CLEVELAND — For college basketball fans, March is the most exciting time of the year. So let the madness ensue!
One event fans in northwest Ohio will have their eyes on is the Mid-American Conference tournament in Cleveland, and northwest Ohio will be well represented.
The men's and women's programs for both the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University will be in Cleveland as they all chase a MAC championship and look to punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament.
The tournament gets underway on Wednesday, March 13 at Rocket Mortage FieldHouse in Cleveland beginning with women's quarterfinal matchups. The men tip off their quarterfinal games on Thursday, March 14.
Let's break down the men's and women's brackets for the MAC tournament:
Toledo men's basketball
The Rockets enter into the MAC tournament as the No. 1 seed for the fourth consecutive season after clinching their fourth straight regular-season conference title.
Toledo will open up tournament play on Thursday against No. 8 seed Kent State at 11 a.m. It will be a rematch of last season's MAC championship game in Cleveland.
UT is looking to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1980.
Bowling Green men's basketball
BGSU, under the direction of first-year head coach Todd Simon, is back in the MAC tournament in Cleveland for the first time since 2021.
The Falcons, a No. 5 seed, will take on No. 4 seed Central Michigan in the second game on Thursday.
Bowling Green is looking to end one of the longest NCAA tournament droughts in the country and go dancing for the first time since 1968.
If Toledo and BGSU both win, they would advance to the semifinals and go head-to-head to clinch a spot in the title game.
Toledo women's basketball
The defending Mid-American Conference champions enter into the MAC tournament as the top seed once again after capturing their third consecutive regular-season conference championship.
The Rockets open up the tournament on Wednesday at 11 a.m. against No. 8 seed Western Michigan.
The Rockets are chasing their second consecutive conference tournament title and trip to the NCAA tournament where they knocked off Iowa State in the first round last season.
Bowling Green women's basketball
In his first season as BGSU's head coach, Fred Chmiel has led the Falcons to the No. 5 seed in the MAC tournament.
They will be the second game played on Wednesday and take on the No. 4 seed Buffalo.
With a win and a Toledo win, the two would meet in the semifinals of the MAC tournament in what would be a rematch of last season's title game in Cleveland.