It is going to be a 2-horse race this season, IMO. Should come down between Akron and OU.

It will be interesting to see how OU does with their new coach. Polls came out, and OU didnt receive a single top 25 vote after making a sweet 16 run and returning everybody. No respect.

Akron returns virtually everybody as well, with the exlusion of MAC 6th man of the year Quincy Diggs, who was booted from the team for allegedly beating his girlfriend. The Zips do, however, have the addition of 7ft transfer from WVU, Pat Forsythe. Akron will have twin towers in the paint with him and Zeke Marshall.

I like Toledo as my sleeper to finish 3rd. Shouldnt be hard playing in the weak West. Too bad they are ineligible for post season play this year.

There is a good chance for the MAC to get an at-large this season if Akron or OU can take care of business in the OOC like they should. IMO

With the core of its 2012 MAC runner-up team returning, will this finally be the year that Akron joins Miami, Kent State and Ohio as the latest league school to hang a Sweet 16 banner? Keith Dambrot has been the most consistent coach in the Mid-American Conference over the past half-decade, having led the Zips to six straight 20-win seasons and a spot in each of the last five MAC title games. I think it is only a matter of time before he guides his home-town school into the next realm of success: the NCAAs. He's coached in two of them now, so if he can get a third team back this year, I think he'll have just the right blend of experience and talent to give a run a good shot.

If Akron does make a run, does Dambrot finally start receiving calls for a shot at the Big Show? The guy has proven he can flat out coach, with multiple MAC titles and NCAA appearances as well as two state championships, dating back to his days at Akron St. V. And he can attract talent. Never did he prove that more than as a prep coach when he won over the services of a kid by the name of LeBron, convincing The Chosen One to take his talent across town to a small, all-white D-III catholic school where Dambrot then built a dynasty. It's that series of events that has always interested me most about Dambrot.

Or perhaps he is simply happy where he is at.

I'll go with Ohio, because fuck Keith Dambrot

Pick6;1298578 wrote:It will be interesting to see how OU does with their new coach. Polls came out, and OU didnt receive a single top 25 vote after making a sweet 16 run and returning everybody. No respect.

Part of my above comment comes from the fact that he is the only MAC coach that votes, and didn't even give Ohio a vote. 99% of it comes from the fact that he's a gigantic dickhead in general.

ts1227;1298654 wrote:I'll go with Ohio, because **** Keith Dambrot


Part of my above comment comes from the fact that he is the only MAC coach that votes, and didn't even give Ohio a vote. 99% of it comes from the fact that he's a gigantic ****head in general.

Which seems to be part of the reason why Dambrot, while obviously a gifted coach, has sort of been "confined" to a certain level of success. It took the guy over a decade to recover from the incident at Central Michigan and finally get another shot at the Division I level. And, based on your rather scathingly-charged post, he has obviously done a few other things to create enemies.

ts1227;1298654 wrote:I'll go with Ohio, because fuck Keith Dambrot


Part of my above comment comes from the fact that he is the only MAC coach that votes, and didn't even give Ohio a vote. 99% of it comes from the fact that he's a gigantic dickhead in general.

now now. I mean come on..its a preseason ranking. Its nothing to get our panties in a bunch about.

I know. But like I said, Dambrot is still an asshole in general, lol

OU picked to win MAC East, Toledo picked to win the MAC west. Too bad they are ineligible.

Akron picked 2nd in East.

Pick6;1307985 wrote:OU picked to win MAC East, Toledo picked to win the MAC west. Too bad they are ineligible.

Akron picked 2nd in East.

Still, just being picked to win is a huge turnaround for them. Just a couple years ago, they were like 3-25 and a big part of the reason why us fans of MAC East teams mocked the West as being the weakest group of teams in the history of organized sports.

Heretic;1308057 wrote:Still, just being picked to win is a huge turnaround for them. Just a couple years ago, they were like 3-25 and a big part of the reason why us fans of MAC East teams mocked the West as being the weakest group of teams in the history of organized sports.

if you see, i actually picked Toledo as the best team in the West in the OP. Also, the West still sucks. Playing them kills any decent team in the East's RPI, killing any chance of an at-large.

Pick6;1308158 wrote:if you see, i actually picked Toledo as the best team in the West in the OP. Also, the West still sucks. Playing them kills any decent team in the East's RPI, killing any chance of an at-large.

Have a very good friend on that UT team. He said it's amazing how much better this team has improved. Crazy that we used to play on my driveway and now he's gotta matchup against Mbakwe in The Barn

GREG STEMPIN DROP IN.

damn Zips lost to Coastal Carolina last night smh. They still should have won, but the Zips are getting jibbed by the NCAA right now. Two key players are missing the first 3 games due to a minor compliance filing error the NCAA has decided to crack down on. Its effecting a handful of other schools as well, including Xavier.

OU opened Saturday by beating Portland by about 30.

Kind of surprised they didn't get at least a noticeable amount of love from the polls, since they only got a tiny handful of AP votes and I don't think any from the other poll in the preseason one. They only return everyone from a Sweet 16 team (except their coach, of course).

But such is life...if they have to earn accolades, that'll keep them hungry to repeat the success.

Kent vs Temple on ESPN right now. KSU started the season off with a nice win over Drexel.

Temple rolling KSU. KSU had a nice little comeback to start the half, but Temple is just a better team on this night/afternoon.

Zip lose their second game this year in OT to Ok St. Thank God I dont have to watch another game without Harney and Treadwell.

JAMIE BOSLEY FROM DOWNTOWN!

[Pictures of Jamie do not exist. So here is Detlef Schrempf]

I dont know how much anybody cares, but check out Akron vs Providence/Penn State at 1:30 on ESPNU Sunday. Today was the first game they played with their full roster and really took it to UNC-Asheville (almost knocked off Syracuse in the tourney last year). I expect them to display what they have again.

Both Penn State and Providence are awful BCS teams. Both stink this year. I expect Akron to roll.

Ohio rolling another outmanned mid-major, looking to add Wofford to UNC Wilmington and Portland.

51-30 midway through the second half, so they probably won't get 80 for the third straight game. Bummer on that, I guess.

Zips roll Penn State 85-60.I know they are trash, but it feels good to get a big win over a major program.

Pick6;1323662 wrote:Zips roll Penn State 85-60.I know they are trash, but it feels good to get a big win over a major program.

Major meaning they're in a major conference?

Midstate01;1323714 wrote:Major meaning they're in a major conference?

yes.

Midstate01;1323714 wrote:Major meaning they're in a major conference?

I'd say so The thing about the MAC is they have at least 2-3 quality NCAA-worthy teams, but because the weak teams (ie: the West division) are SO weak, the conference has a poor RPI and is usually a one-bid conference. That was the bummer about Akron having the early-season suspensions, as it likely cost them a win or two, which only hurts as far as hopefully improving the conference RPI over the course of the year...considering how they're probably one of the top two in the league

So any win over a school in a big conference...no matter how bad that team really is...is good for the MAC.

OU jumped out to a big halftime lead (44-27) over Hampton before struggling in the second half and only winning by eight last night. Shooting wasn't that great. Baltic was 7/8 from the field, but the guards were all poor. Offutt did hit a lot of free throws, though.