Notes From A Basketball Junkie

The MAC tournament tips off in… oh, a few hours. So let’s run this down one more time in 2010, shall we? I was looking forward to a couple good games to decide the East and West… of course, that didn’t happen. Central Michigan failed slightly less than Eastern Michigan and Kent walloped Akron. A fitting cap, I suppose, to an unspectacular MAC season.

1. Kent State (23-8, 13-3): Also your prohibitive favorite in the tournament. One of the biggest favorites in recent memory, even. The Golden Flashes are getting no love from the national media, but this has to be a team in the at-large discussion. Look, Akron is clearly the second best team in the conference and Kent convincingly beat them twice. This team is deep and experienced. They play the best defense in the conference by a considerable margin and sports one of the better offenses. I would not be surprised if they win all three games by double digits.

2. Akron (22-9, 12-4): Your clear second-best team. Akron’s MAC-best offense was stymied by Kent on Friday, but KSU is the only team that can stop the Zips. Akron beat 9 of their last 10 MAC opponents not KSU. UA fans are understandably upset about losing the regular season championship on their home floor, but I expect Akron to be there on Saturday to defend their tournament crown.

3. Central Michigan (15-14, 9-7): The Chippewas aren’t that impressive, but they have a fairly easy path to the semifinals and did give Akron a game in their one meeting this year. The Chips play the most physical ball in the league, and there’s something to say about that in a tournament setting. Still, there’s nothing surprising about this team. We know what we’re getting from CMU. But if Robbie Harman keeps bombing away like he has been, they’re a threat to Akron.

4. Miami (13-17, 9-7): The RedHawks are far from impressive, but they do have a first-round bye and they do likely draw a Buffalo team in the quarterfinals that they just clocked, so… why not? If Adam Fletcher can keep his body together and Nick Winbush gets hot, they have a chance in a potential semifinal against Kent.

5. Buffalo (17-11, 9-7): The defense is terrible, even though the offense is what UB fans seem to focus on. There’s zero consistency out of the Bulls, so it’s hard to imagine them marshaling another run to the finals. They did beat Kent handily at home, but a repeat performance seems unlikely.

6. Eastern Michigan (16-14, 8-8): The most dangerous floater in the draw… but they have lost once to NIU, whom they play today. Carlos Medlock, Justin Dobbins, and Brandon Bowdry is as formidable threesome as any in the conference, and Dobbins always brings it in Cleveland. In a one-game setting, you don’t need a ton of depth, and they did beat Akron this year. If you want a darkhorse to make a run, look to the Eagles.

7. Ohio (17-14, 7-9): Something of a trendy pick to give Kent problems in the quarterfinals, but the Bobcats have not been a strong road team and lost in Athens to Ball State this year. However, they’re clearly playing better basketball now than they were even a month ago, DJ Cooper is capable of taking a game over, and the ‘Cats seem to be doing a better job imposing their will on the game. I’d also like to point out that Kenneth Van Kempen, previously a disaster, has improved into one of the best interior defenders in the conference and a solid midrange shooter. He doesn’t get enough credit for this.

8. Western Michigan (16-14, 8-8): David Kool ain’t going quietly into that good night. I’m sure of this. I’m banking on this. The Broncos are solid at University Arena. Alex Wolf is (finally) getting more playing time. The rest of the team sucks, though.

9. Ball State (15-14, 8-8): Oy vey. The Cardinals needed just one win to secure the West… instead, they lost three straight. Including to Toledo. However, they skidded to the end last year and made the semifinals. They’ll need Terrence Watson to bring it again against what should be a tough Ohio challenge. If they get by the Bobcats, no way they’re beating Kent.

10. Northern Illinois (10-19, 6-10): Hey, higher than 11th! Rejoice! The Huskies have shown some signs of life and drew a winnable game at Eastern Michigan. Xavier Silas has been able to get it going a bit again, and Jake Anderson played well against EMU this year. After that? No chance against Akron. Ricardo Patton needs to prove his program is going somewhere.

11. Bowling Green (14-15, 6-10): Lost three in a row to end the season, including failing to show up in Athens when a win could have secured them a home game. This team looks like there’s a fork stuck in it.

12. Toledo (4-27, 1-15): See you next year.

Unlike the Postal Service, snow and ice can stop the Power Rankings. No matter, we’re back at it this week. Since we last talked, Kent ran their winning streak to 8 before Buffalo stopped them, Akron regained a share of the East lead, and Ball State joined Central Michigan atop the West. Just four games remain in the conference season, and there a lot of musical chairs to be played.

1. Kent State (18-8, 9-3) (1): A truly awful shooting performance at Buffalo killed the Flashes’ margin for error. That brickfest aside, the offense had been humming along to accompany the defense Kent fans have come to expect. Chris Singletary is only playing 25.8 minutes a game- whistles seem to be magnetically attracted to him- but he’s making the most of those limited minutes, making key contributions on both sides of the court.
This week: Ohio (Wednesday), Western Carolina (Saturday, ESPNU)

2. Akron (19-7, 9-3) (4): Looks like the Zips have finally found some consistent offense, and they’ve made their move to secure the top seed in Cleveland. A two overtime war against Ohio (they managed a rare win with a negative efficiency margin) was almost as impressive as sweeping the West leaders on the road. This team is tough as nails mentally. Wednesday’s affair with Miami will give one team the inside track to challenging Kent.
This week: @Miami (Wednesday), @Virginia Commonwealth (Saturday, ESPNU)

3. Miami (11-14, 8-4) (3): Nobody’s really talking about them, but the RedHawks are lurking. What’s more, they finally started winning on the road. One ardent Miami fan pointed out MU started the season with Kenny Hayes, Antonio Ballard, and Julian Mavunga recovering from injuries. Point well taken, but they’re also playing a lot more home games: They only played four in the pre-conference schedule and had an entire month away from Millett before hosting Kent last month.
This week: Akron (Wednesday), Southeast Missouri (Saturday)

4. Central Michigan (12-12, 7-5) (2): The East was not kind to the Chips, as CMU dropped three straight to fall back to the West pack. Robbie Harman has had the hot hand, shooting 16-27 from the field, including 12-21 from deep, in the last two games.
This week: @Ball State (Wednesday), Tennessee State (Saturday)

5. Ball State (13-11, 7-5) (5): Wow, how tough was that loss to Akron? Still, that showed as much as everything else that the Cardinals aren’t going away, even though Kent swallowed them up the next game. A home win over CMU sets Ball State up well down the stretch to secure a second straight West crown.
This week: Central Michigan (Wednesday), Tennessee-Martin (Saturday)

6. Buffalo (14-9, 7-5) (7): The Bulls eased nobody’s anxiety after barely holding on against Toledo. Then they shoot an effective field goal percentage of 71.9%(!) against Eastern Michigan and vaporize Kent State. So is UB turning it around? Skepticism prevails. The Bulls benefited from a once-in-a-season shooting performance against EMU and Kent’s worst shooting of the season. The lack of consistency indicates UB will continue to struggle.
This week: Bowling Green (Wednesday), @Saint Peter’s (Saturday)

7. Bowling Green (13-11, 6-6) (8): Scott Thomas is leading the team in scoring, but he’s taking a lot of shots to do it. Thomas has launched 143 shots from the field and has only scored 134 points from them. He simply must stop shooting threes. Someone connecting on 24.1% of attempts should not be shooting 4.8 a game. The bright side is that he’s getting to the line 5 times a game and is making a solid 72.1%.
This week: @Buffalo (Wednesday), Valparaiso (Saturday)

8. Eastern Michigan (13-12, 5-7) (9): Officially the Team You Don’t Want to See in the Quarterfinals. The team has zero depth, but Carlos Medlock, Justin Dobbins (who is playing inspired ball before Cleveland for once), and Brandon Bowdry is as good a nucleus as any in the MAC. When Medlock is getting to the line and heating up from distance, the Eagles are a tough out.
This week: @Toledo (Wednesday), @Detroit (Saturday)

9. Ohio (14-12, 5-7) (10): Just give DJ Cooper the Freshman of the Year award now. It wasn’t just his superhuman effort at Akron (33 points, 7 board, 5 assists, 3 steals), but his overall excellence all year that highlights Cooper. The point guard from Chicago has a sterling 2.52 assist to turnover ratio, pulls down 5.5 rebounds a game (huge number for someone so small), and has played less than 35 minutes exactly once. Reggie Keely has also improved markedly, so the future looks bright in Athens. More immediately, the short bench could lead to sputtering down the stretch.
This week: @Kent State (Wednesday), Wright State (Saturday)

10. Western Michigan (13-12, 5-7) (6): The Broncos are getting worse, not better. We all know about David Kool, and Martelle McLemore shows up some nights, but what else is there? Not much. If someone, anyone, could give Kool some help, they’d be a darkhorse come tournament time. Steve Hawkins’ excuse making has grown tiresome: It’s your team, Hawk. You made this.
This week: Northern Illinois (Wednesday), @Southern Illinois (Friday)

11. Northern Illinois (8-16, 4-8) (11): The collapse continues, as the Huskies have now lost seven straight. Xavier Silas, for his part, leads the conference in points per 40 minutes. He almost single-handedly carried NIU to a win over Ball State, but defenses know to key on Silas now. The way the Huskies defense has played (BSU game aside), Silas is going to have to score 40 a game to give them a chance.
This week: @Western Michigan (Wednesday), @Eastern Illinois (Saturday)

12. Toledo (3-23, 0-12) (12): Excited for the possibility in a macabre way of a Toledo/NIU game with the Rockets on a 20-game losing streak and NIU on a 11-game skid. How in the world did they draw Cleveland State in the BracketBuster?
This week: Eastern Michigan (Wednesday), @Cleveland State (Saturday)

Last week I suggested interdivisional play would make the difference in the regular season championship. Play since then has borne that out. Kent State has established itself as a clear #1 while watching competitors stumble. #1 and #12 are established. 2-11, however, are shifting almost daily.

1. Kent State (15-7, 6-2) (1): The MAC’s only top 100 team in the RPI, Basketball State and Sagarin Rankings, the Golden Flashes have done everything you can ask of a champion during their five-game winning streak. They’ve won playing slow (54 possessions against Toledo), playing fast (more than 75 possessions against NIU and Buffalo), playing lockdown defense (a stupefying .597 points per defensive possession allowed against NIU) and with the offense leading the way (more than one point per offensive possession in all five games).
This week: @Eastern Michigan (Thursday), @Central Michigan (Saturday)

2. Central Michigan (10-9, 5-2) (2): The Chippewas lead the West by a half game after winning three of the last four. Senior guard Jordan Bitzer has taken the load of leading the team in scoring, but he’s not a good shooter (43.5% from the field). However, he is leading the conference in free throw shooting (88.2%) and connecting on 42% of three-pointers, though that percentage has been sliding since conference play began. CMU gets four of the next five at home, giving them the opportunity to make a big run.
This week: Buffalo (Thursday), Kent State (Saturday)

3. Miami (8-13, 5-3) (6): Still winless on the road, but the RedHawks continue to defend Millett Hall. As the statistical splits between non-conference and conference play start to take shape, it gets interesting for Miami. They’re actually playing slower in MAC play (60.1 possessions per 40 minutes), and they’re not shooting as well as they were earlier in the year (45.2% effective field goal percentage), but the defense is vastly improved (.937 points per defensive possession).
This week: @Western Michigan (Thursday), @Northern Illinois (Saturday)

4. Akron (15-7, 5-3) (3): Anthony Hitchens has been a disappointment this year, but he might have made the difference in what resulted in a home loss to Eastern Michigan. Still, it’s easy to pinpoint the blame: Glacially cold shooting. The Zips made just 35% of shots from the field and 28% of threes. That was enough to overcome a dominating performance on the boards (they succeeded on 73.9% of defensive rebound opportunities and 40% of offensive rebounds). Is it enough to kill the positive from the WMU win? I say yes. Saturday’s trip to Muncie suddenly looks very dicey.
This week: Northern Illinois (Wednesday), @Ball State (Saturday, FSN)

5. Ball State (11-9, 5-3) (11): Speaking of, say hello to the conference’s second hottest team. The Cardinals are 5-1 in their last six, the one loss a close one at EMU, including the last two on the road against East teams. Maybe they’re in the wrong division. BSU has been getting it done on defense for a while; now they’re cobbling together some offense. In three of the five wins, Ball State scored better than a point per offensive possession.
This week: Bowling Green (Thursday), Akron (Saturday, FSN)

6. Western Michigan (12-9, 4-4) (7): Hard to figure the Broncos out, but they did just stomp Buffalo at home. Defense is a problem; they failed to get critical stops at Kent State and won at Buffalo mostly because they couldn’t miss. WMU is starting to look like the conference’s wild card, a dangerous team to play because you don’t know what you’re getting on a given night.
This week: Miami (Thursday), Bowling Green (Saturday)

7. Buffalo (11-8, 4-4) (5): The Bulls are in freefall and the axe might end up falling on Reggie Witherspoon’s head. Consecutive home losses to West teams compound the problems Buffalo had in road beatings last week. UB is playing defense like opponents have the flu.
This week: @Central Michigan (Thursday), @Toledo (Saturday)

8. Bowling Green (11-9, 4-4) (8): Would the Falcons have won if Otis Polk didn’t hurt his ankle against Central in the first half? Maybe. It offsets the road win at Eastern. This is looking like a make-or-break week for BG. A split, incredibly, would keep them in the running for a first-round bye.
This week: @Ball State (Thursday), @Western Michigan (Saturday)

9. Eastern Michigan (11-10, 3-5) (9): The win at Akron may have been more good fortune than good play, but the win against Ball State is certainly looking good. Still, the offense is worst in the league other than Toledo.
This week: Kent State (Thursday), Ohio (Saturday)

10. Ohio (11-10, 2-5) (10): Add this to the Bobcat scouting report: Slow them down. Ohio hasn’t won a game with less than 80 possessions, and Ball State slowed things down in the second half to great effect after allowing Ohio to run in the first. Ohio can’t successfully run a half court offense.
This week: @Toledo (Thursday), @Eastern Michigan (Saturday)

11. Northern Illinois (8-12, 4-4) (4): Just when I start to believe, the Huskies the next three by a combined 57 points. Yes, Michael Patton getting the flu was a big blow, but is he worth 57 points? No. DeKalb police are still responding to a missing person report for Jake Anderson. The defense has completely fallen apart in the last four games.
This week: @Akron (Wednesday), Miami (Saturday)

12. Toledo (3-19, 0-8) (12): It’s not good when losing Mohammed Lo (the forward shooting 45.1% from the field and 51.7% from the line) is considered a problem. Many loyal Rocket fans have already lost faith in Gene Cross and others are losing faith. Fact is, the man isn’t rebuilding the Toledo program, he’s starting over from scratch.
This week: Ohio (Thursday), Buffalo (Saturday)

Somehow, someway, for reasons that completely escape me, Cornell got nary a 1st place vote in the latest Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Obviously, the Mid-Major Top 25 has just about zero relevance and gets as much attention on the national scene as does an NJIT scrimmage, but still… If the Big Red can’t get respect from their own peeps in Mid-Majordom what does that mean when it comes to the Big Dance Selection Committee?

After their demo job on Harvard this past Saturday, it seems like the Big Red have as much of a look on the Ivy’s automatic bid, as James O’Keefe does on stupidity, but there are a few booby traps still out there waiting for Ryan Wittman and Company.

Should the Crimson run the table, and the Big Red slip up at say, Princeton and Harvard, and suddenly Steve Donahue’s side is gonna need some love from the Selection Committee to go dancing.

I’m not saying the MM Top 25 matter to the Selection Committee at all, because it doesn’t. I’m just concerned that the Big Red ain’t getting the respect and love they’ve earned and deserve. They may not be better than Butler or Gonzaga, but damn if they aren’t close to being that good. And the coaches in the Mid-Major nation should know that.

Even the AP and ESPN/USA Today voters do…

Eastern Michigan scored another win for the formerly downtrodden MAC West tonight, upsetting Akron 62-59 at James Rhodes Arena in Akron. Not exactly sure how the Eagles, last seen getting run out of Miami’s Millet Hall in a nationally televised game Saturday, pulled this one out, but judging from the box score, the Zips seemed as likely to make a shot tonight as MTV is to stage the next season of Jersey Shore in Rubber City USA.

What I can’t tell is whether Akron was just missing wide-open looks or the Eagles played some down-and-dirty MAC-style defense. Ken Pomeroy’s stats yield the conclusion that it was the latter and not the former. Regardless of the reason, consider the MAC further muddled.

And consider Cleveland as a March destination. Currently, the MAC is best described as a clusterfuck. Sure, Kent State is 6-2 and leading the East, but four teams are within two games of the Golden Flashes. The same can be said of the MAC West where any team but Toledo could finish first in the West. All eight teams that end up advancing to Cleveland for the MAC Tourney will be capable of winning the whole fucking thing. Unlike your typical BCS league, where At-Large invites to the Big Dance are as plentiful as fake boobs at a strip club, there’s only one invite to be had in the MAC.

The Big Picture: Defensively-challenged University of Bulls allow very average Western Michigan side that was coming off a two-game losing streak to shoot 60% from the field on their way to a 85-70 rout of UB. The loss, Buffalo’s third in their last four games, has the Bulls back in the middle of the MAC pack with a 4-4 conference mark (11-8 overall).

For the record, the Broncos came into tonight’s scrap shooting about 17% points worse than they did tonight (Western Michigan is 42% from the field on the season). Even more startling, the Broncos came into this game shooting 30% from the three-point strip, which was dead last in the MAC. They sank 11-of-22 triples against the Bulls tonight. Want more? David Kool and Company’s eFG for tonight’s game was probably 70%, which is 30% better than the 46.5% they’ve averaged this season. Makes it pretty easy to explain why Western Michigan scored the most points tonight that they’ve scored against any DI team this season.

In his post-game chat with WECK-AM’s Josh Wetzel, a frustrated and weary sounding Coach ‘Spoon put the onus on the Bulls saying, “Guys don’t understand the intensity with which they have to play defensive to be successful. They play for one or two possession and that’s it.”

The Good: Tough to find much positive about this game. Rodney Pierce scored 29 points, but 22 of them came in a second half that bordered on being extended garbage time. Beyond that, the Bulls once again seemed to keep the turnover bug in check, as they finished the game with only 11 turnovers.

Perhaps the other positive is that after seeing his team get blitzed by an opponent for the fourth game in a row, Coach ‘Spoon indicated that line-up changes may be on the way in his post-game chat, saying “Basically who we can play are the guys that we can trust on the defensive end. Guys who love playing on the defensive end.” Not sure who he has in mind, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sean Smiley, Jawaan Alston, and even Dave Barnett in the starting five come Thursday night at Central Michigan.

The Bad: Just about everything. As has seemingly become the norm the past four games, a team scores at will against UB. And the Bulls just aren’t constructed to win shootouts. Particularly with the way Zach Filzen, who was thought to be the team’s designated three-point sniper heading into the season, has struggles. Buffalo is a team that has win by defending and attacking the offensive glass. Their offensive rebounding rate of 32.9% is equal to the DI average. That isn’t good enough.

The Ugly: WMU’s Martelle McLemore had been 4-of-25 from the floor in his last three games. He got right real quick against UB’s shambolic perimeter D, knocking down 4-of-7 triples on his way to a career high 24 points. Tough to win when you’re allowing your opponents third and fourth option to go off for 24 points, which is exactly what the Bulls did tonight.

Who’s Got Next: In a game that has trouble written all over it, the Bulls travel to Mount Pleasant to square off with the Central Michigan Chippewa (10-9, 5-2), who just so happen to be one of the best jump-shooting sides in the MAC. Per Ken Pomeroy, they get 34.7% of their points from beyond the arc, which is 27th best in DI and tops in the MAC. Basketball State indicates that the Chips’ 36.7% 3PT% is second-best in MAC play, percentage points behind Bowling Green. Put simply, if the Bulls allow Robbie Harman and Jordan Blitzer the kinds of looks they allowed McLemore tonight, they’re going to get scorched. It’s that simple.

Pound-for-pound, Ricardo Patton’s Northern Illinois Huskies might be the most talented team in the MAC. There’s little doubt that junior guard/wings Darion “Jake” Anderson and Xavier Silas are two of the more explosive players on the offensive side of the court in the MAC. While not among the league’s best soph point Mike DiNunno and junior big Sean Kowal are capable.

None of that seems to matter that much because the Huskies don’t play the type of defense that wins games in the MAC; particularly in Cleveland where the MAC tourney is played. In the first half of today’s game, which Buffalo leads 47-42 at the half, the Bulls were able to convert any number of wide open shots. By my count, they scored on three backcuts, where the Huskies just got stuck ball-watching.

Per Ken Pomeroy, opponents are getting 48.5% of their points on 2PT field goals. That’s 288th in DI. What that means is that teams are doing to NIU what UB has done today: move the rock and get easy looks near the basket against the Huskies.

Do that for 20 more minutes and the Bulls will end their three-game slide.

Road teams scored victories in five of the first 13 games of the conference season. Since then? Home teams won 16 of the next 18. As always, home court is sacred in the MAC. With 11 games left, it’s looking entirely possible that 10 games could be enough to secure the top seed in Cleveland. It’s going to get messy. Road wins, any road wins, will be crucial. Also, look for the teams that perform the best during the next three weeks of interdivision play; chances are, they’re going to win their division.

In 2005, this was a lot of fun. In 2010, it’s depressing.

As always, overall record is first, followed by conference record, then last week’s ranking.

1. Kent State (12-7, 3-2) (7): There’s no true top dog in the MAC right now, but Kent played the most inspired basketball last week, so they reclaim the top spot. Geno Ford shuffled the lineup after questionable effort in a two-game mini-skid, and the Flashes responded by beating Buffalo by 35 then Akron by 17 with the normal starting lineup. The message seems to have gotten through.
This week: Toledo (Tuesday), Western Michigan (Saturday)

2. Central Michigan (14-14, 4-1) (6): The Chippewas have a legitimate claim on the #1 ranking this week after taking control of the West by stopping NIU’s win streak. The sledding is tough, though, with two roadies this week; CMU is 3-7 on the road, with two of those wins coming against Toledo and Alcorn State, two of the worst teams in the nation. The other win? South Florida, a top 100 team.
This week: @Miami (Thursday), @Bowling Green (Saturday)

3. Akron (13-6, 3-2) (2): The Zips have seen their last two road affairs turn into decisive defeats. Saturday’s tilt at Kent was just the fifth road game of the year for Akron, who played only two true road games in non-conference play. Critics of Keith Dambrot’s scheduling strategy can point to those road losses as evidence the Zips are not properly prepared for life on the MAC road. A win Wednesday would go a long way toward silencing those doubts. A loss would temper the hopes of a regular season championship.
This week: @Western Michigan (Wednesday), Toledo (Saturday)

4. Northern Illinois (8-9, 4-1) (5): OK, I’m convinced. A competitive loss at Rose Arena was enough to prove the Huskies are legitimate contenders in the West. The true test comes not this week, as Ohio and Buffalo at home are both winnable games and bound to be fast-paced, entertaining affairs, but next week. Still, NIU would be well-served to take care of business at home first if they want to stay in the race.
This week: Ohio (Wednesday), Buffalo (Saturday)

5. Buffalo (10-6, 3-2) (1): Yikes. I was willing to give the blowout at Kent a pass, but a similar tale in Athens suggests this might be a problem. The Bulls only needed a road split to leave the first East swing with sole possession of first place, but now they’ve cut their work out for them. Buffalo gets the West’s top three teams all in a row with two of them on a road. They best figure out how to show up on the road if they don’t want their season to crash down around them.
This week: Ball State (Thursday), @Northern Illinois (Saturday)

6. Miami (6-12, 3-2) (4): The RedHawks are playing with fire. Yes, another second half surge allowed them to dispatch Bowling Green, but Miami has trailed at halftime in their last 12 games. That is not going to work against better teams. Also, their blowouts at Buffalo and Akron cannot be ignored, nor can their 0-9 overall road record. They have to put together 40 minutes of basketball, and they have to do it away from Millett Hall.
This week: @Ball State (Tuesday), Central Michigan (Thursday)

7. Western Michigan (11-7, 3-2) (3): Destroying Toledo doesn’t mean much; everyone is doing that. Losing at Muncie was downright shocking, as was giving up 75 points to the offensively-challenged Cardinals. Perhaps the Broncos are the western version of Miami: A tough out at home, but unable to win on the road.
This week: Akron (Wednesday), @Kent State (Saturday)

8. Bowling Green (9-8, 2-3) (8): The Falcons had an opportunity to join the bottleneck at the top of the East, only to fall victim to the last Miami second half rally. Still, the schedule for West play sets up pretty well for BG; they get CMU at home and avoid NIU until the end of the interdivisional swing. Louis Orr has the chance to build some momentum and confidence by then.
This week: @Eastern Michigan (Wednesday), Central Michigan (Saturday)

9. Eastern Michigan (10-8, 2-3) (9): Very little positive happening in Ypsilanti right now. Even with Carlos Medlock, the Eagles turn the ball over too much (21.4% of possessions). One has to think Charles Ramsey is beginning to sweat at least a little.
This week: Bowling Green (Wednesday), @Miami (Saturday)

10. Ohio (10-9, 1-4) (10): The Bobcats had started to fall into a reverse Miami pattern, taking the lead into halftime, only to lose. No letting up against the Bulls, though, giving the conference a glimpse of what the team is capable of. However, that was only the second time Ohio cracked 70 points in their last seven tries, not a good sign for a team that plays as fast as they do.
This week: @Northern Illinois (Wednesday), Ball State (Sunday)

11. Ball State (8-9, 2-3) (11): Could the Cardinals be turning a corner? Two straight 70-point performances followed by a stiff fight at Eastern Michigan. When Miami comes to town Tuesday, first to 50 wins.
This week: Miami (Tuesday), @Ohio (Sunday)

12. Toledo (3-16, 0-5) (12): A faint silver lining: The Rockets were competitive for the first time in a month, losing by only four to NIU. Right now, moral victories are the only thing Toledo fans have.
This week: Kent (Tuesday), @Akron (Saturday)

Wow. Just one week and there’s been a complete reshuffling of the Mid-American deck. This is probably the most radical one-week change in the rankings we’ve ever done. Critics might take this as a sign of league-wide mediocrity while optimists could argue it’s depth. I still think we’re going to see a clear divide emerge between the conference’s top teams and the rest.

Here’s how things stand this week. Last week’s ranking is next to a team’s record.

1. Buffalo (10-4, 3-0) (4): Since a shellacking at Purdue Dec. 5, the Bulls have won 7 of their last 8. Buffalo sports the 14th most experienced team in the country, and that can only help as they move forward through conference play. A split this week would give them a 4-1 record in their first trip through the East, setting them up nicely for a run at their first outright championship.
This week: @Kent (Wednesday), @Ohio (Saturday)

2. Akron (12-5, 2-1) (2): Taking one of two on the road is generally a positive, though fading in the second half at Buffalo can’t set well with the Zip faithful. For a team as deep as Akron is, they might rely on Brett McKnight a little too much; McKnight takes 35.5% of the team’s shots when he’s on the floor. That’s Luke Harangody territory.
This week: Miami (Wednesday), @Kent (Saturday)

3. Western Michigan (10-6, 2-1) (3): True, the Broncos only have one road win this year (Eastern Illinois) and they sit second in the West standings. WMU is still the class of the division and has the conference’s best player. It’s going to take more than a one-game separation in the standings to convince me otherwise. If the Broncos can keep cleaning up on the offensive glass- they pull down 36.9% of possible offensive rebounds- road wins should start coming.
This week: @Ball State (Wednesday), Toledo (Saturday)

4. Miami (5-11, 2-1) (9): Call them the second half Hawks. Miami protected home court after trailing at halftime in both games and looking poor in the first half. Julian Mavunga was huge both games and we could be seeing the man start to fulfill some of his potential. However, the beating at Buffalo showed they cannot get away with just one good half. They have to play 40 minutes to avoid a similar result at the JAR.
This week: @Akron (Wednesday), Bowling Green (Saturday)

5, Northern Illinois (7-8, 3-0) (8): Maybe a change in decade is what the Huskies needed? NIU is 5-0 since the new year and leads the West early. Colorado transfer Xavier Silas has been gangbusters after initially struggling in non-conference play. Points off, though, for not updating his site in forever. The next test comes at Mt. Pleasant this week, their first road game against a division contender.
This week: @Toledo (Wednesday), @Central Michigan (Saturday)

6. Central Michigan (7-8, 2-1) (5): Smothering Ball State last week must have been fun. The Chips are the poster child for the “live by the 3, die by the 3” philosophy with 35.3% of their points coming from deep. Maybe that’s why they’re not getting to the line much.
This week: @Eastern Michigan (Wednesday), Northern Illinois (Sunday)

7. Kent State (10-7, 1-2) (1): Yes, the Flashes just dropped a home game to the Falcons, but I still think Kent is the better team. Ever since halftime at Miami, the Flashes have been playing positively dreadful basketball. Geno Ford has to rally the troops because this week is a potentially season-breaking homestand.
This week: Buffalo (Wednesday), Akron (Saturday)

8. Bowling Green (8-7, 1-2) (10): Showing some signs of life, hanging tough with Buffalo and surprising Kent at the MAC Center. The Falcons are giving up a ton of three-pointers (37.5% of opponents’ points), a foreboding sign this week with two teams on the slate that like to shoot the three ball.
This week: Ohio (Wednesday), Miami (Saturday)

9. Eastern Michigan (9-7. 1-2) (7): Forget contending for the West title, the Eagles are suddenly in a fight to make the top half of the division. EMU has three straight home games, and they’re going to have to win all three if they want to be any sort of factor.
This week: Central Michigan (Wednesday), Ball State (Saturday)

10. Ohio (9-8, 0-3) (6): Pretty simple scouting report for the Bobcats: Take the game inside. Ohio is only getting 46.4% of their points from two-point shots (303rd nationally) while opponents are scoring 53.6% of their points inside the arc.
This week: @Bowling Green (Wednesday), Buffalo (Saturday)

11. Ball State (7-8, 1-2) (11): Before Sunday’s win against Toledo, the Cardinals had not scored 50 points on a D-I team in their last six tries. BSU plays decent defense (120th nationally in efficiency), but even the best defense in the country isn’t going to overcome their offensive ineptitude.
This week: Western Michigan (Wednesday), @Eastern Michigan (Saturday)

12. Toledo (3-14, 0-3) (12): I get the feeling this spot is reserved for the Rockets for some time. A 55-54 home defeat at the hands of Indiana St. Dec. 19 was the last time Toledo has been within 10 points of an opponent. If woeful Ball State can score 70 on them, there’s really no limit on how ugly this season can get.
This week: Northern Illinois (Wednesday), @Western Michigan (Saturday)

To anyone that had the misfortune of being at Rose Arena tonight for Central Michigan playing host to Ball State. I didn’t see the game, but the final box yields me to conclude that the Chippewas’ 53-38 win set basketball back about 3000 years. The ancient Mayan ballgame had to have more artistry than the Chipps vs Cardinals did.

Both teams had more turnovers than made field goals — 11 buckets to 15 turnovers for the losers and 16 buckets to 19 turnovers for the winners. The respective turnover rates were 31.1% for Central Michigan and 25.2% for Ball State. The turnover rate in your typical pick-up game is astronomically better.

Given those grim stats it’s not that surprising that Ball State was stuck on six points until sometime around the 4:00 timeout in the first half.

What also isn’t surprising is that both these teams call the MAC West home. The Western Division has all the quality of a Canal Street knock-off watch, which I should know. The watches I’ve bought from Canal Street typically last about one week before dying. Western Michigan, supposedly the best team in the West, got hammered at Northern Illinois tonight, losing 87-77 to a team with a Pomeroy ranking of 252. Not good.

But that’s the MAC West for you. Not good. Just ask those brave souls that suffered through 40 minutes of “hoops” at Rose Arena tonight.

Fear the Roo my ass!

Sunday’s rematch of the 2009 MAC tournament final represents the Buffalo Bulls first chance to gain a measure of redemption for their 65-53 loss to the Zips in Clevo. Put simply, this is THE statement game for Coach ‘Spoon’s squad in January.

Rodney Pierce and Co. are 5-1 in their last 6 games. They’ll be 6-1 after they beat Bowling Green tomorrow night. Cheer them on to win four in a row this Sunday. Email me at judasdac at gmail.com for more info.

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man, healthy, wealthy, and wise.”- Benjamin Franklin

But it doesn’t prevent syphilis, does it, smart guy? I really wish I was one of those people that could regularly fall asleep by midnight and wake up ready to take on the day come morning. I’ve been told that as I get older, body will naturally make this adjustment. You know what? I’m still waiting for that to happen. I don’t think it ever will. I may not rise with the sun, but I can burn the midnight oil with the best of them. Besides, most fun happens at night, right? (Fun fact: Googling “early to bed” brings up a sex toys site.)

Anyway, we are one game into conference play! What have we learned from opening weekend? Not much, of course: It’s the smallest possible sample size of one game. However, it is worth noting three of Saturday’s six games were won by road teams; a rarity in the notoriously home-cooking MAC.

Let’s break it down:

1. Kent State (10-5, 1-0): I’m not completely convinced Kent is the team to beat. But they top the conference in the Basketball State, RPI, and Sagarin ratings, and they scored a road victory in Athens. In addition, they had the most impressive non-conference performance, so it’s really a no-brainer that the Flashes are standing on top of the mountain early. If Kent can pull off something like a 13-3 conference record and win their BracketBuster, they would be an extremely strong at-large candidate.
Up next: @Miami (Tuesday, ONN), Bowling Green (Sunday)

2. Akron (11-4, 1-0): Going to make a bold prediction: If the Zips can regularly hold opponents to 28% shooting, they’re going to win a lot of ballgames. It’s no surprise Akron is killing opponents on the boards and playing tenacious defense, but the offense has been humming along as well. This week will provide two solid tests to see just how good they are at putting the ball in the basket. Are they for real, or did they just beat up on lesser teams? Ohio and Buffalo will provide good bellwethers.
This week: @Ohio (Wednesday), @Buffalo (Sunday)

3. Western Michigan (9-5, 1-0): The Broncs have a legitimate case for being higher; they have an excellent win over VCU, played Temple tough, and absolutely shut down EMU. However, offensive consistency remains elusive for WMU, and it’s looking like a top-heavy conference this year. There are a number of teams that play good defense, including the two above Western. They need to be able to score.
This week: @Northern Illinois (Wednesday), Central Michigan (Saturday)

4. Buffalo (8-4, 1-0): The Bulls should be higher, but how do you lose by 10 to Jacksonville? Yes, the win at Green Bay was nice. De-pantsing Miami was a good message to send the rest of the league. However, the team needs to prove it can win when the offense is not firing on all cylinders against a quality opponent. Thus far, they haven’t done that.
This week: @Bowling Green (Thursday), Akron (Sunday)

5. Central Michigan (6-7, 1-0): Not the start you’d want to see from the preseason West favorites. Beating Toledo isn’t going to do much to answer any questions, but it has to start somewhere, right? Three of the next four are at Rose Arena, so the Chips have the opportunity to gather some momentum and confidence.
This week: Ball State (Wednesday), @Western Michigan (Saturday)

6. Ohio (9-6, 0-1): The kittens got a lesson on smash mouth MAC East ball Saturday… and almost passed it. Divisional foes except maybe Buffalo are not going to let Ohio run the way they would like to, and without quality bigs to take pressure off dynamite frosh DJ Cooper and journeyman Armon Bassett, expect up-and-down results from the ‘Cats.
This week: Akron (Wednesday), @Miami (Saturday, ESPNU)

7. Eastern Michigan (8-6, 0-1): And it all started so promising with a win on the road against an Oakland squad that had generated some mid-major hype. Carlos Medlock shooting 37% and 31% from deep? Not in the recipe. The team itself is shooting a ghastly 41.7%.
This week: Toledo (Wednesday), @Northern Illinois (Saturday)

8. Northern Illinois (5-8, 0-1): Sadly, the Huskies could learn a thing or two from EMU: They are shooting just 40.2% from the field and 27.8% from three, good for 332nd in the nation in that category. They’re even worse at the line with their 60.1% rate weighing in at 343rd nationally. They do take slightly better care of the ball, turning it over 23.3% of the time. That’s 315th in the country. Ah, I’m sure no one has noticed.
This week: Western Michigan (Wednesday), Eastern Michigan (Saturday)

9. Miami (3-11, 0-1): The RedHawks went through their usual Herculean non-conference schedule, though their performance was decidedly mortal. It’s Bizarro Miami this season, as they rank second in the MAC in FG%, 2FG%, 3FG% and eFG%; first in points per weighted shot and true shooting percentage. Defensive efficiency? 290th in the nation and 11th in the conference. Say what?
Up next: Kent State (Tuesday, ONN), Ohio (Saturday, ESPNU)

10. Bowling Green (6-7, 0-1): Only in the offensively-challenged MAC can you rank 250th nationally in FG% but fifth in the conference. They do one thing well: Not fouling. They’re getting whistled 16.5 times a game, best in the conference and top 50 in the nation. That might be more the result of the heavy 2-3 zone instead of solid play, though.
This week: Buffalo (Thursday), @Kent State (Sunday)

11. Ball State (6-7, 0-1): I like the way the Cardinals play basketball. I like Billy Taylor. In that vein, I hope the Muncie faithful are willing to forgive this lost season. It’s going to be very painful at times.
This week: @Central Michigan (Wednesday), Toledo (Sunday)

12. Toledo (3-12, 0-1): The Rockets have a chance to go 0-16 in MAC play. Both offensive and defensive efficiency fail to crack the top 300 in the country. What’s more, they play at a murderous pace. Only one player (Jay Shunnar) has a TS% of at least 60. Yikes.
This week: @Eastern Michigan (Wednesday), @Ball State (Sunday)

Western Carolina moves to 10-1 on the season with emphatic 91-83 win over Louisville at Freedom Hall. Larry Hunter’s side looks to be the best in the Southern Conference this season. They should make a leap in the Mid-Major Top 25 this week.

With they way they defend and the way Jake Robinson strokes the triple, this could very well be the Mid-Major no power conference side wants to draw in the Big Dance.

The Big Picture: Bulls take care of business, leading from buzzer-to-buzzer in 93-65 win over D3 Buffalo State in what we call the Youngman Expressway Derby. The win, UB’s second in a row, improves the Bulls record to 5-3 on the season. With a nine day break for Fall semester finals before UB heads to Green Bay to take on a very good Wisconsin-Green Bay side, this has to be considered a decent win. If for no other reason then it giving the Bulls a nice morale boost before they hunker down and hit the books.

The Good: So far this season, the Bulls seem to be the type of team that plays down to the level of it’s opponents — close wins over bad Navy and Towson squads and a 73-71 loss to an un-and-down Canisius team — so the rout of the overmatched and outmanned Bengals was welcome. As was the three-point sniping from Sean Smiley (4-of-7) and Zach Filzen (3-of-6). It was also nice to see frosh point Tony Watson, Dave Barnett, and Mike Clifford get some extended burn.

The Bad: I know lots of guys got some run today, but 15 turnovers it way too many. Particularly against Buffalo State. The aforementioned trio of Watson, Barnett, and Clifford were responsible for eight of those turnovers, which may or may not mean that Coach ‘Spoon is going to have shorten his rotation when MAC play begins.

The Ugly: Only 1000 people showed up for this game. That’s pretty sad considering the Bulls were coming off an exciting win over Niagara and the amount of UB and Buffalo State alums in Western New York. Couldn’t tell from the video feed, but it didn’t see like many Buffalo State fans were in attendance.

Who’s Got Next: In reality, the Bulls professors have next since its finals time. Wisconsin-Green Bay (8-2), 88-84 victors over Wisconsin this past Wednesday, are Buffalo’s next opponents on the hardwood. The Phoenix promise to offer a pretty stiff road test for the Bulls; the same sort that they will face when they hit the road for MAC play.

Toledo has to be the worst team in the MAC. They are getting thrashed by a very average Valpo squad today, trailing 79-48 with about 2:36 left to play. The Rockets went 7-25 (5-11) last season. I don’t see how there’s anyway they can win that many games this season. Even if they do play in the awful MAC West.

The Week That Was: As the 2009-10 non-league portion of the season winds down for MAC teams, this week will be remembered as the week that MAC sides made it clear that this is a league for welterweights not heavyweights nor cruiserweights nor even middleweights. Several opportunities to notch the type of emphatic, “statement,” win the league needs to raise its profile were wasted. Teams like Kent State blew huge leads. Teams like Buffalo and Eastern Michigan got embarrassed in scraps with Big Ten teams. And somehow Toledo won a game. Go fucking figure.

What does a week of futility mean for our power rankings? Not much, as it turns out. Akron, Kent State and Ohio still seem to be the class of the league, although the Zips custard soft schedule makes it difficult to get a real read on just how good they are. Conversely, thanks to Miami’s gulag of an OOC slate, it’s tough to say how good or bad the Redhawks really are. However, it seems safe to say that Charlie Coles’ squad, along with Western Michigan, is a few steps behind the MAC’s pacesetting teams.

As for the other teams, I haven’t the foggiest. They all seem to suck; just some are suckier than others.

1. Ohio (4-2, BB State 76, Pomeroy 74, Pomeroy SOS 217)
The only reason the Bobcats have jumped three spots this week is because they were one of the few MAC teams that didn’t blow a massive lead and/or get embarrassed this past week. Tulsa is a very good team and the Golden Hurricane will probably win Conference USA. There’s no shame in losing a close one to them at their homecourt (there may be shame in that being the best thing you can say about the 12 teams in your conference, but that’s a subject for a different post).
This week: Winnable tilts with Austin Peay (Wednesday) and at Delaware State (Saturday)

2. Kent State (5-3, BB State 97, Pomeroy 131, Pomeroy SOS 45)
Considering that Kent State led for much of the first half against Xavier and was down by only five points with 15:00 to play, the 77-61 rout at the hands of the Musketeers has to be considered a disappointment. Even so, it’s better than the rest of the league did this past week.
This week: at Pittsburgh on Saturday

3. Akron (4-3, BB State 197, Pomeroy 197, Pomeroy SOS 244)
Humpty Hitchens and Co. retains their third spot thanks entirely to the other nine MAC teams doing nothing whatsoever to warrant them overtaking the Zips. Predictably, Akron lost at Texas A&M-CS. Keith Dambrot’s squad should find this week’s visit from Malone much more to their liking. Especially since they have until Saturday to prep for the NAIA Pioneers.
This week: Saturday go-round with Malone Men’s hoops team only because the Malone Women’s team already has a game Saturday.

4. Eastern Michigan (5-3, BB State 169, Pomeroy 158, Pomeroy SOS 122)
Even after Saturday’s smackdown at Ohio State, I’m still relatively high on Charles Ramsey’s Eagles. Monday’s 75-58 win over Canisius is a solid win over a decent Golden Griffins squad. While it doesn’t say much about the quality of the league that holding serve against a middling team from the other MAAC holds that much water in our power rankings, such is the current state of the MAC.
This week: Eagles should beat James Madison when the Dukes visit Ypsilanti on Saturday.

5. Miami (2-5, BB State 176, Pomeroy 156, Pomeroy SOS 97)
Nothing special for the Redhawks this past week; just another loss to a far better team — Dayton in this case — as the Redhawks continue their quest to never enter MAC play with a winning record and/or chance at gaining an At-Large invite to the Big Dance. There must be a some happy medium between the Charlie Coles and Keith Dambrot schools of hoops scheduling…
This Week: Miami goes on the road to play LeBron and the Cavs while Kenny Hayes has a Wednesday game against the Phoenix Suns, who he’ll play 1-on-5.

6. Western Michigan (2-3, BB State 197, Pomeroy 117, Pomeroy SOS 127)
Well, the Broncos didn’t get embarrassed in their 76-70 home loss to Temple this past week, but they did blow an 11-point second half lead. The Broncos haven’t budged from last week’s spot, which says much more about the six teams ranked lower than them than it does the quality (or lack thereof) Steve Hawkins’ squad.
This Week: Broncos have a tour of the Prairie State, as they travel to Eastern Illinois and Champaign this week. It’d be nice to think WMU has a chance to upset the Illini and gain some measure of revenge for the MAC. Based on what happened Saturday, it’d also be delusional.

7. Bowling Green (4-3, BB State 197, Pomeroy 280, Pomeroy SOS 315)
Normally going 3-0 in a given week would see a team move up more than a couple spots in the power rankings. However, when two of those wins come at your own gym against teams that even Keith Dambrot wouldn’t schedule, and another comes against a Fordham side that just fired its coach, it’s tough to get too pumped. If we believe Ken Pomeroy’s formula, we’re justified in giving BGSU’s 3-0 week a big whoop-de-do since they aren’t that good on either offense or defense.
This Week: The Falcons visit my hometown on Saturday to play Canisius.

8. Central Michigan (3-5, BB State 233, Pomeroy 216, Pomeroy SOS 253)
The Chips handled business against an awful Chicago State squad before falling at Illinois State. Only Chicago State’s being, perhaps, the worst team in college hoops keeps Central Michigan from moving up more in the NFABJ power rankings.
This Week: Great chance for CMU to claim a Big East scalp, as they travel to Tampa to play South Florida next Sunday.

9. Buffalo (3-3, BB State 207, Pomeroy 194, Pomeroy SOS 206)
Beating Army was nice and all, but Saturday’s disaster at West Lafayette was so complete and so demoralizing that I’d be surprised if the Bulls are able to pull themselves together anytime soon. Coach ‘Spoon may want to call in Dr. Phil after the beatdown the Bulls absorbed.
This Week: It’s the Niagara Falls Boulevard (Route 62) derby, as UB travels to Lewiston, NY to play Niagara in their last until finals are done.

10. Toledo (2-6, BB State 197, Pomeroy 293, Pomeroy SOS 128)
The Rockets took care of business this week, winning two games they should’ve and needed to win. A two-game winning streak is usually nice, but when those two wins are against a D3 team and a struggling Maryland-Baltimore County side, it tends to lose lots of its luster.
This week: Beating Wright State this Thursday is a bridge too far, but both the home tilt with IUPUI-Fort Wayne and trip to Valpo are winnable.

11. Northern Illinois (1-5, BB State 243, Pomeroy 252, Pomeroy SOS 134)
I’m not sure, but I think the Huskies may have covered the spread in their 63-49 loss to Bradley this week. Not to be a Chicken Little or pessimist, NIU covering the spread could be as good as it gets for Ricardo Patton’s team this season.
This Week: Bradley visits on Wednesday

12. Ball State (2-3, BB State 310, Pomeroy 294, Pomeroy SOS 318)
Put simply, the Cardinals don’t seem to a good team. Drill down a bit more, and they don’t even seem to be a pedestrian team. Go deeper and their 59-38 loss to Butler makes lots of sense. When you’re as inefficient on offense and below average on D as the Cardinals are, their figure to be plenty of those types of losses in Ball State’s immediate future.
This week: Trips to Indiana State and Tennessee Tech loom this week.

(BB State ratings from the outstanding Basketball State and Pomeroy ratings from Ken Pomeroy’s domain. We recommend using both. Regularly.)

Not sure what Brent Musgerger’s track record is on this sort of thing, but The Sporting News is reporting that Musberger said Turner Gill is the leading candidate for the Kansas job during yesterday’s Big 12 football championship game.

Although some guy in Lawrence isn’t paying much attention to this and the UB Fan community is relatively optimistic that Gill will return as Buffalo coach next season, my money is on Gill being named the next Kansas Jayhawk head coach sooner than later.

Not only is Gill one of the best players in Big XI — Big 8 when he was QBing the Cornhuskers — history, but his daughter is actually attending Kansas.

Syracuse didn’t make sense. Auburn only sort of made sense. Nebraska makes sense, just not at the time Turner interviewed for the job.

Kansas makes sense. Coaches coming off of 5-7 seasons usually aren’t in demand, but Turner Gill isn’t just any coach and his Bulls could’ve just as easily been 10-2. Better believe Kansas AD Lew Perkins realizes this.

Matt Painter’s emptying the bench with more than four minutes left to play. Guess he doesn’t think the Bulls are capable of coming back from a 93-54 deficit at this point.

Neither do I.

Bulls have come completely undone against Boilermakers, trailing 86-45 with about 7:55 to play. That second half spurt never came.

Actually it did, but it was Purdue that went on the run.

Uggghhhh….

I fucking hate Purdue’s Chris Kramer. The Big Ten network announcers are pimping him for defensive POY. I think he’s a better candidate for the All-Prick team.

Bulls trailing 45-26 at the half. Need to get the Purdue lead down to 12 or so by the first TV timeout or this one is a wrap

Sean Smiley or Zach Filzen really need to make a few threes each today if the Bulls are going to keep this close and either throw a real scare into Purdue or come away with the check and the dubbya.

Unfortunately, they’ve each thrown up bricks on their first attempts from behind the arc.

UB’s trailing 36-20 with 6:00 left to play in first half. Buffalo really needs to close the half with a spurt.

Two consecutive moving screens called against UB. Can’t remember the last time I saw that happen. 10 minutes in and I don’t think Purdue’s been whistled for a single foul.

Despite five turnovers, Bulls are only trailing 14-11. Rodney Pierce has two triples, neither of which have even so much as grazed the rim, and Calvin Betts has another.

Get the turnover bug under control and UB can make a game of this.