2002 MAC men's basketball tournament explained

Year:	2002
Conference:	MAC
Gender:	Men's
Teams:	13
Arena:	Gund Arena
City:	Cleveland, Ohio
Champions:	Kent State
Titlecount:	3rd
Coach:	Stan Heath
Coachcount:	1st
Mvp:	Trevor Huffman
Mvpteam:	Kent State

The 2002 MAC men's basketball tournament, a part of the 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, took place at Gund Arena in Cleveland. Its winner received the Mid-American Conference's automatic bid to the 2002 NCAA tournament. It was a single-elimination tournament with four rounds and the three highest seeds received byes in the first round. All MAC teams were invited to participate. Kent State, the MAC regular season winner, received the number one seed in the tournament. The Flashes won the tournament, their third MAC Tournament championship, claiming the title 70–59 over Bowling Green.^[1] The announced crowd of 14,106 set a conference record for highest-attended tournament game. In the NCAA Tournament Kent State defeated Oklahoma State, Alabama, and Pittsburgh before losing to then eventual national runner-up Indiana Hoosiers in the Elite Eight.^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

Tournament

Seeds

1. Kent State
2. Ball State
3. Bowling Green
4. Toledo
5. Ohio
6. Western Michigan
7. Miami
8. Marshall
9. Northern Illinois
10. Buffalo
11. Akron
12. Central Michigan
13. Eastern Michigan

Bracket

^[6]

Championship summary

Broadcast Information

Local announcers

Notes and References

1. Web site: Golden Flashes win MAC for third time in four years. https://web.archive.org/web/20220525180036/https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=220682309. dead. May 25, 2022. ESPN. en. 2022-05-25.
2. Web site: Kent State rides big lead to first-round upset. https://web.archive.org/web/20201028202619/https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=224000057. dead. October 28, 2020. ESPN.com. 2022-05-25.
3. Web site: Kent State stifles Tide to reach Sweet 16. https://web.archive.org/web/20220122060025/https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=224000059. dead. January 22, 2022. ESPN.com. 2022-05-25.
4. Web site: Kent State reaches fourth round for first time. https://web.archive.org/web/20220525180037/https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=224000060. dead. May 25, 2022. ESPN.com. 2022-05-25.
5. Web site: Hoosiers make long-awaited return to Final Four. https://web.archive.org/web/20220525180035/https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap/_/gameId/224000061. dead. May 25, 2022. ESPN.com. 2022-05-25.
6. Web site: MAC Tournament History . 2009-11-11 . 2009-10 MAC Men's Basketball Record Book . Mid-American Conference . 2009-12-14 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303205424/http://mac-sports.com/downloads1/360193.pdf . 2016-03-03 .