Northern Illinois (9-5, 4-2)

Coach Rob Judson finally has his team playing his style of ball: a plethora of guards and no stars. Senior Todd Peterson seems to be the main cog in the machine, but any player can be a standout on any night. With big wins over DePaul, Kansas State and Buffalo you can’t argue with the system. The only thing keeping this team from receiving an “A” is too many close wins.

Toledo (8-5, 1-4)

This team is every MAC coach’s nightmare – on paper. Problem is, the preseason pick to win the MAC West finds itself with no major wins and no reason for it. Toledo has three players averaging double digits in points, but for whatever reason this team can’t put it together consistently.

Ball State (4-8, 0-4)

When your star player’s nickname is Skip, you know you’re in for a long season. And it has been just that for BSU. Aside from Julien “Skip” Mills, who is the second leading scorer in the MAC with 19.3 ppg, this team has some serious problems scoring. The Cardinals average 51 points a game – second worst in the MAC.

Eastern Michigan (3-9, 0-4)

The only thing keeping the Eagles from an F are their wins over California and Tulsa and their star, John Bowler. Who is John Bowler? Just the leading scorer and rebounder in the MAC. He’s a team in himself – posts 20 points a night and hauls down 7.5 rebounds. EMU’s nine underclassmen may bode well in years to come, but in the meantime, it looks like Bowler is stuck playing babysitter.

Western Michigan (4-11, 1-4)

For one night the Broncos put everything together and played like a real team – beating Bowling Green by 22. But besides that night, things have been pretty dismal in Kalamazoo. The team’s other three wins were against Northwood, IUPUI and Loyola Marymount. Who? Exactly. Sophomore Joe Reitz has been a bright spot, averaging 14.4 points and 7.5 rebounds a night.

Central Michigan (2-11, 0-5)

Ever see the commercial with the lone Native American looking into the distance; a single tear running down his cheek? Yeah, that’s the Chippewas right now. There are really no highlights on this team. Scoring offense: dead last in the MAC. Scoring defense: ninth. Field goal percentage: .390 (also dead last). But hey, at least CMU is second in blocks. That’s something to hang their hat on.

Akron (11-3, 4-0)

The Akron Zips are quickly becoming the “Where’d they come from?” team in the MAC. Once an outsider, the Zips have now found success in football, soccer and basketball. The Zips have been able to tear through the MAC as they hold an impressing scoring average of 76.8 points per game. Akron has already proved that it can beat the best team in the West by beating NIU last week, which fellow top programs Bowling Green and Ohio have not been able to do.

Kent State (11-5, 5-0)

The Golden Flashes ripped through the MAC West as they beat every team except NIU, who they will face this Saturday. While wins against Ball State or the directional Michigan teams seem as impressive as sitting on the couch and watching ESPN, double-digit blowouts in these games show the Golden Flash’s power.

Miami-Ohio (8-5, 5-0)

Miami may not be able to beat teams by racking up points, but the RedHawks defense is another story. The RedHawks have limited their prey to a MAC-best of 60.8 points per contest. Don’t be fooled by Miami’s overall record, as its five losses have come from Alabama, Xavier, Wichita State, Michigan and Cincinnati.

Buffalo (12-3, 2-2)

Buffalo came into MAC play this season as a more unexpected surprise than Akron. Truly, if Akron is a Cinderella story, Buffalo is Cinderella’s ugly twin sister who was hidden in the cellar never to be exposed to the light of day. The Bulls were picked to finish fifth in the East, but are proving that analysis wrong.

Ohio (10-3, 4-1)

The defending MAC champs came in heavily favored to repeat. Heck, they made it to the front page of ESPN.com as a team to look for at the tournament as a bracket-buster. The problem is that Ohio won’t be busting many brackets if it doesn’t make it to the “Big Dance.” After weak wins and a weekend loss at NIU, Ohio has proved it is on its way out this year and is no longer the big dog in the East.

Bowling Green (6-8, 2-2)

Bowling Green rounded out the stacked MAC East as the worst team with a 2-2 in-conference record. BG let a game slip away in a loss to NIU on its own court, which showed an inability to finish off games. Embarrassing, blow-out losses to Bradley and Western Michigan leave more doubt. However, Bowling Green’s MAC-leading three-point percentage still makes them dangerous.