MAC Basketball

[jonzee330]

Suck it KSU'ers. DJ and the Bobcats roll.

[The Voice]

I hope Kent plays Akron in the tourny at some point before meeting OU. I love hearing the Crakron chants.

[sgm405]

I hope Kent plays Akron in the tourny at some point before meeting OU. I love hearing the Crakron chants.

And I love beating Kent State, so I hope we do too.

[Pick6]

Very nice comeback win for the Zips last night. Huge game this Saturday.

[RealKingofCleve]

Very nice comeback win for the Zips last night. Huge game this Saturday.

Does any game really matter before the conference tournament?

[Pick6]

Does any game really matter before the conference tournament?

Seeding matters.

[Bob_The_Cat]

Seeding matters.

Not really. Look at the list of recent winners and their seed:

2012: Ohio #3
2011: Akron #6
2010: Ohio #9
2009: Akron #5
2008: Kent State #1
2007: Miami #4
2006: Kent State #1
2005: Ohio #4
2004: WMU #1
2003: CMU #1
2002: Kent State #1

Clearly there is way more parity in the MAC now-a-days and while having a high seed is an advantage, the gap between #1 and #6 generally isn't that great. In the past when you had the CMU team led by Kaman, Gates and Huffman at KSU, and a WMU team that posted a 26-4 regular season record in 2003, the higher seeds were generally significantly better than the other teams in the conference. It may be a little different this year since Ohio and Akron are clearly better than the rest of the MAC (and barring a major collapse they should be the top two seeds), but recent history shows that the top seeds rarely win the tournament.

[Pick6]

I get your point, but ask this question. Would you rather play Kent in the semis or WMU? I think you would pick WMU every time. And I disagree that there is parity 1-6 in most years. The last 5 (6 if you count this year) years it has only been any combination of OU, Kent, and Akron in the tournament final, with Buffalo being the one exception in 09.


Apparently it matters to some people. The game is on ESPNU. Sweet 16 team from last season returning everybody, and a team with the second longest winning streak in the nation. A nail biter decided who went to the dance last year, and both teams are undefeated in conference play.

[Bob_The_Cat]

I get your point, but ask this question. Would you rather play Kent in the semis or WMU? I think you would pick WMU every time. And I disagree that there is parity 1-6 in most years. The last 5 (6 if you count this year) years it has only been any combination of OU, Kent, and Akron in the tournament final, with Buffalo being the one exception in 09.


Apparently it matters to some people. The game is on ESPNU. Sweet 16 team from last season returning everybody, and a team with the second longest winning streak in the nation. A nail biter decided who went to the dance last year, and both teams are undefeated in conference play.

I'm not saying the game itself doesn't matter. It definitely does. If Ohio can go into Akron and win, then they'll have a legitimate chance to go undefeated in the league. Yes, it's still early and anything can happen in the MAC, but The Bobcats already have wins at WMU and at Kent, so a win at Akron would knock out their three toughest road tests. Being a veteran laden team, an undefeated conference season is a possibility if they win @Akron. I think Akron needs this game more than Ohio. I still believe the Bobcats hold a mental edge over the Zips (mainly DJ Cooper per Abreu) and the Zips have gotten run in recent trips to the Convo. Should be interesting to see what happens. Hopefully they both get through to Saturday with no conference losses.

[Pick6]

will share since this is getting some national spotlight..

http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/b...n&id=74291&wjb

[Mac]

Don't forget the MAC tourney isn't a straight ranking. West winner gets a high seed. So that always devalues one side of the bracket. West is generally always weaker than the East.

[Pick6]

Had to LOL at this. Jay Bilas giving some reps to Akron this morning.

@jaybilas: Cooper certainly could take me to school. Then, he could open the door for me, drop me off, and I'd drop forty on him.

[Czvosec]

Had to LOL at this. Jay Bilas giving some reps to Akron this morning.

@jaybilas: Cooper certainly could take me to school. Then, he could open the door for me, drop me off, and I'd drop forty on him.

Odd, considering he recently called Cooper the best passer in the country.


http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8892157

[Pick6]

Odd, considering he recently called Cooper the best passer in the country.


http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8892157

eh, passing doesnt have much to do with defense. Saw OU canceled their game and class today because of an armed robbery nearby. If that were the case for Akron, we might have 2 days of classes a week.

[Mac]

Ive watched Akron a couple times this year on TV. I think they finally have the size to make a tourney run, but they still don't have the guard play or the ability to shoot from long range to get it done.

They have time to turn around their shot selection, but without a guard that can take a game over, I just don't see Akron making a run.