• Blog
  • About Us
  • Links
  MAC Reporter Online

Zips, Eagles get basketball preseason poll nod

10/28/2016

 
Preseason All-Conference Player picks also announced
Picture
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Akron Zips and Eastern Michigan Eagles have been selected to win their respective divisions according to the 2016-17 MAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll. The poll was determined by the league’s 12 head coaches and  a 24-member MAC News Media Panel.
 

The Zips also garnered 15 votes to win the MAC Men's Basketball Tournament. Ten of the league's top men's basketball players were also selected to the preseason All-MAC teams for the East and West Divisions as announced by the league office.
 
Under coach Keith Dambrot, the Zips . . . 

. . . return three starters and nine letterwinners from last season's Mid-American Conference Regular-Season Championship squad that earned the No. 6 seed in the 2016 National Invitation Tournament. It was Akron's sixth appearance in the NIT and fourth under Dambrot (1987, 1989, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2016).

The Zips finished the 2015-16 campaign with a 26-9 overall record, including a 13-5 league mark and an undefeated 15-0 showing at James A. Rhodes Arena. Thanks to the best start to a season in program history, Akron tied the school record for wins in a season (26) and set program records in 3-point FG made (409) and attempted (1,069) in a season, as well as, made (20) and attempted (43) in a game.

 
The Zips were followed in the East Division preseason predictions by Ohio, while Buffalo was selected to finish third and Kent State fourth. Bowling Green was tabbed to finish fifth and Miami sixth to round out this year's selections. Akron received 15 first place votes when it came to picking who would win the East crown, while the Bobcats received 16 first place votes.
 
In addition to the reigning rebounding champion and MAC Freshman of the Year in James Thompson, Eastern Michigan returns a plethora of talent to its lineup. Redshirt senior Ray Lee returns for his final season donning the Green and White. Lee is the active leading scorer in the Mid-American Conference with 1,418 career points, a total which ranks 15th all-time in EMU laurels.

The Green and White bring back its top-four scorers from a year ago and lose just one of its top-six point getters. Lee (15.1 ppg) leads the way, while Thomspon (14.8 ppg), Willie Mangum IV  (12 ppg) and Ty Toney  (11 ppg) each make their return to the squad. Additionally, Tim Bond returns to the lineup after posting 8.8 points per contest. In total, the Eagles bring back 60.7 points per game from a year ago, which is good for 78.4 percent of last season's offensive output.

 
Ball State followed Eastern Michigan in the preseason rankings in second, while Northern Illinois was selected to finish third.  Toledo was picked to place fourth, while Western Michigan and Central Michigan rounded out the West Division selections.
 
The West Division Preseason All-MAC representatives are Ball State’s Franko House, Eastern Michigan’s Thompson, NIU’s Marin Maric, Toledo’s Jonathan Williams and Western Michigan’s Thomas Wilder.
 
The East Division All-MAC squad is comprised of Akron’s Isaiah Johnson, Buffalo’s Blake Hamilton, Kent State’s Jimmy Hall and Ohio teammates Antonio Campbell & Jaaron Simmons.
 
The MAC regular season gets underway on Friday, November 11 as eight MAC programs take the hardwood. Conference action begins on Tuesday, January 3 as teams will start to fight for position in the MAC Men's Basketball Tournament that will take place on March 8-11 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
 
2016-17 MAC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
East Division Predicted Order of Finish
1. Akron (15 first place votes) – 194 points
2. Ohio (16) – 190 points
3. Buffalo (5) – 144 points
4. Kent State – 116 points
5. Bowling Green – 63 points
6. Miami – 49 points
 
West Division Predicted Order of Finish
1. Eastern Michigan (16 first place votes) – 178 points
2. Ball State (12) – 158 points
3. NIU (5) – 148 points
4. Toledo (1) – 100 points
5. Western Michigan – 95 points
6. Central Michigan (2) – 77 points
 
2017 MAC Tournament Predicted Champion: Akron (15), Ohio (11), Eastern Michigan (3), Buffalo (2), NIU (2), Central Michigan (1), Kent State (1), Miami (1).
 
Preseason All-MAC East Division Team
Isaiah Johnson, Sr., C, Akron
Blake Hamilton, Sr., W, Buffalo
Jimmy Hall, Sr., F, Kent State
Antonio Campbell, Sr., F, Ohio
Jaaron Simmons, Jr., G, Ohio
 
Preseason All-MAC West Division Team
Franko House, Sr., F, Ball State
James Thompson IV, So., F/C, Eastern Michigan
Marin Maric, Sr., C, Northern Illinois
Jonathan Williams, Sr., G, Toledo
Thomas Wilder, Jr., G, Western Michigan

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    MAC Football 

    MAC FOOTBALL 
    2024
    REGULAR SEASON
    FINAL STANDINGS
    CLICK HERE

    Picture
    MAC Basketball 
    MAC BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

    MAC BASKETBALL
    STATISTICS

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Basketball
    Football
    Other

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

Proudly powered by Weebly