Teams Attending: Central Michigan, Michigan State, Grand Valley State, Ohio State, Bowling Green State, Kentucky and Western Kentucky.
These predictions were made by Kevin Bailey and myself…
Central Michigan: 4-0
CMU will be playing all 4 out of state teams this Saturday. Due to CMU returning every one of its starters from last year, they have a strong advantage against every team they will face due to their talent level and strong team chemistry. Of their 4 matches, their most intriguing matchup will be with Ohio State, who returned many of their starters and with Kentucky, who knocked CMU out of Nationals last season.
Grand Valley: 4-0
Due to Grand Valley’s recent success on the court, it is hard to believe that they won’t go 4-0 this Saturday when they play OSU, MSU, BGSU and WKU. Although they are only returning 10 of their starters from last year, GVSU has a large JV pool they pull from each year which is certainly one of the reasons why they are able to restock their lineup year after year. Their most intriguing matchup will be against MSU. The two had close matchups all of last season, lets hope it’s just as competitive as it has been in years past.
Michigan State: 3-1
MSU is returning 18 of the 20 players they brought to nationals last season, which is very impressive. They are a young team looking to make a statement this season and claim their first ever National Title. MSU’s toughest matchup will be against GVSU. We see them losing to GVSU in a very close matchup.
Ohio State: 1-3
The Buckeyes are returning a large majority of their roster from last season and are looking to win many games this season. The Buckeyes will be led by Captain Josh Conner, who is looking to lead this team to its third National Title. The Buckeyes may possibly have the toughest schedule in the tournament, going up against CMU, MSU, GVSU and UK. We see them losing to all three Michigan teams and winning against Kentucky.
Western Kentucky: 1-3
The Hilltoppers are led by Captain Nick Johnson, who is in his first year as head captain. WKU is in their first season without the legendary Felix Perrone, it will be interesting to see how they as a program develop after his departure. We see the Hilltoppers losing their three games to CMU, GVSU and UK, but have them winning against Bowling Green State.
Kentucky: 1-3
The Wildcats are coming off a stellar performance against rival WKU last weekend, beating them 2-0. The Wildcats are only returning 8 starters from last season, which makes it interesting to see what kind of players they will have filling those empty roles. We have the Wildcats losing to MSU, CMU and OSU, but we see them beating WKU once again.
BGSU: 0-4
Not much is know about this team other then the fact that they are lead by Captain Tyrell Smith, who is looking to take this team to new heights this season. BGSU has a tough schedule as well, which is why we have them losing to MSU, CMU and GVSU and WKU. They also play CMU’s B team, but due to BGSU’s experience, we believe they will win that game.
GVSU B: 2-0
Due to the amount of talent on this roster, we believe GVSU’s B team will beat both WKU and CMU’s B team.
CMU B: 0-2
This is the first season that CMU has ever had a B team, which shows great potential for this program. Many of these players are in their first year of dodgeball so it will be interesting to see how they respond to the competition. We have them losing to GVSU’s B team and BGSU.
