Different styles. Different makeup. Different records.

Despite these differences, both the BG men’s and women’s basketball teams are well-positioned in the Mid-American Conference standings after the season’s first third, turning BGSU into Basketball U for the second straight season.

The women­ ­– perennially the preseason favorites to win the MAC — are undefeated in conference play through six games.

The men — who were picked to finish fifth in the MAC East in the preseason poll — stand at a respectable 2-3 in conference play.

Sound familiar? It should, because that’s where both teams stood at this point last season before ending the season as MAC East champions and the No. 1 seeds in the MAC Tournament.

But for the defense-based men’s team, this year’s team has a much different mix of veterans and youngsters.

Sophomores Scott Thomas and Dee Brown have filled most of the void left by the graduates Nate Miller, Brian Moten and Darryl Clements, while the team’s seniors have provided a lift on and off the court.

Thomas’ and Brown’s sharpshooting has the men just one game out of first place in this rebuilding year, as they begin the next phase of their season – a six-game stretch against teams from the MAC West – beginning tomorrow at Eastern Michigan.

A rebuilding project is not a new challenge for coach Louis Orr, as he was hired in 2007 to rebuild the struggling program — a project that came full circle last season.

If Orr can get all his players to click at the same time, he might just engineer a similar comeback as last year, when his team won nine of its last 11 games to earn a share of the regular season MAC title.

Better yet for fans, Orr can feel it coming.

“Our whole team needs to continue to improve,” Orr said. “We haven’t arrived.”

On the flip side, Curt Miller and the BG women probably won’t need a late-season run to continue their winning pedigree, as they have jumped out to a 6-0 start in MAC play by demolishing their opponent every game, winning by at least 12 points.

And that trampling will likely continue tomorrow when Western Michigan (5-14, 0-6 MAC) comes to town.

The Falcons went 15-1 during conference play last season, and with just one graduating player, Lindsey Goldsberry, last season, this year’s team already has the chemistry to become one of the finest ever to play in Anderson Arena.

Reigning MAC Player of the Year Lauren Prochaska and Honorable Mention All-American Tracy Pontius have picked up where they left off, and Miller is getting strong contributions from all five starters and 10 bench players to average 81 points per game, which is almost 10 points more than second place Northern Illinois (71.8).

“Overall, I’m excited where we’re at, but realize … we have a long way to go,” Miller said.

BG still has to play some strong teams in the West, including division leader Toledo — the most likely team to upend the Falcons — and defending conference champions Ball State to get another top seed come MAC Tournament time.

But if the first six games are any indication of what is to come, the Falcons will be trading last year’s bitter tears of defeat for tears of joy at the end of the MAC Tournament, especially with the work ethic they have.

“You can really feel this team now wanting the information about upcoming opponents and trying to find out what can hurt us,” Miller said. “I think that’s a sign of a team that’s hungry for more.”

This early in the season, who knows if the results will be the same as last year for either team, but it should be an entertaining ride no matter what the outcome.