Miami comes in at #97 in the country, with a projected 2nd place finish in the MAC.
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Wow! Been a while since we’ve had expectations this high coming into a season.
The down side is … only two MAC teams in the Top 100. The league has often had at least three. Guessing the other team is Akron and also guessing no higher than No. 90. Not looking good for the MAC.
With UMass coming in and Kent State’s NIT showing at the end of last season, arguments could be made for Miami (and Akron) to be ranked much higher. I also think this shows how little these folks think if (1) UMass joining the league and (2) Kent’s NIT run … which in turn shows how little they think of the NIT.
It’s time for the MAC to collectively step up in non-conference play, and again in the post season to regain some MAC respect.
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Or seriously downgrade the schedule so everyone is 10-2 to start conference play and the algos feed on themselves playing teams with great records. My working theory on the rankings.
The problem with the MAC isn’t necessarily the top. Its the bottom that really hurts (and drags down the analytics of the top). There’s nothing Akron, Miami, Kent, and OU can do at this point scheduling wise to fix the problems caused by the Buffalos, EMUs, and Ball States. Thankfully NIU left for basketball’s sake.
You can only get your analytics so good when half your conference is in the 250+ rankings range.
I mentioned it when the rumors about Sun Belt and OU were swirling this summer, but the spending/ambitious MAC ADs need to have a serious come to jesus type talk with the conference and figure out what the future of this conference is (for both major sports). I’m not sure everyone is on the same page (or can afford to be on the same page) as far as what its going to take to be competitive in the coming era.
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**** I’m not sure everyone is on the same page (or can afford to be on the same page) as far as what its going to take to be competitive in the coming era.**
I agree with HH. First thing to do for the conference to improve is to get all, or at least all of the top tier, on the same page. Problem is, some Top Tier teams in basketball (Kent, Akron) are absolute bottom feeders in FB, and I’m not so sure either one of those two programs have what it takes $$$ to even rise to the middle of the MAC pack.
At some point the MAC will have to figure out a way for teams to be in the MAC, but not necessarily be there in both FB and BB. Tough choice. But for the league to survive, it may have to happen.