MAC Regular Season Champions Odds Update
Akron Leads the Way in 2024 MAC Basketball Futures Odds
Akron and Toledo Are Sitting Atop The MAC Regular-Season Standings
Akron might be sitting atop the Mid-American Conference standings, but when looking at the 2024 MAC basketball futures odds there is plenty of support for Kent State to climb back into the race after a difficult start in conference play.
Ball State has the best record against the spread among MAC teams but Akron, Western Michigan, Miami, and Central Michigan aren’t far behind.
In Tuesday’s action, the home favorites were 2-2 outright and 1-3 against the college basketball betting lines.
Akron (+225) and Kent State (+250) have the best odds to win the Mid-American Conference followed by Ohio, Northern Illinois, and Toledo.
When it comes to the odds to win March Madness, Akron, Kent State, and Toledo have the best odds at +10000 to win the national title.
Here’s a breakdown of the Mid-American Conference race as 10 of the 12 teams have played 11 conference games with Akron and Toledo setting the pace in the MAC basketball standings.
Leading the Pack
Akron has a one-game lead on Toledo in the conference standings. The Zips are also the only MAC team still undefeated at home. Keep that in mind when it comes to the MAC Basketball futures odds.
When looking at upcoming college basketball scores, after a break from conference play for this weekend’s MAC-Sun Belt Conference Challenge, things get interesting when Ohio travels to meet up with Toledo on Feb. 16.
Akron is coming off a recent seven-point home win against Toledo. The lone conference loss for Akron came to Miami.
Toledo bounced back from the loss to Akron with a hard-earned road win versus Eastern Michigan.
Central Michigan is just two games in back of Akron and there are still four home games left in league play. Central Michigan won’t play either Akron or Toledo for the remainder of the regular season.
Akron is 7-2 against the spread as a home favorite while Toledo has covered in just five of the 11 games as the favorite at home. Akron is 3-0 ATS as a road underdog as well.
Golden Flashes Ready to Make a Run
Despite a 5-6 record in conference play, the MAC basketball futures odds have Kent State as a team to watch.
Eleven players average more than 10 minutes per game but those players have combined to miss 44 games.
The Golden Flashes seem like a bigger threat to win the conference tournament than to make up a five-game deficit on Akron or pick up four games on Toledo, especially after losing by 14 points at home to the Rockets last month.
Still In the Running
Bowling Green and Ohio are both 7-4 in league play. A concern for Ohio is a 2-5 road record and that is before an upcoming trip to face Toledo.
Ohio (+400) is getting a lot more love than Bowling Green (+2500) in the odds of winning the conference title.
Bowling Green will end the month of February with games against Central Michigan, Toledo, and Miami with the final two coming on the road. That will be a make-or-break stretch for the Falcons.
Don’t Throw in the Towel
Along with Kent State, Miami and Western Michigan are also 5-6 in MAC play so there is a chance they can make a move with seven league games left to play.
It seems like a more realistic goal would be to improve the seeding for the MAC tournament than to expect any of these teams to make a serious run at the regular-season title.
Kent State is 4-4 on the road. Miami and Western Michigan are a combined 6-17 on the road and that is why they are in their current position.
Miami and Western Michigan lead the way by covering in seven games this season as road underdogs. That is the most among MAC teams.
A Look At the Numbers
Along with the MAC title odds, there are some other numbers to consider.
In the Pomeroy college basketball ratings, Akron comes in at No. 90 with Toledo at No. 135 to lead the way among Mid-American Conference teams.
The NCAA NET rankings are the more important numbers to consider since that is one of the tools used by the selection committee to select the at-large teams and seed the tournament field.
The top MAC team is No. 85 Akron. Even though the Zips moved up four spots from the previous rankings, it is clear that the MAC is going to be a one-bid conference.
The next MAC team in the NET rankings is No. 124 Toledo.
The regular season wraps up on Mar. 8 with the best games on that night likely being the Kent State-Toledo and Ball State-Bowling Green matchups.
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