Pretty sure Ohio was picked to win the East last two years. We saw how that worked out.
Preseason prognostications and accolades are nice ... but it's time to finally finish the job and live up to the hype
As that say, that and 2 bits, wait, with inflation, that and 30 bits will buy you a cup of coffee. ;)
Still, it's better than a kick in the pants. While the team picked first absolutely doesn't always win, the team picked first is more apt to win than the team picked second, who is more apt to win than the team picked last. I used this treasure trove of back data to look at prior predictions for MAC Conference finishes:
http://www.stassen.com/preseason/consensus/2018.html#mac I went back to 2000, and using the East and West, that makes 38 data points, 19 years times two divisions. 63% of the time the team picked to win a division finished first, or tied for first (but didn't always win the tie breaker). 16% of the time the team picked to win a division finished second, and another 16% of the time they finished third. Only 5% of the time did a team picked to win a division finish lower than third (Ohio 2007 finished fourth, and Buffalo 2009 finished 5th).
Historical data is all well and good, but in the end, we agree. It's time for Ohio to finish the job.