MAC play begins tomorrow, so this is as good a time as any to rank 'em. Thanks to Brown And Gold, Ben Miraski and Bull Run's Tim Riordan for pitching in on this edition.
| Rank |
Team (last) | W-L | Poll Pts |
SOS (Nat'l) |
Rationale |
| 1. |
Ohio Bobcats (2) | 12-2 | 47 | 187 | Currently 43rd in the country in the computer, which means if they don't screw up too badly, they are in line for an at large bid. The loss to Robert Morris hurts, but maybe showing that the Bobcats were better than Northern Iowa will make a difference to the committee (UNI should be a bubble team). Lack of rebounding still a concern, long term, but Ohio is by far the top team right now. — Ben Miraski |
| 2. |
Kent St. Golden Flashes (1) | 10-3 | 45 | 233 | I think what you're going to see out of this team is the experience and depth start to shine through. There's no star but there doesn't have to be. Justin Greene, Carlton Guyton, Chris Evans, Michael Porrini and Randal Holt has to be the best top five of any MAC team. As long as they visualize themselves as never going to Utah again, they'll be fine. (Opposing teams' fans: hold up a picture of a salt lake when they take free throws.) — Matt Sussman |
| 3. |
Buffalo Bulls (3) | 7-4 | 36 | 158 | Buffalo had a chance to show us who they were with their last two December games. A beating at the hands of BYU and a choke job against Temple showed us Buffalo is as inconsistent and disappointing as ever. They are a 'respectable' MAC team that always seems unable to take that next step. — Tim Riordan, Bull Run |
| 4 |
Akron Zips (5) | 8-6 | 35 | 106 | They leveled off nicely with a 5-1 finish to the OOC portion of the season, with the lone loss being that doozy of a VCU game. I don't think there's any doubt that Nikola Cvetinovic's production finally picking back up has been one of the major reasons they've started winning again. — Suss |
| 5. |
Ball St. Cardinals (4) | 8-4 | 34 | 340 | I had to look at that SOS again. 340th? Out of 347th? Sure enough all those games have dwindled in value. The Butler win ain't as cool as it used to be but many of their victories over bad teams have been by large margins. That's their only saving grace. I still maintain they should be considered MAC West faves. — Suss |
| 6. |
Western Michigan Broncos (11) | 6-8 | 26 | 16 | Don't look now, but the Broncos have gone 6-2 in their last 8 games, and 5-1 in their last 6, with a loss to #5 Duke. Oh, and the Broncos won their last game without *inhales* Flenard Whitfield, Mike Douglas, Brandon Pokley, and David Brown. We'll see if this is a good spot when Western opens MAC play in Muncie. — Brown And Gold |
| 7. |
Bowling Green Falcons (6) | 6-7 | 23 | 203 | The team's starting to fall into that malaise of .500ness again. Bound to happen. Only reason to watch for the short team (and it is an intriguing one) is to see when Torian Oglesby will miss next. He's at 26 straight field goals, a Division I record, and 29 would break the all-time mark for any NCAA division. — Suss |
| 8. |
Central Michigan Chippewas (8) | 5-8 | 19 | 148 | There is a HUGE drop between the top half and bottom half of the conference. CMU may be 1-6 in their last 7 games, but that includes trips to Temple, Nebraska, Iowa State, and Minnesota. Toledo, Eastern and NIU to open MAC play is a perfect remedy to get back to winning ways. — B&G |
| 9. | Toledo Rockets (7) | 8-6 | 18 | 304 | An easy non-conference schedule gives them an 8-6 record. Look at Western though and see that records can be deceiving. — B&G |
| T-10. | Miami RedHawks (9) | 4-8 | 16 | 57 | If anyone is curious about what Brian Sullivan is eating, ask him as it could suddenly improve your vitality. We incessant repeat that Julian Mavunga needs help. Sullivan might be the one. He netted 24 points in that impressive loss to Vanderbilt, which is Miami's highest single-game total this year, men's edition. Yet three of Sullivan's four double-digit-point games have been in losses. So, more help is still needed. — Suss |
| T-10. | Eastern Michigan Eagles (10) | 5-9 | 9 | 115 | When you lose a game, and only give up 42 points, you know you're bad. — B&G |
| 12. | Northern Illinois Huskies (12) | 1-11 | 4 | 201 | Finally got a win! Needed a non-Division I team to do it. The best thing you can say about the Huskies is that they are not the worst team in D-I. And they are young. — Miraski |
Saturday's MAC games (broadcast live for free on MAC-Sports.com unless on actual TV):
2:00 p.m. — WMU at Ball State
4:00 p.m. — EMU at NIU
6:00 p.m. — OHIO at BGSU (ESPN Full Court/ESPN3/Sports Time Ohio)
7:00 p.m. — Akron at Miami
7:00 p.m. — Kent State at Buffalo
7:00 p.m. — Toledo at CMU