Update: Western Michigan won the MAC tournamentand will play Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The Broncos are the top seed in the tournament so they have a bye until the semi-finals.
If Western wins Friday and Saturday, they will win the MAC Tournament championship and get the conference's automatic NCAA bid. Kalamazoo Gazettereporter David Drew told WMUK's Gordon Evans that the Broncos have been led thi season by Shayne Whittington and David Brown. Whittington is preparing to launch a professional careerafter this season.
Bronco coach Steve Hawkins was named the MAC coach of the year. Drew says this has to rank as one the coach's most impressive seasons. He says this is not a team with a lot of depth. But Drew says Hawkins has used his lineups well. And Drew says the rest that the Broncos have had (they haven't played since winning at Central Michigan on Friday) should help a team whose starters play a lot of minutes.
The MAC Tournament is played in Cleveland after the first round. Drew says that may give teams close tot that area an advantage. But he says there are few places where the MAC could hold the tournament and draw large crowds at a neutral site.
Drew says the key to the season for Western, has been the team believing they will win and finding ways to do it. He says that's probably the key to getting two wins this weekend in Cleveland and guaranteeing the Broncos their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2004.
