MAC Media Predictions are in...

So, the media poll for men's basketball is in.  The results are below, but I am not going to lie, I was a little surprised.  They pick BG for 6th in the East, and not by a little but a lot.  BG, in fact, got the lowest amount of points of any team in the poll in either division, and got roughly half as much as the next lowest team in the East, which is Buffalo.

It just seemed like we had a lot coming back and would be picked to be better than we were last year.  For example, BG finished ahead of Buffalo and lost less...and yeah, Javon McCrea has upside but so does Calhoun.  Miami lost two of its top 3 scorers/rebounders....I can see being behind teams like this, just not quite so far behind.

I do understand, for example, that Kent was better than us and they didn't lose very much either, and also their are incoming transfers in the East who can help certain teams.

Anyway, the poll doesn't mean a thing and isn't anything to be outraged about.  You either win games or you do not.

I'm going to be doing some basketball previews coming up in the next couples of days, and I think we have the ability to make a run this year, and that, in fact, if we don't we have serious issues with our program, which has had plenty of time to line up the pieces needed to compete.

East Division Predicted Order of Finish 

1. Kent State - 132 points (16)
2. Akron - 104 points (8)
3. Ohio - 94 points
4. Miami - 80 points
5. Buffalo - 62 points
6. Bowling Green - 32 points 

West Division Predicted Order of Finish 

1. Western Michigan - 128 points (14)
2. Ball State - 111 points (9)
3. Central Michigan - 92 points (1)
4. Toledo - 76 points
5. Northern Illinois - 59 points
6. Eastern Michigan - 38 points (1st place votes in parentheses)

 FirstEnergy MAC Tournament Champion: Kent State (12), Akron (6), Ball State (3), Western Michigan (2), Central Michigan (1)