The Associated Press

With Central Michigan's Chris Kaman in the NBA and Kent State two years removed from its unexpected charge through the NCAA tournament, there's no clear favorite to win the Mid-American Conference this season.

"I think this year with a lot of teams returning a lot of players it's wide open," Kent State coach Jim Christian said. "If you ask all 13 coaches, they might give you a different team that they think could win it."

If there is a team to beat, it's Northern Illinois, which was picked to win the MAC in a preseason media poll.

Coach Rob Judson said they were likely selected because forward Marcus Smallwood is the only returning all-MAC first-team player. Smallwood averaged a double-double as a junior last season with 13.3 points and 10.1 rebounds.

The Huskies, coming off their best record in the MAC (11-7) since they rejoined the league in 1997, also return guard P.J. Smith, who along with Smallwood was named to the preseason all-MAC team after averaging 14.7 points a game.

Miami, which averaged less than 59 points per game last season, is the media's pick to win the East division.

"We need to score more points," Miami coach Charlie Coles said. "I hope we can score 70 points a game this year."

The fact that the RedHawks return more than 90 percent of their scoring should help. They bring back four starters, including guard Juby Johnson, who led the team with 14.8 ppg.

Chasing Miami is Akron, Kent State, Marshall and Ohio.

Akron returns five starters and has been working to improve a defense that allowed almost 79 ppg against MAC foes.