The unofficial online home for fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(01-27-2018 03:44 PM)Slinkin Street Flash Wrote:  

(01-27-2018 09:06 AM)dannyb73 Wrote:  Is there anything wrong with a team that needs time to acclimate itself to the coach and vice-versa? We saw last year that we played our best basketball when it mattered most. Would anyone really be disappointed if in the next few weeks we peaked and then won again in Cleveland? With the nature of our conference, the reality is none of these games matter. Now, if you are going to take pride in the Not Invited Tourney or the other schwas tournaments, that statement isn't true.

I was expecting that this team wouldn't "need time to acclimate itself to the coach and vice-versa" - 7 of the top 8 players with the most minutes on this team were here last year.

And here's the problem with "none of these games matter" -

If a player goes into a game thinking "none of these games matter", he's not going to put in his top effort. They don't have that thought process.

As a fan if I'm thinking "none of these games matter" - there's no reason for me to head to the arena and see the game. There's no reason to tune in. If we win, you can't get excited because "none of these games matter". I might as well watch Coastal Carolina playing North Dakota State on ESPN, if it doesn't matter who wins. I watch because the games matter to me, and a win makes me happy and a loss makes me go out drinking. The games matter to you so you go, that doesn't mean in the grand scheme of things they are important. I don't believe they matter but would go (if I were close) because I am a fan.

And here's the bigger thing - these games matter because they're showing how well we are relative to everyone else. Wins over Valparasio, Loyola, and Albany show everyone where we are relative to all the other teams out there. If we beat Albany and I see Albany beats teams X and Y, it gives a little indication where we are relative to teams X and Y. The transitive property of sports is always cute. If we beat Albany and they go beat Kansas, that means nothing to us.

These games also matter because they do help with tournament seeding. Since anyone might win any game in the MAC tournament, our chances are helped by starting off in the top 4 seeds. And if we do get through the MAC, I'd rather play a 6th seed rather than a 2nd seed in the first round. You are 100% correct that these games matter for MAC-T seeding.

I would be happier with a 25-6 record and a loss in the first MAC tournament game than a 15-16 record and losing the first game in the NCAA tournament. Not me. I would be pissed if we went 25-6 and lost in the first game in the conference tournament. Whereas, the 15-16 team likely overachieved winning the conference tournament and got to play on the national stage.

And with all the evidence that the MAC can only be a one-seed team in the NCAA tournament, it makes Dambrot's move to Duquense a no-brainer. A 3rd place finish in the Atlantic-10 could get a NCAA bid. His move to Duquesne was a no-brainer. He got more money and went to a better conference.