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| Toledo | 12-0 | RPI: 45 | BBState: 6 |
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LAST WEEK (W) Coppin State, 85-66 THIS WEEK Monday: at Kansas (ESPN3) |
There are eight undefeated teams left in Division I: the other seven (Arizona, Syracuse, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Wichita State, Oregon, Iowa State) are not just ranked but top 15 and climbing. That, of course, is to be expected when UT has yet to play a team in the RPI top 100. Kansas will be their first. It will also be their first loss. But the fact that they can take care of the Detroits and Coppin States of their schedule, while conference brethren struggle, is a strong sign that they rarely have bad strings of play. | ||
| Kent State | 9-3 | RPI: 135 | BBState: 60 |
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LAST WEEK (L) Cleveland State, 78-70 THIS WEEK Tuesday: at Princeton |
Through all of it, eight points is still their worst loss of the season yesterday, and when the other team has an eFG of 62 percent, that's about all you can do. | ||
| Ohio | 8-3 | RPI: 66 | BBState: 70 |
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LAST WEEK (W) @Richmond, 70-69 (OT) THIS WEEK Monday: vs. Longwood Saturday: at UNC-Asheville |
Overtime road wins are the best, aren't they? Anytime a game is tied at the end of regulation, I feel the home team has a decisive advantage. I'm not sure why. Both teams have a chance to regroup, as does the fan enthusiasm. And with such a small amount of time left, all factors seem to favor the home team. Richmond was a very good win for this team. | ||
| Eastern Michigan | 7-4 | RPI: 64 | BBState: 78 |
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LAST WEEK (L) @Duke, 82-59 THIS WEEK Tuesday: at Syracuse Saturday: vs. Rochester (USCAA) |
Only being down 10 points to Duke at halftime is almost like a victory, because — and most folks don't pick up on this — but Duke is spotted 20 points in every home game. It's astonishing how they just sort of slip in the points throughout the game. Anyway, stop scheduling so many suicide games, Rob Murphy! | ||
| Buffalo | 5-4 | RPI: 231 | BBState: 150 |
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LAST WEEK (W) Binghamton, 85-54 THIS WEEK Sunday: at Drexel Friday: South Dakota State |
Good win, but Binghamton is more than likely a fictional city and school. | ||
| Akron | 6-5 | RPI: 107 | BBState: 106 |
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LAST WEEK (W) Oregon State, 83-71 in Hawaii (L) Iowa State, 83-60 in Hawaii (L) South Carolina, 69-59 in Hawaii (L) @South Carolina, 78-45 THIS WEEK Tuesday vs. Coppin State Thursday: vs. Marshall |
While all other teams spent time with family, Akron spent a little time with President Obama's family. You may remember his brother-in-law coaches Oregon State, and maybe they could have used the presidential good luck for the rest of the week, because ... yuck. The second game against SC was probably ill-advised, although it was impossible to avoid the first run-in, unless they lost to Oregon State in the first place, and then Obama wouldn't think the MAC was very good at basketball. Seriously, he never picks us in his bracket. Why do we try? | ||
| Bowling Green | 6-5 | RPI: 117 | BBState: 111 |
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LAST WEEK (W) Detroit 64-62 THIS WEEK Sunday: at Wright State Thursday: vs. IPFW |
Another win to add to the pile, but (a) everybody's beating Detroit now, and (b) Richaun Holmes had only two blocks. Is he unwell? | ||
| Central Michigan | 6-5 | RPI: 285 | BBState: 203 |
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LAST WEEK None THIS WEEK Friday: vs. Marygrove (NAIA) |
Well, at least their two-game losing streak will end soon. | ||
| Western Michigan | 6-5 | RPI: 201 | BBState: 195 |
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LAST WEEK None THIS WEEK Thursday: vs. Siena Heights (NAIA) |
So would theirs, if they had a two-game losing streak. | ||
| Northern Illinois | 5-5 | RPI: 166 | BBState: 220 |
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LAST WEEK (W) @UC-Riverside, 71-64 THIS WEEK Tuesday: at Iowa State Friday: vs. Bethune-Cookman |
I'm still not entirely sure who this team thinks it is. They're NIU. They're near the bottom of the league. And they're .500. If all goes well, they'll remain at .500 at the start of this column next week, meaning they went 6-6 in their nonconference schedule. That would be their first non-losing OOC slate since 2006, when they went 5-4 including victories over Kansas State and DePaul. That the 10th best team is not a total pushover is what truly helps make this conference better. | ||
| Miami | 3-6 | RPI: 196 | BBState: 210 |
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LAST WEEK None THIS WEEK Sunday: vs. Southern Illinois Saturday: at UMass |
Reggie Johnson transferred, but he has a leg up on his predecessors because he didn't immediately throw all his swag into a dumpster. That we know of. | ||
| Ball State | 2-7 | RPI: 293 | BBState: 308 |
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LAST WEEK None THIS WEEK Monday: at James Madison Friday: vs. Oakland City (NCCAA) |
This may finally be their chance to jump ... Miami in the standings! In all fairness, first year coach James Whitford can't spin straw into gold in a year, but a decent showing at JMU could help beef up the bottom rung of the MAC standings just a little bit. They seem to have more talent than your run-of-the-mill 2-7 team. They have to be better than this. | ||
| Massachusetts (Atlantic 10) | 10-1 | RPI: 2 | BBState: 9 |
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LAST WEEK (W) Providence, 69-67 THIS WEEK Saturday: vs. Miami |
They look poised to go 4-0 against the MAC, which would certainly give them the 1-seed in the MAC tournament. This is the plan: give them the invite. They get confused and join in. Two things happen: either they cakewalk and get the MAC's highest NCAA tournament seed in years, or get upset in the finals and the MAC becomes a two-bid conference. Excellent outcomes either way. | ||
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TOP MAC PERFORMANCES Javon McCrea (Buffalo): 25 points (8-15 FG, 9-13 FT), 14 points, 4 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks vs. Binghamton Demetrius Treadwell (Akron): 24 points (7-10 FG, 10-13 FT), 10 rebounds, 4 assists vs. Oregon State Dontel Highsmith (NIU): 27 points (9-11 FG, 6-6 FT, 3-5 3PT), 3 rebounds vs. UC-Riverside Julius Brown (Toledo): 18 points (7-11 FG, 2-2 FT, 2-5 3PT), 7 assists vs. Coppin State |
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