MAC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2023-24 season
By Jay George
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) gears up for another exciting year of mid-major basketball. See where every team stacks up for this coming year!
The Mid-American Conference, also known as MAC Basketball, has produced numerous exciting teams into the mix of regular season and post-season play. The conference has boasted a variety of styles ranging from the defensively stout teams such as 2022-2023 Kent State which gave a gritty defensive effort against Indiana in the first round of March Madness to the stacked Ohio team from 2020-2021 including names like Jason Preston or Ben Vander Plas.
Who could forget the exciting Buffalo Bulls team from the 2018-2019 season topping teams such as Arizona State, West Virginia, Syracuse, and more only dropping four games on the season.
In the mid-major ranks, the conference sometimes falls to the wayside with national rankings or headlines not coming as often as other mid-major leagues. However, it is a discredit to ignore the exciting style of basketball this conference can bring through the season providing some respectable teams. This conference has also produced some NBA talent both historically and in recent years from Nate Thurmond back in the 60’s all the way up to Richaun Holmes today. Although varying team play style, the tempo of MAC basketball is fast, scoring driven, and high flying.
All these teams and factors combined have built the MAC into a mid-major conference that can bring respectable competition from at least a couple of teams
year in and year out. Last year was an exciting year in MAC play. This year looks to be no different with a few top contenders as we look through the preseason rankings of this year’s MAC basketball programs.