The Quarterfinals of the MAC Conference tournament will take place on Thursday, with game one of the Quarterfinals taking place on Thursday morning when the Kent State Golden Flashes face the Toledo Rockets with the MAC tournament taking place in Cleveland, Ohio, at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and the game tipping off at 11:00 AM ET and airing on ESPN+.

Unlike the majority of conferences in college basketball, the MAC only lets the top 8 teams in the standings play for the conference championship. Kent State was the final team to qualify for the 2024 MAC Conference Championship after finishing the season with a record of 8-10 in conference play and 15-16 overall. 

The Golden Flashes ended the regular season on a two-game losing streak, which included a loss against their quarterfinal opponent, the Toledo Rockets, on the road by a score of 71-86, which was also their 2^nd loss against the Toledo Rockets this season, and both losses coming by double digits. Kent State also struggled against the other teams in the tournament, compiling a record of 2-8. 

Kent State isn't likely to win the conference tournament, given their struggles against the top teams. This means they are also expected to miss the NCAA tournament after making it to the tournament last season. The Kent State Golden Flashes will have a formidable opponent in the MAC Conference Quarterfinals as they will be facing the regular season champion, the Toledo Rockets, a team they lost by double digits twice this season.

The Toledo Rockets are the 2023-24 MAC Conference regular season champions, their 4^th consecutive conference championship after finishing the regular season with the best record in conference play at 14-4 and 20-11 overall. However, the Rockets will still need to get the automatic bid by winning the MAC Conference Tournament to make this season's NCAA Tournament. 

They have yet to win the MAC Conference tournament in the three previous seasons. The Rockets ended the season on a three-game winning streak, including an 86-71 win at home against the Kent State Golden Flashes, their opponent on Thursday in the MAC Conference Quarterfinals. Toledo's success this season came from their offensive play, as they ranked 37^th nationally in scoring with an average of 80.5 points per game and averaged 89.33 points per game over their final three games of the regular season. 

The Toledo Rockets will look to advance to the MAC Conference Semifinals with a win against the Kent State Golden Flashes in the Quarterfinals on Thursday morning.

WagerWeb lists the Toledo Rockets as 5.5-point favorites against the Kent State Golden Flashes in the MAC Conference Quarterfinals on Thursday morning. Toledo won both games by double digits, 89-75 on the road in the first meeting and 86-71 at home in the second meeting while covering the spread in both contests. 

Toledo enters this game on a three-game winning streak, while Kent State has lost its last two games. The Rockets dominated the series this season, winning both games by double digits and covering the spread in both contests, while the Golden Flashes still need to cover the spread in six straight games. Buy the .5 point and lay the points with the Toledo Rockets when they face the Kent State Golden Flashes in the MAC Conference Quarterfinals on Thursday morning.