In no way am I suggesting we win the MAC next season, so there’s the disclaimer. But look in the East and the talent that has left, and tell me honestly, who scares you? Buffalo lost a ton of seniors and their coach. BG lost Wiggins. Miami lost Adaway, Ringo, and potentially (not likely) Sibande. Akron’s roster is still a revolving door. BG returns the most roster, but we split with them with last years roster. If these young kids gel quickly and prove to be as good as projected, who says we can’t make a little noise next year?
This an interesting line of thinking. From a quick look, based on the returning players, I'm in agreement BG is the team to beat in the East, but UB still has a ton of talent and depth despite losing the five seniors. BG returns all of their guards that were major contributors last year with the major loss being Wiggins. Akron seems to have lost a lot, but also adds a few new faces. I only know about Xerius Williams, who will score a lot in the MAC. Kent lost their two best guards in Walker and Avery, so they have uncertainty as well, similar to Miami.
If I were asked to call MAC East favorites at this time, I'd be sticking with UB an BGSU, and throwing everyone else into a pot that says "TBD" until the recruiting period is over. But I also don't know much about the other schools' incoming recruits.
To your point, I think, the opportunity is there to be a threat in February and March if the new recruits and the remaining players gel together. If a grad transfer and/or a JUCO could be added to be able to step in a contribute immediately, even better. The home run would be to find two grad transfers that fit what the coaching staff wants for this year to allow them to recruit those two remaining scholarships again for next year, creating three open scholarships to work with in the fall recruiting period when the talent pool is deeper with more opportunity.