Well folks, with Kent State's loss at BG and Ohio getting drilled at Miami, our league just went from a possible two-bid league back to one really quick.
Also, with Minnesota beating OSU, the Buckeyes are off the bubble watch and at 18-10, Minnesota goes in their place. For some reason the selection committee believes 'the big dance' needs at least four or five Big Eleven teams each and every year.
Once again, the MAC has fumbled the ball going over the goal line.
Hope I'm wrong, but with KSU losing at Detroit, at Toledo and now at BG, their bubble just burst in the eyes of the selection committee (even with Laing Kennedy aborad) since they look for reasons of exclusion of mid-majors instead of reasons for inclusion.
Ouch!
Vandelay Wrote:Well folks, with Kent State's loss at BG and Ohio getting drilled at Miami, our league just went from a possible two-bid league back to one really quick.
Also, with Minnesota beating OSU, the Buckeyes are off the bubble watch and at 18-10, Minnesota goes in their place. For some reason the selection committee believes 'the big dance' needs at least four or five Big Eleven teams each and every year.
Once again, the MAC has fumbled the ball going over the goal line.
Hope I'm wrong, but with KSU losing at Detroit, at Toledo and now at BG, their bubble just burst in the eyes of the selection committee (even with Laing Kennedy aborad) since they look for reasons of exclusion of mid-majors instead of reasons for inclusion.
Ouch!
It was always going to be a 1 bid conference. Not sure what every one was getting so excited for. The MAC will always be a 1 bid league.
"The MAC will always be a 1 bid league."
Not always - but in 2008 it will be now.
Vandelay Wrote:"The MAC will always be a 1 bid league."
Not always - but in 2008 it will be now.
When was the last time it had more than 1? I can't remember there being more than one a year in the last 10 years.
Yep. One bid this year.
Sure, the Flashes and Bobcats should have won today. It's what the selection committee will look at. But besides putting ALL of the presure on the top three teams in the league to sweep EVERY year, maybe the bottom half of the league can pick it up more consistently. The fact that Toledo and BG can win big at home should mean they can steal a few on the road. Until they do, the MAC will alsways look weak from the outside and weak from the inside.
For the MAC to break through, the bottom half needs to be more consistent and the top three need to win when it counts.
FlashFan Wrote:Yep. One bid this year.
Sure, the Flashes and Bobcats should have won today. It's what the selection committee will look at. But besides putting ALL of the presure on the top three teams in the league to sweep EVERY year, maybe the bottom half of the league can pick it up more consistently. The fact that Toledo and BG can win big at home should mean they can steal a few on the road. Until they do, the MAC will alsways look weak from the outside and weak from the inside.
For the MAC to break through, the bottom half needs to be more consistent and the top three need to win when it counts.
i agree with you, FlashFan. in the MAC, we tend to be more cannibalistic than other leagues, and it hurts us. it makes for great games and exciting title races for us MAC fans, but to the "outside world" (AKA the Selection Committee) it makes us look weak when we really aren't. we're just a bit imbalanced.
i think what we'll need for multiple bids is a couple of really powerful teams at the top who can get the attention of the national media and we need stronger teams at the bottom of the league that don't "ruin" the top teams' RPI even when the top teams win those games.
hopefully that will happen in the not-too-distant future. until then, we'll remain a one-bid league, in my opinion.
close - 1999 was the last time the MAC had multiple bids; with Miami and "Wally's World" going to the sweet-16 that year
you have to think that future selection committees must of said; "oh, we better not do that again, these guys (the MAC) are pretty good"
how else can you explain year after year when we've had 23-win, 24-win, and even 26-win teams not make it? it's not right, and it was just solidified tonight sadly
Vandelay Wrote:close - 1999 was the last time the MAC had multiple bids; with Miami and "Wally's World" going to the sweet-16 that year
you have to think that future selection committees must of said; "oh, we better not do that again, these guys (the MAC) are pretty good"
how else can you explain year after year when we've had 23-win, 24-win, and even 26-win teams not make it? it's not right, and it was just solidified tonight sadly
Probably because of a weak schedule compared to those that get picked. But I will give you that I am sure attendance is taken in account when picking even though that is unfair.
Quote:how else can you explain year after year when we've had 23-win, 24-win, and even 26-win teams not make it? it's not right, and it was just solidified tonight sadly
That's the mentality that keeps the MAC at one bid. The selection committee does not just count number of wins...it counts who you've played and who you've beaten. Laing Kennedy will tell you exactly what the SC looks for and has. Most of the MAC just goes on counting the number of wins and scratches it's collective head in March. KSU, Ohio, Western, Miami and Toledo are the only teams making a collective effort to step up. Of those, teams like Toledo and Miami just need to be more consistent, and they know that.
Every league has upsets. Texas Tech upset Texas today. Missouri State upset Drake Wednesday. It's unfair for any league to ask it's top 20% to take on the herculean task of running the table in it's conference to increase the number of bids while its bottom half can hope to get hot on its home court once in awhile. The reason the upsets hurt in the MAC more than for the other top 25 is the respect writers have for the other competition in the MVC and Big 12.
Kent loss at Bowling Green hurts, but if they beat Miami and Akron this week I still think they have a great chance for an at-large.
Miami was a 5 point favorite in my paper vs Ohio. Ohio is a good pick for the CBI or NIT.
Minnesota has zero chance at an NCAA unless they win the Big 10 tournament- Ohio State is their first top 100 win of the season. Ohio State has 2 more opportunities unfortunately.
I can see Western beating Kent in the MAC finals, sending two teams to the dance.
For what it's worth, Bilas, Lunardi, and the guy who does "Bubble Watch" on espn.com all think that Kent St. would still get an at-large as of now.
The bubble teams are all in self destruct modes. Somebody has to fill the tourney. If we are MAC champs by winning the next 2, we are on the short list of teams who really finished pretty well. When you start looking around the country, our resume looks better than it would see most years. The problem is, we have to eliminate all the "ifs."
The theme of this post is an overreaction. Kent was very solidly in before the BG game. They are still surely in, but there margin of error is much smaller. OU's loss to Miami likely had zero impact on the tournament as OU was a very unlikely atlarge pick (maybe if they had won out until the MAC final and then lost to Kent). The chance for two teams this year depends on Kent winning some more games and then losing in the MAC semifinals or finals.
DICK Wrote:The theme of this post is an overreaction. Kent was very solidly in before the BG game. They are still surely in, but there margin of error is much smaller. OU's loss to Miami likely had zero impact on the tournament as OU was a very unlikely atlarge pick (maybe if they had won out until the MAC final and then lost to Kent). The chance for two teams this year depends on Kent winning some more games and then losing in the MAC semifinals or finals.
best comment so far.
kent needs to beat miami at home and steal one at akron. that would give them a 9-3 record vs rpi top100 which would be among the top 15 in the nation. another regular season loss and i think they just miss.
while ohio's loss ends the debate for them (they need to win the tourney now) the miami game actually helps the mac because by beating ohio they solidify their standing as a top 100 team which gives us 4 and probably 5 if western wins out.
the bubble is tricky this yr and i expect the seedings will be hard to determine as well. now much different between an 8 and a 12 seed at thsi point.
DICK Wrote:The theme of this post is an overreaction. Kent was very solidly in before the BG game. They are still surely in, but there margin of error is much smaller. OU's loss to Miami likely had zero impact on the tournament as OU was a very unlikely atlarge pick (maybe if they had won out until the MAC final and then lost to Kent). The chance for two teams this year depends on Kent winning some more games and then losing in the MAC semifinals or finals.
Soooooo, let me get this straight. You have been watching MAC basketball for 40 years and you can honestly say that a team is "solidly in" the NCAA tournament before the MAC tournament has been played?
Vandelay Wrote:Well folks, with Kent State's loss at BG and Ohio getting drilled at Miami, our league just went from a possible two-bid league back to one really quick.
Also, with Minnesota beating OSU, the Buckeyes are off the bubble watch and at 18-10, Minnesota goes in their place. For some reason the selection committee believes 'the big dance' needs at least four or five Big Eleven teams each and every year.
Once again, the MAC has fumbled the ball going over the goal line.
Hope I'm wrong, but with KSU losing at Detroit, at Toledo and now at BG, their bubble just burst in the eyes of the selection committee (even with Laing Kennedy aborad) since they look for reasons of exclusion of mid-majors instead of reasons for inclusion.
Ouch!
Your lack of understanding regarding the NCAA Tournament selection process is impressive.
BobcatFan Wrote:Vandelay Wrote:Well folks, with Kent State's loss at BG and Ohio getting drilled at Miami, our league just went from a possible two-bid league back to one really quick.
Also, with Minnesota beating OSU, the Buckeyes are off the bubble watch and at 18-10, Minnesota goes in their place. For some reason the selection committee believes 'the big dance' needs at least four or five Big Eleven teams each and every year.
Once again, the MAC has fumbled the ball going over the goal line.
Hope I'm wrong, but with KSU losing at Detroit, at Toledo and now at BG, their bubble just burst in the eyes of the selection committee (even with Laing Kennedy aborad) since they look for reasons of exclusion of mid-majors instead of reasons for inclusion.
Ouch!
Your lack of understanding regarding the NCAA Tournament selection process is impressive.
Not only that. It is incredibly stupid to make the statement "Once again, the MAC has fumbled the ball going over the goal line."
So what, BG was supposed to lose for the good of the league? The MAC was supposed to have Kent win so we got two teams in? What in the world could possible justify this statement?
Vandelay lost credibility with the majority of us a year or more ago. :(
They are doing the same thing over at the C-USA board. Houston lost to E. Carolina over the weekend, possibly costing Houston an at-large with a loss to a team with an RPI around 250. Was ECU going to roll over just because Houston was on the bubble?
Doesn't matter about the sport either. Pitt didn't exactly roll over when WVU had the chance to go to the BCS title game.
FlashFan Wrote:KSU, Ohio, Western, Miami and Toledo are the only teams making a collective effort to step up.
Are you talking only about scheduling here? If you are, then I don't believe that for one second. While Ball State may not be very good right now, the schedule they play is just fine. Their OOC schedule this year included Butler, Georgetown, St. Joe, Purdue, UC-Santa Barbara and Illinois State.