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Well we had quite a shakeup in the power rankings as only one team stayed in the spot that they were last week (sorry Ball State). The top four did stay the same, and those are really the most important heading into the MAC Tournament. The top four teams get byes and don't have to host a first round game, making things that much easier to grabbing that NCAA Tournament bid.
To the rankings:
| Rank | Team | Record | Previously | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bowling Green | 17-6 (9-3) | 4 | W - Western Michigan, W - at Ball State |
| 2 | Kent State | 17-8 (8-4) | 3 | L - at Akron, W - at Toledo |
| 3 | Akron | 17-8 (8-4) | 1 | W - Kent State, L - at Eastern Michigan |
| 4 | Toledo | 16-9 (8-4) | 2 | W - at Buffalo, L - Kent State |
| 5 | Central Michigan | 18-5 (8-4) | 6 | W - at Ohio, W - at Buffalo |
| 6 | Western Michigan | 15-10 (6-6) | 7 | L - at Bowling Green, W - Northern Illinois |
| 7 | Buffalo | 15-9 (6-6) | 5 | L - Toledo, L - Central Michigan |
| 8 | Eastern Michigan | 16-9 (5-7) | 9 | W - Miami, W - Akron |
| 9 | Northern Illinois | 10-13 (4-8) | 11 | W - Ball State, L - Western Michigan |
| 10 | Ohio | 9-14 (4-8) | 8 | L - Central Michigan, L - at Miami |
| 11 | Miami | 9-16 (4-8) | 10 | L - Eastern Michigan, W - Ohio |
| 12 | Ball State | 7-16 (2-10) | 12 | L - at Northern Illinois, L - Bowling Green |
Let's get into our new number one team, the Bowling Green Falcons. They've won four straight and seven of their last nine, rolling through everyone on their schedule though. Although those seven wins have come against just two teams in our top six (Central Michigan and Western Michigan) the Falcons are still getting the job done. The remaining games on the BG schedule is very favorable, with two games against Miami and Buffalo along with a game at Ohio and home versus Kent State.
Akron fell out of the top spot after losing a close one at Eastern Michigan and got jumped by Kent State after the Flashes' huge win at Toledo. It's really hard to separate the top five teams and Western Michigan and Buffalo aren't that far behind.
Buffalo is in a bit of a dry spell, losing three in a row including two straight home games. They don't want to risk getting too far behind the top four. Two games against Bowling Green will be must-wins. While it's not the end of the world to have to host a first-round home game, the ultimate goal should be to get a top 4 seed.
You really shouldn't count out Eastern Michigan just yet as they just picked up a huge win over Akron. They're playing their best basketball as of late and could be a darkhorse in the MAC Tournament.
We've got these perfect right?