MAC Blogger Roundtable

Our host this week is Eagle Totem.  Here are my answers to his questions, and I'll post a link to the compilation when it is ready later in the week.

1. Getting a second NCAA bid: did Ohio screw the MAC's only chance, or is there still hope?

No.  Well, technically, there never actually was any hope, so the hope level is the same as it ever was.  Which is none.  The MAC is a one-bid conference.

2. Parity or fluke? Ohio started conference play 1-2, while the directional Michigan schools, which combined for a 16-25 non-conference record, each went 2-1.

These things tend to come out in the wash.  It is a very long conference season, and the stronger teams usually rise to the top.  I would expect the cross-over games to be tilted to the East again this year.  The MAC has an odd kind of parity.  Certainly, there is home-court parity, and there are three good teams and 2-3 wretched ones.  In the middle, though, are teams that are close to each other and not that far fro the top 3 teams.

3. If you could steal one player from another MAC team to add to your school's team for the rest of this season only, who would you take?

Well, the obvious answer is McCrea or Jones.  But, if I was looking for a guy who could really compliment the guys the Falcons already have, I'd say a scoring guard--Ziegler, or, if that seems greedy, Zach Filzen.

4. Miami's Julian Mavunga leads the MAC in both points per game and rebounds per game. Make the case for someone else as Player of the Year.

Well, to make that case you would have to resort to the argument that the best player can't be on a team with a poor record, and then you'd be looking at Justin Greene, DJ Cooper or Zeke Marshall.

5. Rank 'em.

1. Kent State
2. Akron
3. Ohio
4. Buffalo
5. Western Michigan
6. Bowling Green
7. Miami (OH)
8. Ball State
9. Eastern Michigan
10. Central Michigan
11. Toledo
12. Northern Illinois