Week five of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) schedule featured explosive scoring outputs. Seven games included a 75-point performance, tied for the most in a week all season.
Many of the games were blowouts. 75% of games had over ten-point wins. 58% had over 20-point wins. 33% had over 25-point wins and 16% had over 30-point wins.
We are now 10 games into the conference season and the standings continue to separate. Four teams now have winning MAC records. Three teams have a .500 MAC record and five teams have losing MAC records.
- Ball State (18-4, 10-0 MAC)
The Cardinals completed their fifth-straight week sweep and remain undefeated in the conference. They are also the first team to reach 10 conference wins. Ball State will try to break an odd streak; the team reaching ten MAC wins first in the past two seasons has ended up in second place.
Ball State crushed Ohio 83-61 and then beat WMU 61-51. This shows how the Cardinals can win with their electric offense and stifling defense. They are one of two teams (Buffalo) ranked in the top three in the MAC on both sides of the floor.
Ball State takes on an improving Bowing Green team on Feb. 5. Then, they travel to Harrisonburg, VA in a first-place showdown against James Madison (19-4) (11-0) in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge.
- Buffalo (19-2, 8-2 MAC)
The Bulls winning streak is up to six games after demolishing Western Michigan 73-40 and blowing out Northern Illinois 84-58.
Despite staying two games behind Ball State, Buffalo’s 11-1 home record, 8-1 away record, and 19-2 overall record are all the best in the MAC. They also have the second-ranked defense and second-best offense in the conference.
Buffalo squares off against Toledo on Feb 5. The matchup should be well-fought as the Rockets are one game behind Buffalo. The Bulls then take on Coastal Carolina (15-6) (6-5) off the shores of Myrtle Beach in Conway, SC.
- Kent State (15-7, 8-2 MAC)
The Golden Flashes improved their winning streak to five games last week. They dominated Eastern Michigan by 20 and Akron by 22. The biggest reason for Kent State’s continued success has been its fast-paced offense, which now leads the MAC in points for the first time this season (76.3 per game).
Senior guard Jenna Batsch led the Golden Flashes offense last week after having the best week of her collegiate career. Batsch scored a career-high 33 points over Eastern Michigan, then scored 25, the second-most points in her career, over Akron.
Batsch and the rest of the Golden Flashes will face Northern Illinois next, before going down south to play Troy (14-9) (8-3).
- Toledo (15-5, 7-3 MAC)
Like the top three teams in the standings, Toledo also completed a sweep last week. The Rockets narrowly defeated a rising Miami team, 64-59, before taking care of Eastern Michigan by a whopping 28 points. Toledo is now enjoying a three-game winning streak since their 14-point loss to Ball State back on Jan. 20.
Toledo’s defense has been their X-factor as of late. They’ve given up just 58.6 points per game over their last three victories. They rank fourth in the MAC in blocks per game (2.8) and fifth in defensive rebounds per game (25.9).
Toledo’s defense will have a tough road test next against the second-best MAC offense, Buffalo. They then will face the Old Dominion Monarchs (14-9) (6-5).
- Miami (12-8, 5-5 MAC)
The Redhawks split last week’s series but moved up to fifth in the standings. They barely lost on the road against Toledo but annihilated Ohio 72-34 back home in Oxford. The 38-point win was the largest blowout for a MAC contest this season.
Miami remains the top defense in the MAC (56.4 points allowed per game) after giving up below 65 points in both contests. Tamar Singer came up particularly big on defense for the Redhawks by collecting five steals over the two games. The freshman shooting guard from Israel ranks fifth overall in the MAC in steals (2.2 per game).
Miami plays Eastern Michigan next before going to Lafayette to play Louisiana (9-11) (5-6).
- Bowling Green (11-10, 5-5 MAC)
After a winless performance two weeks ago, the Falcons bounced back last week with a sweep of their own. Bowling Green beat Akron by 13 and then defeated Central Michigan by 7. The sweep leapfrogged the Falcons up two spots in the standings and got them back to .500 in the conference.
Paige Kohler had a monstrous week for the Orange & Brown. The sophomore guard tied a career-high in points against Akron with 28 and then led the team with 17 points against Central Michigan.
Bowling Green will need Kohler to continue her success this week as they play first-place Ball State on the road and Arkansas State (14-7) (10-1), who’s on a ten-game winning streak.
- Western Michigan (8-12, 5-5 MAC)
It was not a good week to be a Broncos fan. Western Michigan had a chance to rise the standings with matchups against the top two MAC teams, Ball State and Buffalo. However, they were delivered a 33-point beatdown by the Bulls and then lost by 10 against the Cardinals.
Two and a half weeks ago, Western Michigan was 4-1 and in second place in the MAC. Since then, they have gone 1-4 with their only win coming against Ohio. Two areas have been the Broncos’ kryptonite in the past five games: rebounding and free throw shooting. They rank dead last in the conference with 30.7 rebounds per game and are 11th in free throw % (67.5 %).
The Broncos take on a depleted Akron team next and then travel to San Marcos to play Texas State (10-11) (4-7).
- Central Michigan (8-13, 4-6 MAC)
The Chippewas lost two close games last week against NIU and Bowling Green. They are currently the eighth seed in the MAC tournament but are being chased by improving Northern Illinois.
CMU desperately needs someone else to step up offensively besides Madi Morson. The freshman phenom guard accounted for 34.1% of the Chippewas point total this week. Although Morson is playing fantastic, Central Michigan will need supporting offensive options down the stretch of the season to avoid falling out of the top eight.
The Maroon & Gold will perhaps have their easiest week of the season coming up. They face Ohio in Mount Pleasant and then go to Huntington, W.V. to play Marshall (7-15) (2-9).
- Northern Illinois (9-12, 3-7 MAC)
The Huskies finally broke their five-game losing streak with a five-point victory over Central Michigan. They were then overmatched against Buffalo’s high-octane offense and lost by 26. NIU’s split inches them closer to MAC tournament contention, placing them one game back of CMU.
NIU’s 80-point performance against CMU was their highest score in a MAC game this season. Redshirt sophomore forward Brooke Blumenfeld scored 18 points for the Huskies, finally giving star senior point guard Chelby Koker some much-needed help on offense.
The Huskies will have a huge test against Kent State this Wednesday. They will then travel to Boone, N.C. to play Appalachian State (12-9) (8-3).
- Akron (9-13, 3-7 MAC)
The Zips continued to spiral last week, losing to Bowling Green by 13 and to Kent State by 22. Akron was 3-1 in the MAC a few weeks ago but has since lost six straight games.
Turnovers continue to be the plague for the Zips. Their 18.0 turnovers per game is the fourth-highest rate in the MAC. They turned the ball over 20 times to Bowling Green and 16 to Kent State.
Akron takes on Western Michigan in their next MACtion matchup. They then will face Georgia Southern (9-14) (2-9) who is on a five-game losing streak of their own.
- Ohio (4-16, 2-8 MAC)
The Bobcats definitely had the worst week last week. Their blowout losses to Ball State and Miami amounted to a shocking minus-60-point differential.
The defense struggled heavily, giving up 155 points in the two games combined. However, grad student guard Anyssa Jones was a bright spot on offense for the Bobcats. She scored a season-high 25 points against Ball State and led the team with ten points against Miami.
Ohio will play Central Michigan next before going to Hattiesburg to play Southern Mississippi (8-14) (4-7).
- Eastern Michigan (1-19, 0-10 MAC)
The Eagles officially became the first MAC team to have a guaranteed losing conference record last week. They lost by 20 to Kent State and got destroyed by 28 against Toledo.
EMU’s losing streak is now at 14 and they have yet to win a game this season on the road. They really struggled on offense this week, scoring less than 60 points in both contests.
Unfortunately, it won’t get any easier for EMU. The Eagles play the number one defense in the MAC next: Miami. They then travel to Atlanta to take on the Georgia State Panthers (11-11) (5-6).
