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Whoa it's the second week of February already?
We're now more than halfway through the season and all teams have exactly eight games left to figure out where they stand in the MAC title race. There are legitimately seven teams with pretty realistic shots for the title, and you can't count out Ohio just yet especially after taking down Akron this week.
To the rankings!
| Rank | Team | Record | Previously | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akron | 16-7 (7-3) | 1 | L - at Ohio, W - Buffalo |
| 2 | Toledo | 15-8 (7-3) | 5 | W - Eastern Michigan, W - at Ball State |
| 3 | Kent State | 16-7 (7-3) | 3 | L - at Western Michgan, W - Miami |
| 4 | Bowling Green | 15-6 (7-3) | 6 | W - at Central Michigan, W - at Northern Illinois |
| 5 | Buffalo | 15-7 (6-4) | 2 | W - at Ball State, L - at Akron |
| 6 | Central Michigan | 16-5 (6-4) | 4 | L - Bowling Green, W - Western Michigan |
| 7 | Western Michigan | 14-9 (5-5) | 7 | W - Kent State, L - at Central Michigan |
| 8 | Ohio | 9-12 (4-6) | 11 | W - Akron, W - Eastern Michigan |
| 9 | Eastern Michigan | 14-9 (3-7) | 8 | L - at Toledo, L - at Ohio |
| 10 | Miami | 8-15 (3-7) | 9 | L - Northern Illinois, L - at Kent State |
| 11 | Northern Illinois | 9-12 (3-7) | 10 | W - at Miami, L - Bowling Green |
| 12 | Ball State | 7-14 (2-8) | 12 | L- Buffalo, L - Toledo |
It seems like no one is talking about Toledo and their five-game winning streak that has boosted the Rockets from the middle of the pack in the MAC West to being the division leaders. Yes, four of the wins have come against the bottom four in our rankings and three of the five games have come at home. To keep the winning streak up will be tough, as the Rockets face Buffalo, Kent State, Akron and Western Michigan in their next four games.
I was surprised that Bowling Green didn't leapfrog Kent State, as picking up two straight road wins is really really hard even against poor competition. Ohio is another fast riser after picking up two wins, including a huge home win over Akron. Although the Bobcats are 4-6, they aren't out of it yet. Of their eight games left, two are against Miami and the rest are against teams from the top seven of our rankings.
Eastern Michigan dropped two challenging games on the road, and Eagle fans may be wondering where this season went after such positive energy following the Michigan win. Some were thinking that EMU would be challenging for a conference title, but now they're just fighting to host a first round MAC Tournament game.
What say you?