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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL
East Division
- Bowling Green
- Buffalo
- Kent State
- Miami OH
- Akron
- Ohio
West Division
- Toledo
- Northern Illinois
- Ball State
- Central Michigan
- Western Michigan
- Eastern Michigan
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MAC EAST DIVISION
Justin Turner – Bowling Green, JR G
Dylan Frye – Bowling Green, SR G
Philip Whittington – Kent State, SR F
Nike Sibande – Miami OH, JR G
Jayvon Graves – Buffalo, JR G
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MAC WEST DIVISION
Eugene German – Northern Illinois, SR G
Tahjai Teague – Ball State, SR F
Marreon Jackson – Toledo, JR G
Luke Knapke – Toledo, SR C
Michael Flowers – Western Michigan, JR G
David DiLeo – Central Michigan, SR F
NOTES FROM DAVID. The MAC is consistently one of the strongest UTR conferences, and last year was no exception with Buffalo earning a #6 seed and making it to the Round of 32. I don’t foresee anyone from this league getting that far inside the bubble again this year, but I do think that there are a couple of teams who can get close to it or even inside of it.
Bowling Green is the preseason favorite, and seeing as how they return four starters from a team that won 22 games, that that makes sense. Their backcourt is really solid, and they should be able to get some help from their bench as well. They didn’t exactly finish the season strong. Four of their six regular season conference losses came in the final five games of the season. But, up until that point they were one of the better teams in the league.
Kent State is another team that I’m big on. I personally at least like them as much as Bowling Green, and maybe a little bit more. Four starters are back from a 22-win team that went 11-7 in conference play, and with the addition of a couple of transfers they should get some decent help from their bench as well.
As was previously mentioned, Buffalo has owned this league for the past four or five years, but with head coach Nate Oats leaving for Alabama and the loss of several key players, they probably won’t be the dominant team this year. They’ll still be really good, but not quite as dominant. They will have an experienced backcourt, and Middle Tennessee transfer Antwain Johnson should help them out in the frontcourt.
Toledo is picked to win the West Division, and with three starters back from a 25-win team that’s a pretty solid pick. They’ll have one of the better backcourts in the conference and also have one or two nice additions to the roster.
Akron has been one of the better programs in the conference over the years, but they finished below .500 against D-1 competition last year, and while they should be better this year they still look like they’re in building mode.
Miami OH, one of John Stalica’s favorite teams, has four starters back and should be improved this year. They did lose five of their last six games, so there is quite a bit of room for improvement.
Northern Illinois has three starters back, including one of the best players in the conference in Eugene German. I don’t think they’ll be in a position to contend for a division title, but it is a program that has shown improvement in recent years and will likely continue to improve.
Jeff Boals takes over at Ohio U, and he’s got his work cut out for him. Just one starters is back from a year ago, and they don’t exactly blow you away with the experience that they do have.
Central Michigan won 23 games last year and has three starters back. The media doesn’t seen to be big on them, but I like Keno Davis as a coach and think they can exceed expectations this year. I realize they lost some key players, but with three JUCO transfers and three starters back they should at least be respectable this year.
The other two Michigan schools, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan, could both be in for long seasons.