MAC Men's Basketball out of conference results

So, the pre-conference season is over for men's basketball.  Every year we take a minute to see how the MAC did outside the conference.  The context is always the same...there was a time when the MAC was considered the thinking man's basketball conference and then things went south and the question is, are they getting better.

I'm a big football fan, but for night-in, night-out, never a dull moment drama, MAC basketball is tough to beat.

Anyway, things are as good now as they have been in quite a while.  The MAC is the #11 or #12 conference college basketball, depending on where you look....#12 on this measure.  Losing Creighton, the Missouri Valley has come back to the pack a little bit.

Beyond that, the MAC won 55% of its D1 non-conference games.  This is as high as it has been since I have been tracking it. One year it was 47%, it was usually in the mid 40's, so 55% is excellent, especially given that most big games are played on the road.

Below is the MAC's record against the conferences, ranked in RPI order.

The MAC has struggled with the high conferences, as usual.  Akron beat Oregon State, Toledo won @BC, and OHio and Buffalo have A-10 wins.

I would point you most closely to the conferences one ahead and one behind us....

The MAC was 4-5 against the MVC....including 2 nice wins by Ohio U.   (Did you know Loyola IL was now in the MVC?  Neither did I).  And then the Horizon?  The next lowest ranked conference?  The MAC has won 13 out of 19.

I have long called for a MAC-Horizon challenge...similar geographic footprints, competitive conferences, think it could be really nice for everyone involved.

Anyway, the MAC is 24-1 against the bottom dwelling conferences, which is as it should be.  The MAC also has only one non-D1 loss, and that was Miami against Wilmington.

Anyway, I think MAC basketball is getting interesting.  I don't think you have the big star players, but there are plenty of competitive teams and an 18 game season is the right thing for the league.

1. Big 12  (0-3)
2. Big Ten (0-5)
3. Big East (0-5)
4. Pacific 12 (1-2)
5. Atlantic Coast (1-3)
6. Southeastern (0-5)
7. Atlantic 10 (2-6)
8. West Coast (0-2)
9. American (1-1)
10. Mountain West (1-0)
11. Missouri Valley (4-5)
12. Mid-American
13. Horizon (13-6)
14. Sun Belt (3-0)
15. Big West (2-1)
16. Colonial (2-2)
17. Summit (1-3)
18. Metro Atlantic (2-3)
19. Ivy League (2-1)
20. Conference USA (2-1)
21. Southland (3-1)
22. Patriot (0-1)
23. Big Sky (1-1)
24. Western Athletic (1-1)
25. Atlantic Sun (3-0)
26. Southwestern --
27. Northeast (3-0)
28. Ohio Valley (7-1)
29. Big South (4-0)
30. Southern (1-0)
31. America East (2-0)
32. Mid-Eastern (7-0)
33. Independents