(03-02-2016 01:44 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote: How hard is it for the MAC to reserve a block of required hotel rooms for one of its schools in the possible tournament? This is the conference tournament not the regular season so the schools should not be on their own with this very minimal help for the first round.
Generally, the
first round games are not locked in until after Friday's (3-4-16) games
WMU @ CMU / OU @ MU / UB @ BGSU / EMU @ UT / KSU @ UA / BSU @ NIU[/size] are played, so you're expecting the MAC to reserve "x" rooms at hotels near various "potential" host schools? So which DeKalb hotel are you reserving rooms at for either UT or EMU, for example? What if that coach doesn't want to be near campus (Hampton Inn) and prefers the Holiday Inn Express on Sycamore Road or staying in Rochelle? Do you know all the scenarios for everyone else? Say you're 9-8 Buffalo playing at BG Friday, win and be part of a tiebreaker for second with KSU (losing at Akron), Ohio (losing at Miami), Ball State (losing at NIU), and Central Michigan (losing to WMU)....you might be hosting back at UB. OR THE BULLS LOSE AT BGSU to fall to 9-9 same as say NIU plus either EMU or UT, now Buffalo is heading where? When they pack for the trip to BGSU, do they pack extra not knowing if they head home Saturday morn, find a local place to practice Saturday before heading to location B?....head to location B and practice at the first-round foe's facility, all in order to be ready for a Sunday afternoon game?
There's no doubt the MAC
has reserved rooms in Cleveland for the second round, but not for the first round games. Doesn't the women's tourney have four games in Cleveland Wednesday? So which four of the eight men's teams playing Thursday in Cleveland have court time Wednesday morn as opposed to the evening? Unless you know the mindset of every MAC coach, guarantee you some would prefer to get to Cleveland as early as possible instead of getting there and practicing immediately, or getting there and having to sit around for x hours before practice.
Oh by the way, did the MAC have time to reserve even more rooms in certain cities in case one of the schools is doing a Monday doubleheader because both their women and men are hosting a first-round game?
Don't bother with the "give student-athletes time to attend class" argument because the NCAA and every coach doesn't make that a priority. As to the student fans, seriously? If a school has student fans actually wanting to travel to see a first-round MAC tourney game, how many are going to travel regardless of what day that game is?
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Guide to MAC tourney seeding scenarios for NIU
