The Mid-American Conference (MAC) enters the 2026-27 season with Miami (OH) as the clear preseason favorite after a historic 31-0 regular season last year. The league features continuity at the top, heavy portal activity, and four new head coaches! The MAC has expanded its schedule to a full 22-game round-robin and drops to 12 teams after Northern Illinois departed for the Horizon League. This will be the first season without NIU since 1996-97. Let’s take a look at the college basketball MAC preview and best bets!
College Basketball 2026-27: MAC Conference Preview, Odds, And Best Bets
MAC Conference Preview
Coaches selected Miami first in the preseason poll with nine first-place votes. Toledo was second behind them, followed by Akron, Kent State, Ohio, UMass, Bowling Green, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Buffalo, Ball State, and Central Michigan.
Miami returns key pieces from its perfect regular season and NCAA Tournament appearance. That includes preseason All-MAC First Team guards Evan Ipsaro and Luke Skaljac. Akron, which won its third straight MAC Tournament title under John Groce, transitions to associate head coach Dustin Ford. Toledo and Kent State sit just behind the top two in coaches’ eyes and project as strong challengers in a deeper conference.
Biggest Changes And Portal Impacts
Miami loses MAC Player of the Year Peter Suder along with Bryant Byers and Eian Elmer. However, Travis Steele’s squad still returns significant production. They also added transfers such as Stevie Elam, Preston Copeland, and Rich Rolf to reinforce the backcourt and frontcourt depth around Ipsaro, Skaljack, Atwone Woofolk, and Almar Atlason.
Akron’s Ford inherits a program that dominated recent MAC play but must replace major contributors such as Tavari Johnson, Amani Lyles, and Shammah Scot. The Zips do return Evan Mahaffey and Tahj Staveski. They also added transfers including Ty Pence and Exavier Wilson.
Kent State reloads around Minnesota transfer Chansey Willis Jr. and freshman Dhani Miller. Toledu, under longtime coach Tod Kowalczyk, adds Marquette transfer Sean Jones and returns Austin Parks and Jaylan Ouwinga. Ohio features Jackson Paveletzke and Javan Simmons. UMass brings in San Francisco transfer Junjie Wang alongside returners like Danny Carbuccia.
New Coaches take over at Ball State, Eastern Michigan, and Western Michigan.
Odds To Win The MAC Championship
Miami OH +225
Akron +245
Kent State +550
Toledo +870
UMass +1400
Ohio +1475
Western Michigan +1850
Eastern Michigan +1900
Bowling Green +2400
Buffalo +4100
Ball State +7000
Central Michigan +145000
MAC Conference Best Bets
Favorite: Miami (OH) To Win The MAC Regular Season (+225)
The RedHawks enter as the clear coaches’ poll favorite with continuity in the backcourt, a proven system under Steele, and enough returning pieces plus quality transfers. Getting them at plus money after a 31-0 run is great value.
Longshot Play: Kent State To Win The MAC Regular Season (+550)
Kent State has a lot of upside in the MAC Conference. The Golden Flashes finished fourth in the preseason poll, but several factors give them a realistic chance to challenge Miami and Akron. Rob Senderoff remains the program’s winningest and longest-tenured coach. In other words, he’s been at this a while and knows this conference well. The Flashes went 24-10 overall and 14-4 in conference play last season.
They have a high ceiling, especially with players like senior transfer Chansey Willis Jr. At +550, I have to take a stab at them.
