‘Anything But Mid’ Podcast: MEAC, MAC and Mountain West Men’s Preview

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MEAC

This is once again Howard’s conference to lose. The Bison retained a fair amount from last season and project to dominate if they can stay healthy behind the trio of Cam Gillus, Ose Okojie and Cedric Taylor. Behind them, a slew of other contenders look to bump them off come conference tourney time, such as Norfolk State, Morgan State or possibly South Carolina State. It’ll be up to the Spartans of Norfolk State to keep Howard honest following the return of backcourt stars in Anthony McComb III and Elijah Jamison.

MAC

This isn’t just a one-man race this year to top the MAC, even though Miami (OH) looks poised to run the table yet again. The Redhawks retained key pieces from last season’s wonder-squad in Luke Skaljac and Antwone Woolfolk, while Evan Ipsaro is going to get another shot at a healthy season after falling early last year. Akron, though, isn’t keen on playing the second fiddle, with the return of Evan Mahaffey headlining a squad including transfers Ty Pence from Illinois State and Buddy Hammer Jr. from North Texas, making this team a little more defense-heavy than we’ve seen in the past. Other teams have made significant upgrades as well, notably Ball State, who added new head coach Chris Capko and bringing in some high-quality mid-major transfers in Javion Guy-King from Central Arkansas and Zaon Collins from Fresno State.

Mountain West

A mess of court cases and legal battles have chalked this conference up to a big what-if. If Jaden Henley and Dan Skillings Jr. can get eligible for Grand Canyon, they will be an easy favorite, but that doesn’t mean it’s a given in the Mountain West. Jake Hall is back for New Mexico, making them one of the premier mid-majors in the county after retaining one of college basketball’s best shooters. UNLV has Terrance Ford Jr. and Dontrez Williams from Tulsa and Lindenwood, respectively, to pair with Tyrin Jones in the frontcourt. Nevada’s retention of Elijah Price along with Steve Alford’s desire to go out on a bang make the Wolfpack a sneaky contender as well.