Men's basketball picked to finish last in MAC West by coaches, media
A poll released by the Mid-American Conference on Friday predicts the Central Michigan men's basketball team will finish in sixth place out of six teams in the MAC West Division for the upcoming season. The Chippewas have won the division for three straight seasons.
In-state rival Eastern Michigan was picked to finish first in the West Division and Akron was selected to finish first in the East Division. The Eagles received 16 first-place votes and 178 points, while the Zips received 15 first-place votes and 194 points. The Zips were also selected to win the MAC Tournament.
The poll was voted on by the coaches and media members who cover the MAC. CMU received one first place vote to win the MAC Tournament.
"There are very few who vote for any preseason poll who have seen anybody's team but their own," head coach Keno Davis said to CMUChippewas.com. "I think especially in the MAC West this year, the preseason predictions I've seen, just about everybody is picked at the top and the bottom. It says a lot for the parity, not just in our conference, but across college basketball, and about the quality from top to bottom."
The Chippewas lost four-year players inChris Fowler and John Simons, and transfer Rayshawn Simmons to graduation after the 2015 season. They return senior Blake Hibbitts who missed all of last year with a knee injury, and also bring in transfer guard Marcus Keene from Youngstown State.
Coach Davis and the team welcomes Slippery Rock to McGuirk Arena next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. for the home opener and first game of the season.
