensive Player of the Year: Enrique Freeman, Akron
* Sixth Man of the Year: Justyn Hamilton, Kent State

### Honors

| Honor | Recipient |
| Postseason All-MAC First Team | Jeenathan Williams, Buffalo |
| Postseason All-MAC First Team | Sincere Carry, Kent State |
| Postseason All-MAC First Team | Mark Sears, Ohio |
| Postseason All-MAC First Team | Ben Vander Plas, Ohio |
| Postseason All-MAC First Team | Ryan Rollins, Toledo |
| Postseason All-MAC Second Team | Ali Ali, Akron |
| Postseason All-MAC Second Team | Enrique Freeman, Akron |
| Postseason All-MAC Second Team | Josh Mballa, Buffalo |
| Postseason All-MAC Second Team | Ronaldo Segu, Buffalo |
| Postseason All-MAC Second Team | JT Shumate, Toledo |
| Postseason All-MAC Third Team | Payton Sparks, Ball State |
| Postseason All-MAC Third Team | Daeqwon Plowden, Bowling Green |
| Postseason All-MAC Third Team | Jason Carter, Ohio |
| Postseason All-MAC Third Team | Setric Millner Jr., Toledo |
| Postseason All-MAC Third Team | Lamar Norman Jr., Western Michigan |
| Postseason All-MAC Honorable Mention | Xavier Castaneda, Akron |
| Postseason All-MAC Honorable Mention | Kevin Miller, Central Michigan |
| Postseason All-MAC Honorable Mention | Malique Jacobs, Kent State |
| Postseason All-MAC Honorable Mention | Dae Dae Grant, Miami |
| Postseason All-MAC Honorable Mention | Keshawn Williams, Northern Illinois |
| All-MAC Freshman Team | Payton Sparks, Ball State |
| All-MAC Freshman Team | Jaylin Sellers, Ball State |
| All-MAC Freshman Team | Kevin Miller, Central Michigan |
| All-MAC Freshman Team | Mo Njie, Eastern Michigan |
| All-MAC Freshman Team | Ra’Heim Moss, Toledo |
| All-MAC Defensive Team | Enrique Freeman, Akron |
| All-MAC Defensive Team | Daeqwon Plowden, Bowling Green |
| All-MAC Defensive Team | Josh Mballa, Buffalo |
| All-MAC Defensive Team | Malique Jacobs, Kent State |
| All-MAC Defensive Team | Sincere Carry, Kent State |