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MID-AMERICAN
Despite head coach Bobby Hurley having left for Arizona State, the Buffalo Bulls won their second consecutive automatic bid out of the MAC last season, advancing to the NCAA Tournament and losing in the Round of 64 as a 14 seed to Miami (Florida). Five other MAC teams saw postseason action as well, with Akron playing in the NIT, Ball State and Central Michigan getting invites to the CIT, Northern Illinois participating in the Vegas 16, and Ohio playing in the CBI, advancing all the way to the semifinals of that event. Of the remaining six teams, three more finished with winning records (Kent State, Eastern Michigan and Toledo), and only Miami-Ohio lost 20 games. In all, the MAC has a productive season and will look to equal if not improve upon last season’s success this time around.
There are no less than six teams that enter this season with legitimate conference title aspirations. In the conference’s East Division, defending regular season champion Akron and conference tournament champion Buffalo should both be challenged by a deep Ohio team. In the West, Eastern Michigan, Ball State and Northern Illinois all return teams capable of making a lot of noise. In the end, our picks to win the two divisions are Ohio in the East and Eastern Michigan in the West, with Ohio, led by defending MAC Player of the Year Antonio Campbell, the choice as the top team in the league. However, there is enough talent and depth in this conference that it would not be a shock to see someone grab an at-large bid as well.
Predicted Order of Finish
East Division
1. Ohio – The Bobcats are loaded with Jaaron Simmons running the backcourt, joined by Antonio Campbell and Kenny Kaminski down low. Campbell, the conference Player of the Year last season, is a double-double threat every night that has the ability to step back and drill the three-pointer.
2. Akron – The Zips are one of the nation’s best teams from beyond the three-point arc, even without the return of Reggie McAdams. Big man Isaiah Johnson could be in store for a huge season and will make the team very difficult to beat again.
3. Buffalo – The Bulls should contend for their third straight dance ticket thanks to the return three double-digit averaging perimeter players and having Raheem Johnson back healthy down low.
4. Kent State – Jimmy Hall is one of the top players in the conference, but his team was hit hard by transfers and has a major question mark at the point guard position. Keep an eye on 7-0, 280 pound junior college transfer Adonis De La Rosa.
5. Bowling Green – The Falcons made a surprising run to the MAC Tournament semifinals last season, but were only 5-13 against the conference during the regular season. Don’t expect much improvement on that record this time around.
6. Miami-Ohio – The only team in the MAC to lose as many as 20 games also lost its top three scorers in the offseason. The good news is that the team is young, with no seniors, but this will still likely be a long year.
West Division
1. Eastern Michigan – Two freshmen averaged a double-double in the entire nation last season. One of them was #1 NBA Draft pick Ben Simmons. The other was Eastern Michigan’s James Thompson IV. With three other starters back to join Thompson, the Eagles will be very difficult to beat.
2. Ball State – Six of the top seven players return from a team that won 21 games last season. Head coach James Whitford’s team should be among the best three-point shooting teams in the nation again, and should seriously challenge for the league title.
3. Northern Illinois – The Huskies play very strong defense and return three double-digit scorers. On top of that, guard Dontel Highsmith has missed the last two seasons due to injuries. If he is healthy, this team should be right in the mix of things.
4. Western Michigan – Four starters return led by Thomas Wilder and Tucker Haymond. The Broncos should be better than last year’s 13-19 record, but it will be tough to move up in a stacked league.
5. Central Michigan – With three of their top four players gone, including star Chris Fowler, Braylon Rayson will need to step up his game even more and get a lot of help if the Chippewas want to be in the postseason again.
6. Toledo – Jonathan Williams has the ability to light up the scoreboard, but the offseason losses of center Nathan Boothe and point guard Stuckey Mosley will hurt.