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 I can't quite remember so many fan-bases being unhappy all at once. Some of the particularly loud woes are emanating from places like Athens (Ohio), Muncie (Ball State), Buffalo and Oxford (Miami).
In a related story, there are at least two fan bases that are pretty happy right now.
1. Akron (11-6, 3-0) LW: 1
The Zips could not really be more impressive right now after shedding the Ohio monkey off their back. Zeke Marshall got off to a slow start in conference play, but the norm has been very strong play and he looks ready to dominate. First-year men Demetrius Treadwell and Nick Harney are contributing quality minutes off the bench, giving Keith Dambrot depth and flexibility. Nik Cvetinovic's play has also improved in the last month. UA is playing to its potential right now, but it has no breathing room this week. It can all crumble easily. Have the Zips learned to focus in the face of success? That's what they didn't do in November. It would also help for a go-to scorer to emerge.
This week: @Buffalo (Wednesday), Kent State (Saturday)
2. Kent State (12-4, 2-1) LW: 2
Lo and behold, an offensive explosion! The Golden Flashes averaged 1.21 points per offensive possession last week, which will win you a lot of ball games. The defense was better than it looks on the stat sheet against Bowling Green; three pointers from Craig Sealey and James Erger are outliers. But to get dominated on the defensive glass -- they secured less than half of BG's misses -- can't sit well, especially after rebounding so well against Miami. A split this week leaves KSU in good shape after a front-loaded first round of East play; a sweep makes them the favorites.
This week: @Ohio (Wednesday), @Akron (Saturday)
3. Ohio (13-4, 1-2) LW: 3
Because someone has to be here, right? The Bobcats managed 0.852 O-PPP, and that was their best offensive performance since Dec. 30 against noted defensive stalwart Kennesaw State. OU seems to be a shooting team of extremes: They were burning the nets up in December after a mostly unimpressive November. Now, in January, they're ice cold. Some consistency would do them well. On the plus side, the defense was much better against Buffalo and Akron. They just couldn't keep forwards on the floor at the JAR to grab a board or two.
This week: Kent State (Wednesday), Miami (Saturday)
4. Buffalo (7-6, 1-2) LW: 4
The Bulls stay put mainly because of inertia. But here are two numbers: 87 and 9. Those are minutes played and points scored by Zach Filzen in MAC play. He has only taken 11 shots in three games and made two of them. Given his game, if he's not scoring, he's not helping. Reggie Witherspoon may have picked up on that and cut his minutes at Miami, but Filzen absolutely must find a way to start scoring again, as UB has no one else as an outside threat. Mitchell Watt and Javon McCrea form an awesome duo inside, but they're about to face a lot of tightly-packed defenses without help from shooters.
This week: Akron (Wednesday), @Bowling Green (Saturday)
5. Ball State (10-5, 2-1) LW: 5
The Cardinals were going to move up before blowing it against Eastern Michigan. Having gone to the wire at Toledo doesn't inspire confidence, either. Jarrod Jones doesn't get much attention, but he's making a strong case for Player of the Year. He's second in the MAC in scoring (17.8 points per game) and rebounding (8.5 per game) and he's doing it shooting 55.6 percent from the field.
This week: @Central Michigan, @Northern Illinois
6. Western Michigan (8-9, 2-1) LW: 8
Home cooking served the Broncos well and they're still undefeated in Kalamazoo. Wednesday represents WMU's best chance to pick up a road win for the next month. If they can't win in Ypsilanti, it's hard to see them winning the West.
This week: @Eastern Michigan (Wednesday), Central Michigan (Saturday)
7. Miami (5-10, 1-2) LW: 9
Drew McGhee had himself a very nice week, scoring 27 points on 65 percent shooting and pulling down 10 rebounds. He would have a strong case for East Player of the Week if it weren't for Justin Greene. In Saturday's 52-51 victory over Buffalo, Julian Mavunga, Quinten Rollins and Brian Sullivan played all 40 minutes with Jon Harris logging 38. Yes, Miami's roster more closely resembles a field hospital at this point, but 14 bench minutes is probably a violation of the Eighth Amendment.
This week: Bowling Green (Wednesday), @Ohio (Saturday)
8. Bowling Green (7-9, 1-2) LW: 6
For whatever reason, the Falcons have played Kent State better in Kent than at home the last few years, making the loss Saturday a little tougher to swallow despite the late rally. Point guard Jordon Crawford is not holding on to the ball at all. He's coughed it up 21 times in three games and is seven turnovers away from matching the previous season's total. He's also on pace to have more turnovers this season than the previous two combined. When he keeps the rock, though, he's a nightmare, shooting 50 percent from inside the three point arc. The downside is that he struggles from behind it (27.3 percent) and doesn't realize it (2.75 attempts per game).
This week: @Miami (Wednesday), Buffalo (Saturday)
9. Central Michigan (7-9, 2-1) LW: 7
No matter who your opponent is, you're going to have a hard time winning when you shoot 37 percent from the floor and they shoot 63 percent from three and take nearly half their shots from deep. The Chippewas had the easiest early schedule and took on a loss they might not be able to afford. They'll need at least a split this week and hope their rivals falter against the East. CMU fans can at least take solace they have an easier interdivision draw than BSU and WMU.
This week: Ball State (Wednesday), @Western Michigan (Saturday)
10. Eastern Michigan (7-10, 2-1) LW: 11
The Eagles beat BSU not with flukey shooting, but with defense and controlling the pace of the game. It's clear Rob Murphy wants things as slow as possible; the Eagles have kept it to fewer than 60 possessions in five of the last eight games. Given the general offensive ineptitude of the other MAC teams, punishing teams for poor shooting by limiting possessions is not a bad approach. It also helps camouflage the fact they themselves are 336th in the country in shooting (33.7 percent).
This week: Western Michigan (Wednesday), Toledo (Saturday)
11. Toledo (8-9, 0-3) LW: 10
Rough go for the Rockets, but know UT had a very front-loaded schedule and it very nearly pulled out a win in the Rockets lone home game. It gets easier this week. In their favor is the fact they're one of the few MAC teams that shoots free throws well (71.6 percent) and they don't foul much themselves (16.4 per game). Green Bay transfer Rian Pierson is tearing it up, shooting 50 percent from the field to lead the team in scoring (16.4 PPG) and rebounding 7.2 a game. He is also contributing 1.9 steals. Not bad for a guy listed at 6-4.
This week: Northern Illinois (Wednesday), @Eastern Michigan (Saturday)
12. Northern Illinois (2-13, 1-2) LW: 12
Congrats to the Huskies on picking up their first Division I victory of the year. Last week was the first time they scored more than 1 O-PPP and they did it twice. They were competitive in their two losses, too. Mark Montgomery has five(!) freshmen and two sophomores in the rotation, which leads to a lot of potential for growth. If the youngsters buy in to Montgomery (and they should), they could be frisky by season's end.
This week: @Toledo (Wednesday), Ball State (Saturday)
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