The start of the Mid-American Conference Tournament is one week away, but talking about postseason play is taboo in most locker rooms this week.
“We’re trying to win a MAC West championship,” Toledo coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “That’s what we’re talking about right now.”
With two regular-season games remaining on the schedule, each team is in the final push to climb a rung or two higher in the division standings. In the MAC East, Akron has the target on its back in the closing games of the regular season.
Leading the conference with a 12-2 mark in MAC play, the Zips must overcome two final hurdles before the end of the season.
First, Akron faces the Buffalo Bulls, a team that handed the Zips their first conference loss of the season. Akron’s potent offense has carried it to first place in the league, but it will be challenged on Wednesday night as the Bulls hold the highest field-goal percentage defense in the MAC at 39 percent.
Two days later, Akron travels to Kent State to take on a veteran squad eager to spoil the Zips’ pursuit of a MAC East title. The Golden Flashes, incapable of surpassing the Zips in the standings, could finish as high as second in the East.
Two consecutive losses for the Zips would mean that Ohio or Buffalo could take the top spot in the division.
In the MAC West, Toledo and Western Michigan aim to join Eastern Michigan atop the division, but they both need a victory against the Eagles. Eastern Michigan has already wrapped up a share of the division title, but its closest competitors can keep the team from winning the division outright.
Playing its last two games on the road, Eastern Michigan will have its hands full in defending its position.
Western Michigan hosts the Eagles on Wednesday. The Broncos have had the majority of their success in rebounding, an asset they will need in their quest to top Eastern Michigan’s first-place scoring defense.
Then, Eastern Michigan’s last-place scoring offense faces Toledo’s struggling defense on Friday.
The Eagles defeated the Rockets in their first meeting this season, but Kowalczyk said he hopes his team will peak at the right time. Toledo has won four straight games.
“I want to play our best basketball down the stretch and give ourselves an opportunity to win a championship,” Kowalczyk said. “We have an opportunity to win a MAC West championship, and that’s what we’re striving for. That’s what our goal from day one has been.”
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