MAC Standings--UPDATED

So, on a sunny Sunday that might actually begin to feel like spring, perhaps it is time to look at what March might feel like in the MAC....

The battle is on for the top 4 places in the MAC. In this sense, the regular season is really important. Until recently, first round tournament games were played on home courts on Monday, so a team could win that night, and once the play got to Cleveland, everyone was int the same boat. You had to win three straight to get the bid.

But, the home games were moved to Cleveland, and now a team without a bye would have to win on four straight nights to win the tourney, all on a neutral floor against teams (after the first game) who had out-performed them during the regular season. A tough assignment.

In fact, in the two years the MAC has used this format, 7 of the 8 first round winners have lost the very next night to a team with a bye. Miami last year is the only exception.

With that in mind, here is how things look this year. Note that each division winner gets a bye, and then the next three teams by record, regardless of division.

Buffalo, 8-1
Miami, 7-2
BG, 6-3
Akron, 6-3
Ball State, 5-4
OU, 5-4
Kent, 5-4
Western, 4-5
Central, 3-6
NIU, 2-7
UT, 2-7
CMU, 1-8

So, with Ball State getting the West's token bid and Miami and Buffalo looking pretty strong, BG, Akron, OU and Kent are all tangling for the last bye. The Falcons certainly have a tough road to get there, because they play @Buffalo, @Miami and @Akron, but they do have Kent and OU at home.

It will be what it will be, but it is nice to see us in the running. A bye was one of my two goals for the team this year.

The other was a .500 season. Three wins gets us there. That would give us 16 wins, and even if we lost the other 5 we'd be 16-14 heading to the Q, and even a first round loss is only 16-15.

Obviously, at this point, not winning three from here on in would be a huge disappointment, when you have UT, EMU and Canisius on the schedule.

At one of the darker moments of the season, I noted that it would be frustrating if we didn't get any better this year. That doesn't look very likely right now.

I am really looking forward to the next eight games. Let's see what we have.