Mid-American Conference in NCAA NET Rankings
12. Buffalo
78. Toledo
92. Kent State
94. Ball State
131. Ohio
142. Akron
144. Miami
149. Central Michigan
170. Northern Illinois
234. Western Michigan
235. Bowling Green
260. Eastern Michigan
As the end of the non-conference season comes to a close, many MAC squads have proved to be front runners for the conference title while others have some work to do. Here are five takeaways from the NCAA's most recent NET rankings
Buffalo, Toledo in familiar place
While there is 66 place difference between both these teams, the No. 12 Bulls and No. 78 Rockets currently lead the rankings. This doesn't come as a surprise to MAC fans as both schools qualified for the championship game last season. Buffalo is currently undefeated with big wins over then No. 13 West Virginia and Saint Bonaventure. The Bulls are currently 13th in the nation in offensive scoring. The Rockets are currently 9-1 averaging 83 points per game.
Ball State, Kent State evenly matched
The Golden Flashes sit only two seeds ahead of the Cardinals at 92nd. While Ball State is sitting at four losses on the season to Kent State's one, both teams are downing around 80 points this season and pulling down 37 rebounds. Both teams have big wins with the Golden Flashes defeating Vanderbilt and the Cardinal knocking off Loyola Chicago. Cardinals have the 71st ranking in schedule difficulty this season.
Akron, Miami, Central Michigan herding together
The Zips, Chips and RedHawks currently sit in the 140s of the rankings with Akron leading the charge at 142. Miami follows close at 144 and Central Michigan trails off at 149. The RedHawks and Zips stats sheets are almost identical with both teams netting points in the high 70s, registering 13 assists per game and 3 blocks. While the Chippeweas have only two losses on the season, the team really hasn't been challenged as they rank at 331 in schedule difficulty.
Bowling Green, Western Michigan riding low
Two schools who failed to make it out of the first round of the MAC tournament last are currently sitting on the lower side of the rankings. Western Michigan is ranked at 234 while Bowling Green follows at 235. The Broncos are currently hovering over .500 at 5-4 going 2-3 in their last five games. It doesn't get easier for Western as they will face No.5 Michigan on Saturday. The Falcons at 5-5 are lead by Justin Turner averaging 18 points per game.
Eastern Michigan at the bottom
Picked to win the MAC West, the Eagles, while at 5-5, have been challenged in their non-conference schedule. In it's last seven game, the Eagles are 2-5 with big losses to then No. 1 Duke, Rutgers and TCU. The Rutgers loss came by way of the team only putting up four points in the first half. While the team is coming off a 105-53 win over Central State, they will close up their non-conference schedule at No.1 Kansas and open their conference schedule hosting No. 14 Buffalo.
Contact Jack Williams with any comments at jgwilliams@bsu.edu or on Twitter @jackgwilliams
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