Men's basketball picked to finish last in MAC West
In a poll released by Mid-American Conference officials today, the Central Michigan men's basketball team was picked to finish last in the MAC West Division and 11th in the conference.
The Chippewas received one first place vote and 67 points overall in the poll. CMU accumulated a record of 21-15 last season with a berth in the Collegeinsider.com Postseason Tournament, but went just 8-11 in conference play.
Head coach Keno Davis said he feels the talent on this team with multiple newcomers will make CMU better than what some people might expect.
"I'm really not worried about scoring we are going to be one of the top-20 teams in the country there and I'd be surprised if we weren't," Davis said. "What makes this team different is the athleticism it has to play defense. I have no doubt this is our best defensive team I've had here."
Despite struggling early in the MAC season with a 5-10 record, CMU closed out the regular season with three consecutive victories over league opponents. They then beat Bowling Green to open the MAC Tournament before losing to No. 1 seed and eventual tournament champion Buffalo.
The Bulls were picked to win the MAC East Division with 35 first place votes (210 points) and Eastern Michigan was picked to win the MAC West with 17 first place votes (183 points).
No Chippewas made the list for the West Preseason All-MAC Team. The team has EMU's James Thompson IV and Elijah Minnie, Northern Illinois' Eugene German, Ball State's Tayler Persons, and Toledo's Jaelan Sanford. On the East side it is dominated by three Buffalo players — Jeremy Harris, Nick Perkins and C.J. Massinburg — along with Kent State's Jaylin Walker and BGSU's Demajeo Wiggins.
The Chippewas open the season with Concordia at 7 p.m. on Nov. 6 in McGuirk Arena.
