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Post by williamtsherman on Mar 15, 2023 16:36:34 GMT -6
By the way, for a long time I had a plan to call into Dakitch's show with the claim I wanted to comment on whatever the hot topic of the day was in college bb. I would find a way to mention Ray in a somewhat favorable way and then, by degrees, turn the call into an all-out testamonial of Ray as the greatest coach ever and wonderful human being. I'm sure he would have countered at some point but I would have been ready to bring up Ray's 2 mac championships to his none, etc. No doubt he would have talked over me and hung up at some point but I would laughing hysterically by that point
Guess I was too lazy and missed my chance
I do have to admit that Dakich's show was a more interesting listen than the average sports talk show.
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Post by sdacardinal on Mar 15, 2023 16:42:15 GMT -6
If Kent State had beaten Gonzaga, Charleston and Houston those would have been signature wins but they didn't and those games in the early season are now an afterthought. Kent has an opportunity to revisit that statement that they made in November which if successful will lift the MAC up. As a side note Kent State women are playing Syracuse tonight. the coach at Syracuse came from Buffalo and brought with her 4 of the starters from the Buffalo championship team that defeated BSU by 4 last year. 7pm ACCN.
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Post by 00hmh on Mar 15, 2023 17:16:14 GMT -6
Yes, there is a valid case more mid majors get shots. The SOS argument has a little logic, but no way a mid major can match the big conferences teams, very good point.
But, I doubt the MAC "deserved" much more this year. We had a top dog, they got in. Toledo did get a shot and played Mich and lost, would have had a stronger opponent in the 68 team NCAA.
What would have been unfair is seeing Toledo beat Kent and Kent be out.
A 96 team field would get every team in who had a chance to get a couple wins. In that field we'd see similar matchups to Toledo UM.
But that runs up against the lucrative big conferences, by eliminating conference tourney revenue they don't share. NIT has some political clout too.
There maybe were other issues too since the 96 team field idea got tabled and disappeared.
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Post by JacksonStreetElite on Mar 15, 2023 19:32:31 GMT -6
Just the annual mid-major rant, but it's ridiculous that we need to talk about the MAC or any other league of its ilk needing a "signature" win when they're already doing enough to claim a larger presence in the field. To think that Kent wouldn't have been worthy of a tournament spot if it had lost in the league final is silly. Meanwhile you've got teams like NC St., Penn St. and Mississippi St. taking up spots (with seeds higher than Kent) that should go to more deserving mid-majors. The NCAA always tells the mid-majors they've got to schedule better but they let teams like those 3 (and more) skate by just by virtue of their conference affiliation. All have shitty non-conference strength of schedules where they absolutely feasted to pad their record. They get a kudos for a couple of decent wins every year because they get to play some decent teams at home (so would the better MAC teams if they got that opportunity), and they don't get dinged for bad losses on the road. If mid majors are getting consistenly screwed in favor of mid-table high majors, then mid majors would consistently, on average, win games above their seeding and high majors the opposite. If this is true you have a case, if it is not you don't. I dont have any idea if its true or not, but I sort of doubt it. Are you saying mid-majors should just generally upset more or that mid-major 13 seeds should upset more than high major 13 seeds? If you’re saying the second then I understand and agree, but there is probably little to no data available. For instance, there is not a single high major 13 seed this year. If you’re saying the first then I disagree. Using Mills’ examples, if you replaced kent with any of the 3 he mentioned, kent would have a more favorable matchup, and therefore be more likely to upset. It would not make sense to say because a 13 mid major lost to a 4 high major, where a 10 high major beat a 7 high major that proves the 13 didnt belong in the 10 spot. I’d be very interested in the data from the second scenario, if there were apples to apples comparisons, but I think Mills’ argument is a bias against mid majors deprives us of even having data to compare. |
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Post by 00hmh on Mar 15, 2023 20:15:22 GMT -6
While NCAA selection patently favors schools playing better schedules (not totally an unreasonable thing) power ratings do not do so quite as much.
There's the rub. Those higher seeds are generally better teams by that metric. There are legit arguments about seeding and last 4 in vs. left out and so on, but let's suppose we had 128 teams in and seeded by power ratings.
The difference might be more mid majors would survive to the round of 64. Mostly because those low major auto qualifiers would be eliminated. Hey, perhaps Toledo and Kent, and with a real upset maybe another MAC school, might survive.
But I doubt Kent would have or deserve a higher seed. In fact likely a lower one. We had maybe just that one team really belonging in the top 64. 2 in the top 100.
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Post by Hoopsmith on Mar 16, 2023 7:08:23 GMT -6
I do have to admit that Dakich's show was a more interesting listen than the average sports talk show. Dan is a good talker and can be entertaining when he's in the right mood. I used to enjoy his analysis on Big Ten and ESPN because he does know the game and learned from among the best. Unfortunately for him, he also learned from among the best how to be a complete horse's ass and that eventually overwhelmed his gifts of any basketball knowledge to be conveyed to the rabble of the viewing audience.
His sheer dickheadedness won out in the end.
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Post by 00hmh on Mar 16, 2023 8:06:13 GMT -6
Dakich came out of HS a wise ass with a chip on his shoulder, a big ego, impulsive, pretty much who he is now.
That made him a tough competitor who didn't back down, and he did get smarter about basketball, more disciplined on the court. He was a team player, he played hard, a bit like Taylor P opposing fans hated him.
But smarter was not smart enough to be a top level coach.
His personality did not improve from his experience there, either, you are right.
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Post by bsu0 on Mar 16, 2023 10:06:57 GMT -6
I remember years ago when Dick Vitale called the MAC ''the most under rated conference in the nation''. Today's MAC is not even close to being under rated. In short MAC basketball sucks. At this point, the MAC is lucky they get one automatic bid.
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Post by 00hmh on Mar 16, 2023 14:49:51 GMT -6
It doesn't suck except relative to high majors.
But it's fallen from near the top of mid majors. We're definitely "mid" major.
Still, our better teams are a couple of 3 point baskets away from some solid high majors who get in the NCAA. That's pretty good basketball.
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Post by thebsukid on Mar 16, 2023 15:46:04 GMT -6
We need to schedule 2-4 tough non conference opponents even if they won’t give us 2 for 1. Kent State played at Houston and Gonzaga this year! Makes you better for the conference run in my opinion
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Post by zonebuster on Mar 16, 2023 17:21:19 GMT -6
We need to schedule 2-4 tough non conference opponents even if they won’t give us 2 for 1. Kent State played at Houston and Gonzaga this year! Makes you better for the conference run in my opinion Totally agree. They also played College of Charleston. Prepares you for March. |
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Post by lmills72 on Mar 16, 2023 20:02:59 GMT -6
We need to schedule 2-4 tough non conference opponents even if they won’t give us 2 for 1. Kent State played at Houston and Gonzaga this year! Makes you better for the conference run in my opinion Totally agree. They also played College of Charleston. Prepares you for March. Charleston was a gift for them though. They probably had Charleston chalked up as a win before the season started. Got lucky that Charleston ended hip actually being good. |
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Post by 00hmh on Mar 16, 2023 20:27:36 GMT -6
We need to schedule 2-4 tough non conference opponents even if they won’t give us 2 for 1. Kent State played at Houston and Gonzaga this year! Makes you better for the conference run in my opinion Totally agree. They also played College of Charleston. Prepares you for March. Whether it prepares you or not so early in the season I am not so sure.
If it helps late it has some value. Fact is MAC is a one bid conference and NIT invite MIGHT be helped. But we would have to be really good, it's not just playing people it is playing them well which will count.
Kent did that.
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Post by sdacardinal on Mar 17, 2023 10:30:03 GMT -6
The perception of the MAC would have changed somewhat if Kent had beaten two of the three big teams that they played. It would also lifted Ball State since we beat Kent. By beating Toledo, Kent and Akron gave approving nods from the basketball gods to BSU but not to the MAC because of our woeful 20 year history. If Central Michigan would have ended up with a decent season after beating Michigan the MAC would have gained stature. Yes we need to schedule Power 5 teams and then beat them and then start winning tourney games. Hell if Furman and Princton can do it so can we. Those two had really good players. No because they are Furman and Princeton they didn't outsmart Arizona and Virginia they outplayed them.
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Post by rmcalhoun on Mar 17, 2023 22:57:17 GMT -6
dint forget with net ratings losing any Mac games knocks you down cause Mac teams are lowly ranked. Too ever get 2 bids we need a team to finish ranked in top 25 even after a Mac championship loss
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