CSNbbs

Any time you can "get out alive" of Anderson Arena, you've done well. The Broncs survived the pesky Orange-clad guys 70-58 to go to 22-4, and keep their hopes of an at large bid alive.

[quote="ex Cincy Kid"] Any time you can "get out alive" of Anderson Arena, you've done well.

I think they and Kent have already taken care of their at-large hopes.
Both knew what they needed to do and then promptly lost two games each in the last two weeks. The only thing at-large hopes now will give us is the mistaken notion that we can legitimately cry "we were screwed!" when we are ignored by the "Committee."
Looking at the whole season, if I were on a selection committee and looked anonymously on the season's results of every team in the country without knowing their names, it would be very hard to make a case that KSU or WMU deserve one of the at-large bids. Not a great MAC year--the weakest nationally in quite some time. Because of scheduling and the quality of OOC wins and SOS, things just didn't go well this year. Not one win in the entire conference over a ranked team and very few--3, I think, conference wide--over teams in the top 50. Hard to make a case that a 5-6 loss MAC team deserves a bid over teams that have multiple top 25 wins, even though they ahve more losses overall. Losses to Marshall and Detroit and to Buffalo and Akron are "worse" losses, too than many bubble teams have.
We've had many a year when we've had teams with much better credentials that did not get in (most recently, BG in 2002). This year, our argument is not very strong.

Well, Axeme, I reluctantly have to agree. I did think that Kent was in pretty good shape after the Creighton win, and could even afford one more MAC road loss, but dropping two in a row really hurts. I still think it's possible that we get two, but Kent and WMu would both likely have to win out and meet in the MAC tourney finals for that possibility.

And I wouldn't hang my hat on a Kent-Western MAC tourney final either.

ex Cincy Kid Wrote:Any time you can "get out alive" of Anderson Arena, you've done well. The Broncs survived the pesky Orange-clad guys 70-58 to go to 22-4, and keep their hopes of an at large bid alive.

WMU has a very solid team...that was my first time seeing them play this yr.
Congrats on the win, Bronco fans.

We'd better hope no one from the selection committee saw that game last night--it was <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'><span style='font-family:Impact'>UGLY!!</span></span>
:D A lot of bad play in that game on both sides, though as it went on, Bugs started to corner the market on it. Unforced turnovers all over the place!

LongtimeFan Wrote:And I wouldn't hang my hat on a Kent-Western MAC tourney final either.

Exactly. It's not the games Kent and Western have already lost that will keep them out. It's the games they will still lose.

Kent still has to play Miami (who already beat them) and at Ohio to finish the regular season.

If you were betting on the MAC champion would you take Western and Kent or the field? It's probably even money. I'd lean towards taking the field.

axeme Wrote:We'd better hope no one from the selection committee saw that game last night--it was <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'><span style='font-family:Impact'>UGLY!!</span></span>
:D&nbsp; A lot of bad play in that game on both sides, though as it went on, Bugs started to corner the market on it. Unforced turnovers all over the place!

Like Coach Dakich says, BG turns the ball over better than anyone in the country!
20 turnovers.....SHEESE!!!

Thanks for the congrats, falconfreak. I saw you guys in Kzoo last month, and the Falcons are a scrappy team, and will be a roadblock next year.

The whole idea of a "selection committee", along with silly computer programs and other popularity contest polls, have always held me back from being a strong college basketball fan and supporter. The political nonsense. It's not too different from the bowl system.

I won't go into comparing WMU to Michigan State. But place MSU in the MAC, and - despite being favored in every single game and having a boatload of talent - I would bet money in Vegas that the Spartans would've also lost about 4 games by this point in time. I don't care who you are or what Division I conference you are in, sweeping through a schedule with only 2 or less blemishes is very difficult.

Motown Bronco Wrote:The whole idea of a "selection committee", along with silly computer programs and other popularity contest polls, have always held me back from being a strong college basketball fan and supporter. The political nonsense. It's not too different from the bowl system.

There is one big difference between the Tourney and the bowls. You can play your way into the Tourney by winning your conference and they can't do anything to keep you out of it. And no matter what crappy seed you're given or what Idaho wasteland they send you to play, you still have a chance to win the national championship. Every team in the nation knows before the season starts that if they win their conference, and then win their next six games, they'll be national champions.

College basketball at least provides hope.