We are one game away from the halfway mark in MAC play and the standings are slowly starting to separate.
Ball State is still undefeated and out in front. However, Buffalo and Kent State have kept pace with the Cardinals with their respective winning streaks.
The fourth through seventh-place spots are still only separated by one game and could shift up quickly with many of the teams playing against each other this week.
Meanwhile, Bowling Green and Akron are each currently struggling and battling for the final spot in the MAC tournament.
The bottom three teams went a respectable 2-4 this week but Eastern Michigan remained winless.
- Ball State (16-4, 8-0 MAC)
The Cardinals have been automatic this season when it comes to MAC play. They became the first team to get a 10-game win streak after beating both Toledo and Northern Illinois by double digits.
The senior guard combination of Ally Becki and Lachelle Austin was lethal last week, especially against the Rockets. Becki scored a season-high of 26 points and Austin scored a season-high of 18 points. Austin transferred from Eastern Michigan this season and has been an unsung hero for the Cardinals as a reliable number two offensive option.
Ball State will look to continue their double-digit win streak this week @ Ohio and vs. Western Michigan.
- Buffalo (17-2, 6-2 MAC)
The Bulls may be two games back from the Cardinals but they are far from going away. Buffalo went 2-0 for the second straight week and has now increased their win streak to four games since they lost to Ball State on Jan. 11. Buffalo’s top-ranked MAC offense helped them beat Ohio by 17 and Akron by 9 to keep their positive momentum going.
Senior guard Terah Harness has been huge for the Bulls this past week. She scored 15 points off the bench and shot 5/11 (45.5%) from three-point range over the past two contests. The rest of the Bulls shot 7/29 (24.1%) from beyond the arc last week. The three-point shooting has been a problem all season for Buffalo and they’ll need other players to step up going forward.
The Bulls will try to keep pace with Ball State as they play Western Michigan and Northern Illinois this week.
- Kent State (13-7, 6-2 MAC)
The Golden Flashes may have had the best week in the MAC and are another team within striking distance of Ball State. They crushed surging Central Michigan by 21 and thoroughly defeated Miami by 14. They are now on a 3-game winning streak that has shifted them from sixth place to third place.
Over the past three games, Kent State’s second-ranked MAC offense is heavily outscoring opponents 234-169. A big reason for this is the play of senior guard Jenna Batsch who led the team in scoring for both games, scoring 16 against CMU and 19 against Miami.
The Golden Flashes will look to continue their winning ways as they host the two most struggling teams in the MAC this week, Eastern Michigan and Akron.
- Toledo (13-5, 5-3 MAC)
It was a tale of two games this past week for the Rockets. Toledo first played Ball State with a huge opportunity to make up some ground in the standings. However, it was a disappointing 14-point loss with a weak 63-point offensive performance. On the other hand, Toledo took care of business against their archrival Bowling Green, beating them 80-68 in the battle of I-75.
The result is that the Rockets are now three games back from first place as we near the halfway mark of the MAC season. An X-factor for Toledo that can help them down the stretch is sophomore guard Kendall Carruthers. The NEC rookie of the year last year at St. Francis (PA) averages 10.9 PPG but she has had offensive explosions throughout the season. This includes her 21-point season-high against Bowling Green.
Toledo will try to stay in the top six this week as they face off against Miami and Eastern Michigan.
5. Western Michigan (8-10, 5-3 MAC)
The Broncos remain the only team in the top 6 to have a losing overall record. However, their split of games this week helped them to sustain their above .500 conference record. They squeaked out a 63-60 win on the road against Bowling Green but then lost by 11 to rival Central Michigan.
The biggest storyline from the past week was that Broncos head coach Shane Clipfell became the winningest coach in Western Michigan history, notching his 180th win as a Bronco.
The Bronco’s most consistent offensive weapon this past week was grad student guard Hannah Spitzley, who is now 11th on the all-time three-pointers list in Western Michigan history. However, defensively is where the team has excelled. They are currently 5th in the MAC in points allowed per game (63.7).
The Broncos will have their biggest challenge yet this week as they play Buffalo at home and Ball State in Muncie.
- Miami (11-7, 4-4 MAC)
Miami played very similarly to Toledo last week as they looked like a completely different team against Akron than they did against Kent State. The Redhawks annihilated the Zips by 22 on Wednesday. Three days later, however, they lost by 14 to the Golden Flashes.
The Redhawks’ top-ranked MAC defense played solid in both games. However, they got out-rebounded 69-58 which hurt the offense considerably. Miami’s rebounding dropped from 6th in the MAC to 9th over this past week and it is something that could affect them going forward.
Miami will try to rise from the middle of the pack this week as they have a two-game road stretch against Toledo and Ohio.
7. Central Michigan (8-11, 4-4 MAC)
The Chippewas continued their upward trajectory by going an even 1-1 last week while Bowling Green and Akron each got swept. This caused CMU to jump into the top 8 for the first time this season.
Central Michigan’s freshman guard Madi Morson was particularly impressive last week as she notched a 25-point career-high performance in their 11-point victory over rival Western Michigan.
The Chippewas have a crucial week coming up as they take on two teams close to them in the standings: Northern Illinois and Bowling Green.
The Falcons followed up their two-game winning streak with a two-game losing streak last week, barely losing to Western Michigan before getting beat by 12 by archrival Toledo.
The week sweep was disappointing for a team on the verge of making it into the top 6 in the previous week. The biggest takeaway was that the away struggles continued for the Orange & Brown. Bowling Green now has a 1-8 away record compared to their 6-2 record at the Stroh Center.
The Falcons will have two enormous games with potential MAC tournament implications this week. They take on Akron at the Stroh Center before squaring off on the road against Central Michigan.
- Akron (9-11, 3-5 MAC)
The Zips are one of two teams in the MAC to lose back-to-back week sweeps. They got crushed by 22 against Miami before losing by 9 against Buffalo. Akron was 3-1 and in third place in the MAC on Jan. 11 but their current 4-game losing streak has moved them out of the top-8 for the first time all season.
One of their biggest problems last week was turnovers. They average 18.1 turnovers per game this season, which ranks 9th in the MAC. Senior guard Alexus Mobley was particularly turnover-prone last week, giving up possession 12 times over the two games.
Akron will have a huge matchup for eighth place against Bowling Green before traveling to Kent to play the third-place Golden Flashes.
- Northern Illinois (8-11, 2-6 MAC)
The Huskies ended their 5-game losing streak with an 8-point victory over Eastern Michigan. However, they are far from being a top-tier MAC team as they lost by 19 to Ball State at home.
A bright spot in the Ball State loss was senior center Brooke Stonebraker, who finally had a dominant performance, scoring 17 off 63.6 % from the field. The Huskies will need her to be a consistent secondary offensive option to senior guard Chelby Koker if they want to sneak into the MAC tournament.
Northern Illinois will look to make up ground in the standings this week as they take on Central Michigan and Buffalo.
- Ohio (4-14, 2-6 MAC)
The Bobcats got dominated by 17 against Buffalo but ended their 5-game losing streak by winning by 10 against Eastern Michigan. The victory was head coach Bob Boldon’s 200th career victory as the Bobcats play caller. The week split is slightly encouraging for Ohio fans. However, their two MAC wins this season are against the 10th and 12th-place squads.
There are two big reasons why Ohio continues to struggle. First, they remain tied with Central Michigan for the worst shooting team in the league (37.4 field goal %). Secondly, they are 10th in rebounding (32.0 RPG). This inability to score or get second-chance points has led their offense to remain stagnant.
Unfortunately for Ohio’s offense, they face off against the third-best and top-ranked defenses in the league this week: Ball State and Miami.
- Eastern Michigan (1-17, 0-8 MAC)
Eastern Michigan’s season just went from bad to worse as they lost to Northern Illinois and Ohio last week, extending their losing streak to 12 games.
Losing to the 10th and 11th-place teams in the MAC might give the winless Eagles’ fans little to hope for. However, if there’s anyone in the conference who could potentially lead a team out of the gutter, it would be Sisi Eleko. The Eagles’ junior power forward continued to look like a top-three player in the MAC last week, averaging 21 points and 9 rebounds in the pair of losses.
The Eagles will look to notch their first win against a pair of blue and gold teams this week, as they take on Kent State and Toledo.
