The hot topic for debate among the MAC coaches as the season progresses has been the NCAA Tournament. Joe Lundari, a "Bracketology" expert with ESPN, has recently put both the Kent State Golden Flashes and the Ball State Cardinals in the field of 65, even if the Golden Flashes win the tournament.
Kent State's seeding in the tournament has been on the rise, mostly due to their 14-game winning streak. Ball State's chances at an at-large bid are falling, due to their loss at Western Michigan last week.
If the MAC gets an at-large bid, it will only be the fifth time since 1953. In fact, each at-large bid has come since 1985, typical for a mid-major conference (i.e. the MAC, Conference USA, and the West Coast Conference). It is also a typical complaint that mid-major coaches have with the national tournament.
"All of those things are really out of our hands as to what might happen with [the at-large bid], so what we have to do is take control of this things that we can have control over, like our preparation for the upcoming game," said Ball State Head Coach Tim Buckley on his team's chances of getting an at-large bid.
The fact remains, until the mid-major conferences begin to play and beat the teams from major conferences (i.e. the Big Ten and the Atlantic Coast Conference), more fourth-, fifth- and sixth-place teams from major conferences will get the nod over mid-major teams.
One can only hope, wait and watch.
Who's Going to Cleveland?
Kent State and Ball State. The Golden Flashes and the Cardinals are both guaranteed a quarterfinal game in the MAC Tournament at Cleveland's Gund Arena on March 7. KSU and BSU will each get a first-round bye, along with the team with the next-best conference record.
Speaking of the wildcard team, right now that appears to be Bowling Green, although if Ohio beats Toledo tonight, and the Falcons fall to UB, it would come down to Saturday's game in Ohio where the Flacons would clash with the Bobcats for that final first-round bye spot.
The dark horse in all of this mess is Toledo, who, if they win out, could steal the coveted first-round bye.
Who's Playing Host?
Toledo, Miami (Ohio), Ohio and Bowling Green have clinched home games in the first round of the MAC Tournament because they cannot finish any lower than eighth. One of these teams will get a first-round bye as the wildcard, leaving two other teams the chance to host a first round game on Monday, March 4.
Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, Buffalo and Marshall are all still in contention for a home playoff game. Each team has two games remaining, with the exception of UB, who will play their final regular-season game tonight at Bowling Green. This race will come down to the final day of the regular season on Saturday, March 2 when NIU, WMU and Marshall are all in action.
Who's Hitting The Road?
The only teams that cannot host a first-round playoff game are Akron, Central Michigan, and Eastern Michigan. Of course, when the three teams are a combined 9-14 at home, does it really matter where they are playing?
Actually, the answer is yes. This past week, and including Monday's games, home teams went a combined 13-2 in conference play - Kent State and Bowling Green were the only road winners. Furthermore, in the last two years, home teams are 8-2 in the first round of the conference tournament
Also, consider that CMU and Akron are both .500 at home, but have identical 1-7 records on the road. All signs point to an early exit for the Eagles, Chippewas, and Zips.
Barely hanging on is Marshall, who was picked to finish second in the East Division in the preseason. The Thundering Herd must win out in order to have a chance to play before their home faithful. However, do not be surprised if Marshall does sneak into the eighth seed with a home game against CMU - who, as noted, are 1-7 on the road this season - and a road game at last-place Akron.
Quotable
"People have talked about the tournament being wide-open this year, but the one thing is that Kent (State) has been very good. When you have a team like that in the mix, you sit there and think, 'Oh, man .' I think this year and two years ago there are as many teams that seem to be capable of beating one another. You would think it would be wide-open, but I think that remains to be seen." - Dan Dakich, head coach, Bowling Green.
