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At Large Consideration?


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On RPIForecast.com's Akron page, you can click the big words "With Conference Tourneys" to get altered RPI projections that include the conference tournament scenarios. If we win out through the MAC tournament, they project our RPI to be 13.9, and if we win every game but lose in the MAC tournament, they project our RPI to be 18.6

We NEED to win out in the regular season to have a chance, but with those kind of numbers we are absolutely in at-large bid territory. Beating ORU, OU, and Can't all on the road would boost our current RPI by 30 spots.

It's very difficult, but not impossible.

Well, we survived again, so the discussion about what would happen if we run the table is still a valid discussion :)

But, winning the remainder of our games puts us in the Top-20? And maybe as high as #13 ? That can't be possible.

But if it does, you think were in At-Large Territory? With a #13 to #18 RPI, I would GUARANTEE an At-Large bid.

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Well, we survived again, so the discussion about what would happen if we run the table is still a valid discussion :)

But, winning the remainder of our games puts us in the Top-20? And maybe as high as #13 ? That can't be possible.

But if it does, you think were in At-Large Territory? With a #13 to #18 RPI, I would GUARANTEE an At-Large bid.

Not trying to sound pessimistic, but I think winning the rest of our games is an extremely tall order. We still have trips to Athens and K.e.n.t and a very good Buffalo team at home.

Which would be easier? Winning out the regular season? Or winning the MAC tournament as the No.-1 or 2 seed?

I know which one I'd pick. :)

P.S. Of course, doing both would be pretty darned awesome. Might get us a single-digit seed.

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It's at least a barometer for us, to see a team at 21-5, with a road win against a Top-10 team, and they see their chances as pretty remote.

That should be enough to continue to fuel the argument about the value of SOS. It's very hard to expect a college basketball team to go through a season with much less than 5 losses.

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Very good article, Captain. Thanks.

Interesting that they're rooting on Xavier. I've been doing the same with Miss. St. and Marshall, but even more so with Valporaiso and Duquesne. Valpo's been doing pretty well of late and has a huge game tonight at Cleve. St. I know we lost to both them and CSU, but Valpo's still listed as a "bad loss" when it comes to our RPI.

Duquesne's helped us out with a few decent wins. Marshall is barely treading water now with losses to Tulsa and UAB. Miss. St. is holding their own.

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:wave: Boy I have to agree with you NO AT LARGE. win the MAC that is what they need to do. IF they cannot win the MAC not sure they should be in the NCAA. They need to show their guts for winning and keep pushing and pushing. As for me I am only settling for a MAC Championship. :bow:
At-large...Schmat large. We'll get in by winning the MAC Tournament.
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Being the top seed in the tournament gets one other prize - a guarantee of being in the postseason, even if only the NIT.

NIT is meaningless for a team that has been to the big dance 2 of the last 3 years. You can throw all the consolation prizes at me that you want. Extra time to practice. A little noteriety if you make it to the Garden. Doesn't matter. The NIT will always be the fat, ugly, redheaded, freckle-faced four-eyed step-sister to the big dance. Don't even get me started on the CBI or whatever they call those wasted end of season "tournaments" that you have to pay to play in.

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NIT is meaningless for a team that has been to the big dance 2 of the last 3 years. You can throw all the consolation prizes at me that you want. Extra time to practice. A little noteriety if you make it to the Garden. Doesn't matter. The NIT will always be the fat, ugly, redheaded, freckle-faced four-eyed step-sister to the big dance. Don't even get me started on the CBI or whatever they call those wasted end of season "tournaments" that you have to pay to play in.

Well said. The NIT was a big deal for Akron five years ago. This program is at the point where anything less than a NCAA tourney appearance is meehhh. It's also why, despite the 9-1 league record, the team still deserves some criticism (still only played one complete game in league play). The talent is NCAA tourney level, so there's no reason to expect anything less out of them.

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NIT is meaningless for a team that has been to the big dance 2 of the last 3 years. You can throw all the consolation prizes at me that you want. Extra time to practice. A little noteriety if you make it to the Garden. Doesn't matter. The NIT will always be the fat, ugly, redheaded, freckle-faced four-eyed step-sister to the big dance. Don't even get me started on the CBI or whatever they call those wasted end of season "tournaments" that you have to pay to play in.

Then I won't expect to see you posting on here about the Zips' performance in the NIT if that's all the further they get. :)

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Then I won't expect to see you posting on here about the Zips' performance in the NIT if that's all the further they get. :)

Honestly, I may duck in from time to time, but I won't be on here regularly as I am now. The bar has been raised for this Zips team. As a team and as a fan base we MUST expect better of this team than NIT appearances. If this team and this fan base have the mindset that the NIT is an acceptable consolation prize then we aren't going to get any further as a program than the occassional early exit from the dance mixed in with NIT and CBI appearances. That isn't enough. Programs like Ohio and Can't seem to think that is acceptable. We have to separate ourselves from that small time kind of thinking if we want to truly be considered the top program in the MAC. Anything less than playing on the second weekend of the NCAA tournament needs to be looked at as a bitter disappointment for this group.

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IMHO: I think it is a mistake for the Zips to be thinking about the MAC tournament right now. I like what KD has been saying in his post game comments. That is, they must continue to strive for improvement each game. The great coach John Wooden supposedly never or rarely used the words "winning" or "losing" in practices. Rather used the phrase "successful".

It would be good for the Zips to get rid of the popular thought of "the only way to get in the NCAA'S is to win the MAC tournament". Thinking this way could possibly lead to a mental lapse during one or more of the remaining regular season games, including the game at Oral Roberts.

Just play all out IN EVERY GAME.

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:wave: Boy I have to agree with you NO AT LARGE. win the MAC that is what they need to do. IF they cannot win the MAC not sure they should be in the NCAA. They need to show their guts for winning and keep pushing and pushing. As for me I am only settling for a MAC Championship. :bow:

Carol, I know you haven't been around here much, but nobody is saying we don't want to win a MAC title. But, we all know the fragile nature of the MAC tournament. In the last 5 years, we've fallen on both the fortunate and unfortunate end of some crazy scenarios. Even when we've won the MAC title, you could point to a play here or there that would have knocked us out. This doesn't have to be our only option. And this year, with our improved SOS, and decent RPI, we might be closer than we've ever been to having that 2nd option. I think that's why you see the increase in discussions about this subject.

As far as not being sure about whether we belong in the NCAA tournament if we do not win the MAC, I think many people would argue that your collective performances throughout the season should actually have MORE bearing on how you are judged, instead of just your run in a post-season tournament.

To those who aren't interested in an NIT bid:

Why not? What a great 3rd option to have in your back pocket, if the first 2 do not work out.

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To those who aren't interested in an NIT bid:

Why not? What a great 3rd option to have in your back pocket, if the first 2 do not work out.

I'd be sorely disappointed if we missed the NCAAs, but the last time we were in the NIT was a positive for the program. IIRC, we won at Florida St. and Temple(?) before losing a tough one at UMass that would have taken us to the Garden.

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Actually the Zips have never won more than one game in a national Division I postseason tournament to date. All three NCAA berths were one and done, as was our lone CBI appearance. I know that there was a one and done NIT under Coach Huggins as well when the Zips lost in Columbus to Ohio State.

We have two NIT appearances under KD and we are 1-1 both times. The first go-around we beat Temple in Philadelphia and then lost to a rested Creighton in Omaha only 48 hours later. The second time the Zips went down and shocked Florida State in Tallahassee and advanced to play UMass in Amherst. That UMass game was one where the Zips had a great opportunity to win. I believe the Minutemen then went on to upset Syracuse before losing in the NIT Championship game that year.

So, the very worst I want to see this year is an NIT berth and multiple wins in that tourney. I'd still take an NCAA win over an NIT run anyday though.

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Actually the Zips have never won more than one game in a national Division I postseason tournament to date. All three NCAA berths were one and done, as was our lone CBI appearance. I know that there was a one and done NIT under Coach Huggins as well when the Zips lost in Columbus to Ohio State.

We have two NIT appearances under KD and we are 1-1 both times. The first go-around we beat Temple in Philadelphia and then lost to a rested Creighton in Omaha only 48 hours later. The second time the Zips went down and shocked Florida State in Tallahassee and advanced to play UMass in Amherst. That UMass game was one where the Zips had a great opportunity to win. I believe the Minutemen then went on to upset Syracuse before losing in the NIT Championship game that year.

So, the very worst I want to see this year is an NIT berth and multiple wins in that tourney. I'd still take an NCAA win over an NIT run anyday though.

You're right, GJ. My bad. UMass was a second-round loss. Jeremiah Wood had the game of his career, but UMass beat us 68-63 with a 19-5 run to close it out.

http://www.gozips.com/sports/mbkb/2007-08/releases/1417330_1

I remember watching that game. Thought we had it in the bag. But I thought wrong. :(

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You're right, GJ. My bad. UMass was a second-round loss. Jeremiah Wood had the game of his career, but UMass beat us 68-63 with a 19-5 run to close it out.

http://www.gozips.com/sports/mbkb/2007-08/releases/1417330_1

I remember watching that game. Thought we had it in the bag. But I thought wrong. :(

Man that means I was DOUBLY wrong :lol: Oh well. Thanks for the correction GJ :wave:

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