Mid-American Conference Basketball

When Ohio fell to Bradley in the CBI Quarterfinals on Monday night, it marked the end to a pretty downtrodden year for MAC basketball. 

The conference was 12th in terms of conference RPI behind other mid-major conferences like the Atlantic 10, MVC, MWC, C-USA, and the Horizon League.

Only four out of 12 MAC teams currently have an RPI above 100, and only five teams finished the season with a winning record.  While this numerical analysis doesn't tell the whole story, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to go around as well, like when your 28-win conference champion gets pummeled in the first round of the NCAA tournament by another mid-major team, it doesn't speak well for the caliber of competition within that conference.

What's the cause behind this weak performance? 

One could argue that the MAC administration's focus on increasing the conference's exposure in football has taken resources away from basketball.  This has certainly become a constant debate across message boards and the blogosphere. 

While it seems MAC football has a contract that puts a game on national TV every night of the week, MAC basketball has a "game of the week" package with regional Fox Sports Net. 

Teams that want national exposure have to find it through out-of-conference scheduling.  Getting the MAC tournament moved to Cleveland was a great achievement, but it's really the only noteworthy thing the MAC office has done for basketball in the past decade.

Ultimately, however, I think most of the "blame," lies with the individual schools, who are responsible for their own programs. 

For whatever reason, schools have been reluctant or unable to take the next step in many aspects of running a basketball program: recruiting, scheduling, facilities.  Some schools have succeeded in one aspect, but very few have hit all of them. 

Akron, for example, is recruiting top talent but their scheduling leaves much to be desired.  Miami has been very successful in arranging games with top schools, but their recruiting classes have been dominated at times by unathletic players with several question marks. 

In my opinion, Kent State is the closest MAC school to achieving the big time, but all it got them was an early exit in the NCAA's.

What can be done about it? 

I don't profess to know a whole lot about the innards of running a basketball program, but it seems to me that the first step toward becoming a big-time program is acting like one. 

The minute you start saying "but we're just a mid-major" when confronted with a new idea, you're setting yourself up for failure. 

Having a leader who recognizes and accepts this lofty goal, preferably someone who has been there before, is vital to the success of the rising program.  They shouldn't be afraid to take risks or to do things that have little immediate payoff but will help the program in the long run. 

Some MAC schools have been reluctant to schedule away games with the major conferences without an assurance of at least a home-and-home.  My suggestion to those schools is to grow a pair and gas up the busses. 

The best way for a mid-major team to generate momentum and recognition during the season is through marquee wins.  The only way to get marquee wins is to go and play marquee teams.  Nobody is going to care about your 30 point thumping of South Carolina Upstate, but an upset win over a Villanova or a WVU would get pundits talking about your program.  Wins over power conference teams also boost your team's resume at the end of the season.

Hopefully, in the next few seasons the bottom of the MAC West will exhibit enough improvement to bring some parity to the conference.  If the top schools can improve just a bit, we could be talking about multiple NCAA bids in 2009 or 2010.

While watching the first two rounds of March Madness this weekend, I got in the mood to think back to all of my favorite Cinderella stories and buzzer beaters. 

One of my favorite aspects of college hoops is the fact that there are over 300 Division I Men's Basketball programs. Moreover, the fan base of each team is not always as geographically finite as the boundary of your average professional sports franchise. 

For instance, I am a Syracuse Orange fan because of family ties, despite growing up during a great stretch for more local favorites (UMass and UConn). 

Don't be afraid to add heart wrenching stories of defeat. Anything goes. Whether you're a George Mason fan or alumnus of Florida.

Whether you have celebrated recent success, or your team is going through a drought, and March forces you to go through your own catalogue of mental highlights from yesteryear... we all have a favorite moment, story, or team, that they recall every year, around this time.

Now's your chance to share your favorite college hoop memories with the rest of us.  This experiment will only be as strong as the contributions.  So, comment early and reply often. 

I'd love to get a dialogue going about some of our favorite moments (or in some cases, least favorite moments).

Now for our Disclaimer:

I know we sometimes get heated when discussing our favorite/most hated teams, but let's try to keep it respectful and offer solid commentary when posting. 

Please refrain from posts that simply state, "Duke sucks" (whether I may personally agree or not) or "UCLA rocks." If they do not add constructively to the conversation, then please leave them out. 

I'm not saying we can't sling a little mud at the programs we "hate", but make sure to add some content to the argument as well. 

Get creative—tell us where you were, how it happened, how you celebrated.  Anything you'd like, but be sure to add to the conversation and give specifics (years are especially helpful if at all possible).

Just a score or two: University of Akron 65, Florida State 60. Southern Illinois 69, Oklahoma State 53. Creighton 74, URI 73. Syracuse roughing up Robert Morris, 87-81?

I know its just the NIT, but do the BCS & "Big State U" teams only give their best in the "Big Dance"? It makes me sick to hear the sanctimonious posturing and the condescending attitude of the Network "talking heads" and "former" Coaches trumpet the notion that the A-10, Missouri Valley, MAC, WCC, and others are "nice little leagues" made up of schools in the flyover states, that at times really play well and are able to defeat the "heavyweights" of the Big Ten, Big East, Pac-10, ACC, SEC, and Big XII on rare occasions when one of their "Powers" has a "down year", a "bad break," or a player scandal.

Most of the successful "Mid-Majors" will play "anybody, anywhere, anytime" and offer deserving opponents a home-and-home series to be fair about it. Until the last decade or so most of their players were not as skilled, athletic, or jumbo sized as the "factory" schools. Their student/athletes did however, stay around to gain experience, meld into the college experience, and graduate. Coaches were valued and judged by their knowledge of the game, teaching ability, and graduation rate rather than their wins & losses.

The two "P's" population and parity combined with the increase from 32 to 64 teams in the NCAA D-I basketball tourney made it possible for smaller schools to game fame and entice players. and the term "Mid-Majors came about. The exposure that Gonzaga University gained when reaching the Elite Eight and George Mason going to the Final Four, for example, are just two of the more well-known achievements of the mids.

The play of the Butlers, Davidsons, Southern Illinois, Creightons, Valpo's, St. Joes, and others have shown sports fans that "David slaying Goliath" happens far more than one suspects. Gonzaga is in the "dance" for the tenth straight year. How many of the BCS schools can make that claim?

So sit back and enjoy watching the greatest two weeks in sports, as all sixty-four teams start out with a clean slate and teams like, Butler, Drake, Gonzaga, St, Joes, San Diego, Davidson and others proudly carry the "Mid-Major" banner to more glory. Success and luv to the Schools I had to leave out for lack of space, poor memory, or individual preference.

Quick—name a state with five teams in the top 30 of college basketball’s RPI. 

Tennessee?  North Carolina?  California?  Texas?

No, no, no, and no.

There is only one correct answer, and it may surprise you. 

A state that doesn’t jump to the forefront in discussions of college hoops prowess, Ohio boasts several top-notch programs early in 2008.  It's time for the country to take notice.

Here is this writer’s ranking of the state’s top teams...

1. Dayton (13-1, RPI: 6, SOS: 37)

The program has certainly experienced some ups and downs through the Brian Gregory tenure, but the Flyers are soaring high once again this year, thanks in large part to senior Brian Roberts (19.1 PPG, 4.5 APG). 

Roberts could very well be the best player the country doesn’t know.  He has come up big in the team’s biggest games, pouring in 28 points against Louisville, 31 against Pittsburgh, and 23 against Rhode Island.

The team has also been aided by impact freshman Chris Wright (10.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG).  His presence has added to the team’s depth, and provided another strong scoring option for a squad that relied too heavily on Roberts in the past couple of years.

Dayton has already picked up several big early-season victories, and will continue to be tested in a stronger-than-usual Atlantic 10 conference.

2. Xavier (13-3, RPI: 9, SOS: 13)

Speaking of the A-10 conference, Xavier has turned itself into a perennial power. 

Every March, it seems, the Musketeers are making a run, knocking off teams they “should not beat.”  Like Gonzaga, they can no longer be considered a Cinderella because of the frequency of upsets.

Xavier has been rich in scoring, and they spread the wealth generously.  With a team average of 81.0 points per game, they have a whopping six players putting up double-figure averages.

They are still reaping the rewards of leading scorer Drew Lavender’s decision to return to his home state.  Lavender (12.7 PPG, 5.1 APG) played his high school ball in Columbus and went out to Oklahoma with his teammate Brandon Foust before deciding to transfer to Xavier.

Pundits can confidently label Xavier Cincinnati’s best team now that their UC counterparts (see “Not Making the Cut: The Next Five” below) have taken a slide. 

January 24th marks their first meeting with rival Dayton.  Ohio hoops fans, mark your calendars now.

3. Ohio State (12-3, RPI: 16, SOS: 18)

The Buckeyes lost Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Jr., Ron Lewis, and Ivan Harris after last season’s run to the championship game. 

As for the football team, this was supposed to be a rebuilding season in Columbus, but after a strong start expectations have risen quickly.  (Ohio State fans just hope the season doesn’t end the same way the gridders' did.)

With a very young squad, the emergence of senior Jamar Butler (14.4 PPG, 6.1 APG) has been very important.  He has taken the team under his wing, and provided coach Thad Matta with a go-to guy.

Freshman seven-footer Kosta Koufos (15.1 PPG, 7.3 RPG) has underperformed in the bright spotlight of big games, but has emerged recently as a more consistent force for the team inside and out.

The Buckeyes have experienced major lapses in scoring during their three losses (Texas A&M, Butler, and North Carolina), and for this team to reach its true potential, it will need consistent scoring out of freshman Jon Diebler (7.7 PPG), who can absolutely light it up when he is on.

Diebler is Ohio’s all-time leading high school scorer, averaging 40 points per game during his senior season in Upper Sandusky, Ohio.

4. Kent State (12-3, RPI: 30, SOS: 106)

While they don’t boast some of the quality wins that the above programs have, the Golden Flashes have won consistently after their season-opening debacle. 

Since then, their only losses have come against Xavier, and North Carolina on the road.

With only one freshman, Kent State is a fairly experienced squad that will be in the mix in the Mid-American Conference if they can continue shooting the basketball well (currently 46.8 percent from the field).  

They must come to play against the other talent from the MAC in addition to the weaker teams, as it is unlikely the conference will obtain many bids to the NCAA Tournament.

5. Ohio (9-5, RPI: 56, SOS: 72)

You hear the experts say it all the time: It's hard to win on the road in college basketball. 

In the Bobcats’ first 14 games, they have traveled out of Athens nine times, including for tough contests against Kansas and St. Mary’s (the latter of which was actually close).

Ohio is led by two upperclassmen forwards, Leon Williams (16.5 PPG, 9.8 RPG) and Jerome Tillman (12.7 PPG, 7.4 RPG), who frequently have their way inside.

The Bobcats cannot afford to lose too many games like last Saturday's disappointing defeat at the hands of conference foe Bowling Green if they want to make their way back to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year hiatus.

Not Making the Cut: The Next Five

 
Miami (OH) (6-7, RPI: 29, SOS: 3)

Brutal schedule to date, including eight on road.

Akron (11-3, RPI: 97, SOS: 267)

Early success must be put in perspective (see S.O.S.).

Wright State (8-5, RPI: 59, SOS: 31)

Two straight bad losses have hurt significantly.

Cleveland State (8-5, RPI: 82, SOS: 69)

Several tough losses for this young team.

Cincinnati (7-8, RPI: 132, SOS: 36)

Their five game losing skid is now well in the past, but things won’t get easier in the Big East.