MAC Basketball Power Rankings - Week 7

Last week was pretty heavy basketball wise as finals are finally over. Most teams won the games they were supposed to. This week is light, as Akron plays three games, Buffalo plays two and the rest of the teams play just five games in between them.

1. Toledo Rockets (11-0), LW: 1

Last week: at Arkansas State (W), Cleveland State (W)

This week: Coppin State (12/28)

The Rockets just keep on rolling. They're the first team in the MAC to go 11-0 since the 1988-89 Ball State team. I really can't say much more about them than I already have; they can score a lot but have some troubles on defense. It's getting better though, and Toledo sealed the victory with a key steal against Cleveland State in the waning seconds. Coppin State is awful, but the Rockets could be looking ahead to a December 30th match-up with Kansas.

2. Kent State Golden Flashes (9-2), LW: 2

Last week: at Charleston (W)

This week: Cleveland State (12/28)

Road wins are always tough to come by and Charleston is a decent team, so I'd chalk this up as a good win for the Flashes. The score was 58-54, which showed that Kent State can win ugly as well as in high-scoring fashion. Rob Senderoff may be doing his best coaching job this season with the lack of a true star player. This is a real team and will be dangerous come March.

3. Ohio Bobcats (8-3), LW: 3

Last week: Massachusetts (L), at Richmond (W)

This week: No games

The Bobcats took a tough home loss to undefeated UMass, but rebounded nicely with a win at Richmond, a top-100 RPI team. It seems no matter who is in the uniform the Bobcats can field a good team, and this one is no different. Maurice Ndour is an animal and is becoming one of the best players in the conference. He's scored double digits in each of the past four games and has hit the twenty point mark three times already this season.

4. Akron Zips (6-2), LW: 4

Last week: Oral Roberts (W), Detroit (W), Oregon State (W)

This week: Iowa State (12/23)*, TBD (12/25)*, at South Carolina (12/28)

*Diamond Head Classic - Honolulu, Hawaii

What a couple of weeks for the Zips. They'll have played six games in thirteen days after the South Carolina game this Saturday. So far, so good though, as the Zips have dispatched good teams in Oral Roberts and Detroit and are currently playing Oregon State on ESPNU. They'll face Iowa State or George Mason in the next round, which are two quality opponents. No matter what, Akron will get a great experience playing against the teams in this tournament. Plus, who wouldn't want to spend their Christmas in Hawaii?

5. Eastern Michigan Eagles (7-3), LW: 5

Last week: at Oakland (W)

This week: at Duke (12/28)

Eastern Michigan solidified their hold on the number five slot with a good road win at Oakland. The Eagles have a number of guys who can attack you, and that showed against Oakland. Mike Talley and Darrel Combs each scored well above their averages which allowed Karrington Ward and Glenn Bryant to take a break from scoring. Things don't get any easier as they travel to Durham to face the eighth-ranked Blue Devils.

6. Buffalo Bulls (4-4), LW: 6

Last week: Manhattan (L)

This week: Binghamton (12/23), at Drexel (12/29)

The Bulls snatched defeated out of the hands of victory when they fouled a three-point shooter with five seconds left in regulation up three. The Jaspers made all three free throws and eventually pulled it out in overtime. Manhattan is a good team, but this is a game that Buffalo should have won. This week Buffalo should cruise past terrible Binghamton and faces a stiff test with CAA leader Drexel.

7. Western Michigan Broncos (6-5), LW: 7

Last week: at Drake (L), Prairie View A&M (W)

This week: No games

Western Michigan could have really used a victory at Drake. That would have been a good win for the Broncos and would have been a confidence-builder after a close loss at Missouri. It was good to see them steamroll Prairie View A&M at home to close out the year. Now, the Broncos sit at 6-5 with a lot of questions heading into 2014.

8. Bowling Green Falcons (6-5), LW: 8

Last week: Detroit (W)

This week: at Wright State (12/29)

The Falcons took a step forward today with a home win against a decent Detroit team. Don't look now but the Falcons have won four of their last five and the rest of the non-conference features winnable games at Wright State and at home against IPFW. Many expected the Falcons to take a dive this year with the loss of Jordon Crawford and A'uston Calhoun, but that hasn't been the case.

9. Central Michigan Chippewas (6-5), LW: 9

Last week: at Jacksonville State (L)

This week: No games

Central Michigan is also done for the rest of the year. Jacksonville State is a team the Chips should have beaten and Keno Davis couldn't have been happy with the execution. Chris Fowler is doing everything right now for the Chips and they need someone else to step up and take the scoring pressure off of him. John Simons had a big game against the Gamecocks but needs to be more consistent.

10. Northern Illinois Huskies (5-5), LW: 12

Last week: at Loyola Illinois (W), at UC-Riverside (W)

This week: No games

The Huskies jump up after a nice win at Loyola. Northern Illinois was down 28-14 at half and made a huge rally in the second half to pick up the win. This isn't your Husky team of old, they have some bite. They may not go .500 in the conference, but they'll surprise some people this year.

11. Miami RedHawks (3-6), LW: 11

Last week: at UMKC (L), at Tennessee State (W)

This week: Southern Illinois (12/29)

Looks like John Cooper made the smart move to head to Miami instead of staying at Tennessee State. The RedHawks beat the one-win Tigers after losing on the road to UMKC. That's not a good loss either, as UMKC has just three wins on the year. The two do have something in common though: they both lost to a non-D1 team.

12. Ball State Cardinals (2-7), LW: 10

Last week: at Marquette (L), at Southern Illinois (L)

This week: No games

Welcome to the cellar, Ball State. It's been ugly since the almost win at home against Butler. The Cardinals have lost the last five games by an average of 21.4 points. Of course they've played good teams in Marquette and Utah, but getting blown out by Cleveland State and Valparaiso isn't acceptable. The latest loss at Southern Illinois was the worst; the Salukis were 2-8 and coming off the whole Barry Hinson mess. Ball State gets a week off before a road game against James Madison rounds off the year.