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If you've been following MAC basketball all season, you know this: this conference is nuts. It's a conference where literally anything can happen, like a few weeks ago when Miami (who just lost 93-49 to Toledo) knocked off then top dog Northern Illinois. Seriously, look at the standings right now:
Yep... that's five teams currently tied for the No. 2 spot. Six games to go... #RoadToCLE #MACtion pic.twitter.com/3hmrlDqiEd
— Jeremy Guy (@JGuyMAC) February 14, 2016
How do we even try to figure out the order among the five 7-5 teams? Here's our best shot:
| Rank | Team (1st Place Votes) | Points | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akron (12) | 12 | 1 |
| 2 | Ball State | 47 | 4 |
| 3 | Toledo | 52 | 7 |
| 4 | Buffalo | 54 | 2 |
| 5 | Ohio | 67 | 8 |
| 6 | Kent State | 71 | 5 |
| 7 | Central Michigan | 73 | 3 |
| 8 | Northern Illinois | 74 | 6 |
| 9 | Eastern Michigan | 97 | 10 |
| 10 | Bowling Green | 120 | 9 |
| 11 | Western Michigan | 125 | 11 |
| 12 | Miami | 144 | 12 |
Toledo is your biggest riser this week, jumping all the way from seventh to third. Perhaps it was that blowout of Miami, but more likely it's because of their four-game win streak. It was odd to see the Rockets sitting at 3-5 in conference play after losing two home games in a row, but now the Rockets are playing the Toledo basketball we remember from the past few years. Impressive wins at Kent State and at Buffalo show that the Rockets can't be counted out. They still have to play Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan twice, but get co-division leaders Ball State at home.
Ohio is on a nice 3-game win streak, and if you go back further the Bobcats have won 5 of their last 6 with the lone loss to Akron. What's great about those wins is who they were against: Ball State, Toledo, Buffalo, Kent State and Northern Illinois, who just happen to be all in the top 8 of our rankings. That certainly helps tiebreaker-wise, and with two games left against Miami, the Bobcats will certainly be in play for a top four seed.
On the other end of the spectrum, Central Michigan just had a disastrous week. They were beaten soundly by both Eastern Michigan (71-56) and Ball State (75-63). When their offense isn't clicking things just go down the drain, and they'll have to be better in the next few games - especially with two of them against Toledo.