Pre-MAC Wrap Up

MBB conference play starts on Tuesday.  With the exception of one more Sun Belt game, we are done outside the conference. 

What have we learned?

Not that much.

The most remarkable part of the pre-MAC season was how unremarkable it was.  When we started, there were three groups in the MAC.  

The 4 traditional top teams:  OU, UT, UA and Kent.

The middle teams:  BG, BS, UB, MU, NI

The sub-300 teams:  EMU, CMU, and WMU.

And after all those games, the only thing that changed was UB went from the middle to the very bottom.  They are off to a dreadful start with no D1 wins.

There were also no big upsets or wins.  Here is the MACs composite record against the four quadrants the selection committee uses.

0-21 in Q1 games

1-16 in Q2 games

15-20 in Q3 games

45-12 in Q4 games

So, 1-37 in Q1 and Q2 games.  Not surprisingly, the MAC has fallen to #21 in kenpom, from #19 at the end of last season.

Here are the standings based on kenpom rankings

The question, short-term and long-term, is which of the "other 8" can insert themselves into the conversation on a year-in and year-out basis, as the top four have.

For our Falcons, it certainly looks optimistic.  We played the weakest schedule in the MAC on purpose.  We wanted to let our guys get settled with some wins.  For the opposite approach, I give you UB.  There may have been a middle ground.   I think a reasonable goal for us is to return to Cleveland, and we should ne able to do that.  Breaking into the top 4 would be a great first season.

We shall see.

Other notes:

Kent owns the 2nd most improbable loss in D1 this year.  They were up 5 on James Madison with :03 and lost in double overtime.  Flashes were 99.6% to win.

Miami has the 4th most improbable outcome, this one a win.  They were down 4 to Vermont with :13 to play. They won, with a .07% chance.

CMU's win over South Florida is the #12 upset to date, though South Florida has not turned out to be as strong as expected.

AJ Brown was all-FR last year for OU and is out for the year.  Keshawn Williams was expected back for NIU, but he has only played in 1 game.

Tyson Acuff leads the MAC with 23 PPG.  He's #5 in the nation.  Marcus Hill is #2 at 19.3 PPG.  If Acuff plays, those two will face off on Tuesday.

Enrique Freeman leads with MAC and the nation with 13.4 RPG.  He's also #6 in scoring and the early leader for POY.  Agee is #4 at 8.1 RPG--especially good because he doesn't always play huge minutes.

Agee is also #4 in FG%. 

Jaylin Hunter leads the MAC with 5 APG. BG has no one above 2.2 (Hill).  BG is #340 in the nation in the number of FGs which had an assist.

On we go.