Ball State men's basketball coach Billy Taylor tried to down play the significance, basically saying it wasn't worth the paper it was written on or cyberspace it took up. But the announcement Thursday during the Mid-American Conference preseason teleconference further validated that the Ball State program is presumed to be heading in the right direction under its fourth-year head coach.
The 24-member MAC News Media Panel picked the Cardinals to win the West Division for the first time since the 2002-03 preseason vote.
Ball State received 12 of the 24 first-place votes and 124 total points to edge out Central Michigan. The Chippewas received eight first-place votes and came in second with 122 points. Eastern Michigan followed in third (88 points), Western Michigan fourth (68), Northern Illinois fifth (64) and Toledo sixth (38). Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois received two first-place votes each.
"I really don't put a lot of merit in the preseason polls. I don't put a lot of stock in it," Taylor said. "We have to go out there and we have to be able to play, compete every single night. Us being predicted first is kind of a result of us having some knowns with our team -- Jarrod Jones, Randy Davis, Malik Perry and Jauwan Scaife. In terms of what's written on paper, it doesn't matter, we have to go do it on the floor."
The Cardinals certainly possess the talent -- on paper -- to contend for the MAC championship.
The Cardinals return five players who started at least 11 games and bring in five freshmen, all of whom Scaife predicts will contribute this season.
Ball State tied for second in the West last season with an 8-8 record. The Cardinals settled for tying for second after losing their final three conference games. Ball State then lost in the first round of the MAC tournament to Ohio.
The MAC media panel picked Ohio to win the East Division and to repeat as tournament champions. The Bobcats received 12 first place votes and 128 points. Kent State followed with eight first-place votes and 114 points. Akron received the remaining four first-place votes and came in third with 104 points. The media panel picked Miami fourth (84), Bowling Green fifth (42) and Buffalo sixth (32).Ten of the 24 in the MAC News Media Panel picked the Bobcats to win the conference tournament followed by Kent State (6), Central Michigan (4), Ball State (2) and Akron (2).
"Obviously you can't control how people vote and predict," Ohio coach John Groce said, "I do think certainly some of it, if you look at the history of who's been predicted in the preseason, a lot of it has been determined in some ways on how teams finished the previous year."
All but Buffalo and Toledo put a player on the preseason All-MAC teams. Jones, a junior forward, represents Ball State on the West Division preseason team. Jones nabbed All-MAC and All-Region accolades as a sophomore when he averaged 12.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
"He's had a great attitude and work ethic this summer in trying to improve his game," Taylor said of Jones.
Ballyhooed Central Michigan freshman guard Trey Zeigler, Eastern Michigan senior forward Brandon Bowdry, Northern Illinois senior guard Xavier Silas and Western Michigan junior forward Flenard Whitfield join Jones on the preseason West team.
Zeigler faces the pressure of stepping in and contributing immediately for his father, Central Michigan coach Ernie Zeigler.
"We're a team first and foremost," Ernie Zeigler said. "Trey's a freshman, yes he's a very talented freshman, but he's a freshman. People are going to need to be patient, because he's going to have his days where he has his highs and he has his lows."
Ohio sophomore guard D.J. Cooper, the 2009-10 MAC Freshman of the Year, headlines the preseason East team. Akron senior forward Brett McKnight, Bowling Green junior forward Scott Thomas, Kent State junior forward Justin Greene and Miami junior forward Julian Mavunga round out the selections.
Virtually all of the MAC programs -- with the notable exception of Ball State -- lost prominent players to graduation, transfer or dismissal.
"The league is going to look a lot differently this year," Taylor said. "Certainly there's a lot of experienced players the league lost. From that standpoint it's going to be very different."
The 24-member MAC News Media Panel picked the Cardinals to win the West Division for the first time since the 2002-03 preseason vote.
Ball State received 12 of the 24 first-place votes and 124 total points to edge out Central Michigan. The Chippewas received eight first-place votes and came in second with 122 points. Eastern Michigan followed in third (88 points), Western Michigan fourth (68), Northern Illinois fifth (64) and Toledo sixth (38). Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois received two first-place votes each.
"I really don't put a lot of merit in the preseason polls. I don't put a lot of stock in it," Taylor said. "We have to go out there and we have to be able to play, compete every single night. Us being predicted first is kind of a result of us having some knowns with our team -- Jarrod Jones, Randy Davis, Malik Perry and Jauwan Scaife. In terms of what's written on paper, it doesn't matter, we have to go do it on the floor."
The Cardinals certainly possess the talent -- on paper -- to contend for the MAC championship.
The Cardinals return five players who started at least 11 games and bring in five freshmen, all of whom Scaife predicts will contribute this season.
Ball State tied for second in the West last season with an 8-8 record. The Cardinals settled for tying for second after losing their final three conference games. Ball State then lost in the first round of the MAC tournament to Ohio.
The MAC media panel picked Ohio to win the East Division and to repeat as tournament champions. The Bobcats received 12 first place votes and 128 points. Kent State followed with eight first-place votes and 114 points. Akron received the remaining four first-place votes and came in third with 104 points. The media panel picked Miami fourth (84), Bowling Green fifth (42) and Buffalo sixth (32).Ten of the 24 in the MAC News Media Panel picked the Bobcats to win the conference tournament followed by Kent State (6), Central Michigan (4), Ball State (2) and Akron (2).
"Obviously you can't control how people vote and predict," Ohio coach John Groce said, "I do think certainly some of it, if you look at the history of who's been predicted in the preseason, a lot of it has been determined in some ways on how teams finished the previous year."
All but Buffalo and Toledo put a player on the preseason All-MAC teams. Jones, a junior forward, represents Ball State on the West Division preseason team. Jones nabbed All-MAC and All-Region accolades as a sophomore when he averaged 12.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
"He's had a great attitude and work ethic this summer in trying to improve his game," Taylor said of Jones.
Ballyhooed Central Michigan freshman guard Trey Zeigler, Eastern Michigan senior forward Brandon Bowdry, Northern Illinois senior guard Xavier Silas and Western Michigan junior forward Flenard Whitfield join Jones on the preseason West team.
Zeigler faces the pressure of stepping in and contributing immediately for his father, Central Michigan coach Ernie Zeigler.
"We're a team first and foremost," Ernie Zeigler said. "Trey's a freshman, yes he's a very talented freshman, but he's a freshman. People are going to need to be patient, because he's going to have his days where he has his highs and he has his lows."
Ohio sophomore guard D.J. Cooper, the 2009-10 MAC Freshman of the Year, headlines the preseason East team. Akron senior forward Brett McKnight, Bowling Green junior forward Scott Thomas, Kent State junior forward Justin Greene and Miami junior forward Julian Mavunga round out the selections.
Virtually all of the MAC programs -- with the notable exception of Ball State -- lost prominent players to graduation, transfer or dismissal.
"The league is going to look a lot differently this year," Taylor said. "Certainly there's a lot of experienced players the league lost. From that standpoint it's going to be very different."
