BracketBuster Loses Some Luster
When the O'Reilly Auto Parts ESPNU BracketBuster television assignments were announced, the MAC scored four TV appearances with three teams receiving matchups that could have potentially improved their at-large NCAA Tournament bid chances. But things have changed, and not necessarily for the better for two of the MAC squads.

Conference leader Kent State sits in the catbird's seat at 21-5 and is making the MAC's strongest case for an at-large bid should the Golden Flashes not claim the MAC Tournament title in Cleveland. The Flashes would still need to make a deep run into the MAC Tournament but their upcoming game out West against the St. Mary's Gaels in the BracketBuster event could also have a strong impact. A win over the 20th-ranked Gaels on February 23 could ice a tournament bid for the Golden Flashes.

But a couple of other teams who were looking toward their televised BracketBuster games to boost their tournament hopes have slipped badly in conference play recently.

Ohio was sitting at 15-6 overall with an RPI of 51 when the BracketBuster pairings were announced February 4. However since that time the Bobcats have gone into a late-season swoon, having lost three of their last four games in MAC play. Heading into its contest Tuesday night against Bowling Green, the Bobcats (16-9, 7-5 MAC) have fallen to third in the MAC East and their RPI has also dropped precipitously, barely clinging to a spot in the top 65, at 63rd. A win at home against George Mason in the Bracketbuster is a must, but is likely not going to give the Bobcats the boost they thought they would receive when the pairings were first announced.

Likewise Akron, another one of the MAC's potential hopes for an at-large bid, has struggled since its BracketBuster contest against VCU was announced. At the time of the announcement, Akron owned an RPI of 75 and was one game out of first in the MAC East. Since that time however the Zips (18-7, 8-4 MAC) have gone 2-2 in MAC play and have seen their RPI drop even more drastically than Ohio's, falling 18 spots to 93. The Zips' hopes were not helped either by the recent injury to leading scorer and rebounder Jeremiah Wood whose return date is uncertain. With their recent struggles, a win in the BracketBuster against VCU will likely not significantly enhance the Zips' chances for an at-large bid.

Recent disappointing performances in conference play have left Akron and Ohio, like the rest of the MAC, outside of potentially Kent State, needing to win the MAC Tournament in order to make it to the big dance.

It's looking like another one-bid season for the MAC.

Revenge of the West
It looks like MAC West squads got a little tired of being compared unfavorably to their counterparts in the MAC East division.

Last week in this space we noted that the balance of power was still "solidly in the MAC East," after the MAC East had won 21 out of the first 30 games between the two divisions.  Following our piece the MAC West promptly went out and won five out of the remaining six games between the divisional foes to put the final tally at 22-14 in favor of the East which is not nearly as dominating as many expected prior to the start of crossover play.

A better barometer may be in comparing home records during crossover play which reveals that home court advantage remains huge in the MAC. During crossover play home teams prevailed with a 24-12 mark with the MAC East going 14-4 at home and the MAC West 10-8. The 24-12 mark translates to a winning percentage of .667, not that far off from the overall home court record of teams in conference play of 52-19 (.732) for games played through February 17.

Here is the final breakdown of each team's crossover record this season:

Looking Ahead
Each week leading up to the MAC Tournament we will take a look at where teams would be seeded heading into MAC Madness in Cleveland.

There is no change at the top of each division from last week and if the season ended today the top two seeds would be the current divisional leaders, Kent State (1) and Western Michigan (2) but there has been some shakeup since last week elsewhere.

Here is the current breakdown of how the teams would matchup in the first two rounds if the MAC Tournament started today (February 19):

Opening Round (Seed):
(8) Toledo vs. (9) Central Michigan
(5) Miami vs. (12) Buffalo
(7) Bowling Green vs. (10) Ball State
(6) Eastern Michigan vs. (11) Northern Illinois

Quarterfinals (Seed):
(1) Kent State vs. Toledo/Central Michigan
(2) Western Michigan vs. Bowling Green/Ball State
(3) Akron vs. Eastern Michigan/Northern Illinois
(4) Ohio vs. Miami/Buffalo

Fans Say Keep Divisional Alignment
In the closest voting since we started posting our weekly poll question, our readers have indicated that they prefer the MAC's current divisional set-up as opposed to doing away with the divisions for basketball.

Other conferences such as the Big Twelve and Conference USA use divisions for football for scheduling purposes but not for basketball however MAC fans have apparently grown used to the current divisional setup and by a slim margin of 51%-49% indicated in our recent poll that the MAC should continue to use divisional alignments for hoops.

This week we ask which MAC squad has the best shot at an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament this season. To vote, click the box labeled "polls" in the top right corner of this page.

Quote of the Year (So Far)
Most writers covering the MAC will tell you that Miami head coach Charlie Coles is reliably one of the more entertaining quotes week-in and week-out while Ohio's Tim O'Shea is also good for some ink during the season but Toledo head coach Stan Joplin may be the league's most straight forward when talking to the press, rarely holding back his thoughts.

It's been a difficult season for the defending regular season champs who have had to deal with personnel losses that have resulted in a short-bench with very little depth. The Rockets also own the league's greatest home and road disparity. Toledo has won 19 straight conference games at home while losing 16 straight on the road.

Toledo's last loss on the road, a 59-52 setback at Ball State on February 17, was just the latest in a season-long series of poor road performances as the Rockets shot 33% from the field and committed 18 turnovers.

Said Joplin after the team's performance against Ball State, "I'm lucky I don't drink or take drugs, because I'd be in a rehab center in a heartbeat."

But it's not all bad for Joplin who became only the sixth coach in MAC history to record 200 victories when Toledo defeated Ohio at Savage Hall, 54-52 on February 13.

Tracking the RPI and SOS
Checking in on the latest numbers...

For games played through February 17, 2008, the MAC has two schools (Kent State and Ohio) currently ranked within the Top 65 in RPI. Miami currently has the MAC's highest rated strength of schedule, at 66th nationally.

Below is the breakdown of each MAC squad's RPI and Strength of Schedule (SOS):

Overall the MAC is currently ranked 13th in RPI and 3rd in non-conference SOS out of 31 conferences.

The Latest Polls
After going 2-0 this past week with wins over Central Michigan and Ohio, Kent State moved up one spot to eight in the latest  Mid-Major Top 25 Coaches Poll.

Akron fell in the poll for the second straight week, dropping from 13th to 14th while Ohio, which has lost three of its last four contests, fell out of the Top 25 altogether.

MAC coaches Charles Ramsey (Eastern Michigan) and Steve Hawkins (Western Michigan) each have a vote in the weekly survey of mid-major collegiate coaches.

Players of the Week
The MAC announced its choices for players of the week for games played from February 12-17, 2008:

MAC East Player of the Week:
Al Fisher, G, Kent State
Fisher received his third MAC East Player of the Week nod after averaging 22.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in leading Kent State to victories over Central Michigan and Ohio this past week. Fisher recorded a career high 28 points against Central Michigan to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists. In the Golden Flashes' victory over Ohio, Fisher paced the Kent State with 17 points and six rebounds. Fisher is averaging 16.6 points per game in MAC play this season.

**With its 79-66 win over Central Michigan on February 12, Kent State notched its tenth straight 20-win season, the longest such run in MAC history. Ball State has the next longest 20-win streak, registering twenty victories in five straight seasons from 1989-1993

**Central Michigan's Giordan Watson needs just two assists, two three-pointers and five steals to become CMU's all-time leader in each category.

**Miami, winners of six of its last seven games, has been making life tough on opposing shooters. The RedHawks have recorded 24 blocked shots in their last three games.

**Ohio has recorded more assists than its opponent in thirteen straight contests.

**Eastern Michigan point guard Carlos Medlock matched his career-high with 26 points against Bowling Green February 13 and was a perfect 6-6 from three-point range for the week.

MAC Individual Statistical Leaders (through February 17, 2008)

This Week's MAC Schedule

Tuesday, February 19
Bowling Green at Ohio, 7:00 pm
Kent State at Buffalo, 7:00 pm
Akron at Miami, 7:30 pm

Wednesday, February 20
Ball State at Central Michigan, 7:00 pm
Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan, 9:00 pm (ESPNU)
Northern Illinois at Toledo, postponed

Saturday, February 23
VCU at Akron, 11:00 am (ESPN2)
George Mason at Ohio, 1:00 pm (ESPN2)
SE Missouri State at Eastern Michigan, 4:00 pm
Youngstown State at Buffalo, 4:00 pm
Bowling Green at Detroit, 4:05 pm
Miami at Valparaiso, 6:00 pm (ESPN Classic)
Ball State at Eastern Kentucky, 7:00 pm
Delaware at Toledo, 7:00 pm
Central Michigan at Missouri State, 8:00 pm
Western Michigan at Wisconsin-Green Bay, 8:05 pm
Kent State at St. Mary's, 11:59 pm (ESPN2)

Sunday, February 24
Tennessee State at Northern Illinois, postponed