kreed5120

I'd really like if we could add a stretch 4. Our lineup can be pretty small at times and having another 6'8 big who can drain 3s on the roster would add more size and floor spacing. It would also allow us to be able to match up better with bigger teams. We've tried going big with Freeman and Aziz on the court together, but they can't co-exist as neither one can score away from the hoop. Someone like Xeyrius Williams would have been a perfect fit for this team.

I personally feel it's best that they're different. From what I heard the CBI has a 50k entry fee and that covers the cost for the entire tournament. That makes it much more attainable for many programs that can't afford to pay $50k per game, which gives teams a chance to have a postseason that otherwise would have just called it a season. Meanwhile, if you're a program that is well funded and want to give your fans more home teams you can opt for the TBC. The CBI having its semi-finals and finals on ESPN is already a huge plus over TBC as it will draw more viewers. It shouldn't be that hard for the CBI to get the earlier rounds on ESPN+. That IMO is the only negative. Edit: think about it if you're trying to recruit what's more appealing telling an 18 year old that you went to Southern Utah or telling them that you went to Daytona Beach for spring break? 18-22 year old kids aren't going to get tired of that.

With players being able to transfer more easily these days coaches have lost their leverage. Senderhoff could come out and condemn the actions, but then he risks pissing off his locker room and losing his roster. You don't have to look any further than Duquesne. I don't know what went down there, but they had numerous players leave who made major contributions at other schools. Duquesne probably would have been pretty good this year had they kept the band together. Instead Dambrot can now claim he has a roster of players who buy in and want to be there, but those players aren't good and the teams sucks. It very well may cost him his job.

I agree, they play in a basketball hungry state with lots of high school talent and pretty good fan support despite being mediocre. It should be one of the better MAC programs IMO. It just hasn't lived up to expectations.

I wouldn't necessarily say the regular season is meaningless. It still matters for seeding (both in Cleveland and in the tourney) and also can secure a NIT bid bid as a consolation prize, which is vastly better than CBI bid. The tournament definitely carries more weight. No doubt about that.

They're really great mid-range shooters, but being really great at mid-range shooting is inefficient compared to being a team that puts up 2s near the rim and shoots the 3 ball a lot.

Who knows if we even make the tournament had we beaten those teams. Those losses led to Trimble and Walton leaving. The team jelled after those departures. I do agree in a normal year we need to beat those teams, but this year I think we needed to hit rock bottom in order for us to achieve what we did.

To be honest if I wasn't an Akron fan and I just looked at their schedule/results I'd draw the same conclusion that we have no chance. That said I feel defensively we're a much better team now than what the metrics show and this is a single elimination tournament. No doubt in mind if this was a 5 or 7 game series UCLA would win, but we just need 1-2 players to catch fire to advance.

TBC is having trouble finding teams to fill the 32 team field. As of now there are only 17 confirmed participants and the games are supposed to start tomorrow. Many teams have turned down participating. 4 of those 17 agreeing to participate are low majors who have losing records. I doubt they find 32 teams to agree to participate and any new additions will likely be more low majors with losing records. You as a fan might like the TBC better, but it's clear the CBI is the higher caliber tournament based off the field of teams agreeing to participate. The average NET rating for a CBI participating school is 166. The average NET rating for TBC team currently sits at 204

Zeke's problem is the NBA changed in what it was looking for in a big. Big these days are asked more to be able to make mid-range and even 3 balls. There aren't many traditional centers in the NBA these days and to be one you have to be the elite of the elite.

Miami, BG, and WMU have all seemed to let their men's basketball programs deteriorate to focus on men's hockey instead.

I don't think Ali is one right now, but being an athletic 6'8 wing who can guard multiple positions and can knock down 3's does fit what's in demand for the NBA. He's improved a ton since his freshman year and still is only classified as a sophomore so he still has more time to develop his game. I still think it's vastly more likely he will end up in Europe.

They weren't good enough to make the NIT and weren't interested in playing in a pay to play 3rd rate tournament. A lot of schools reject playing in those tournaments for that same reason. I believe Akron turned down an invite in the 2014-2015 season. I imagine Buffalo was another who did the same this year as they were better than most teams who made those tournaments.

To host one of those games under the old format costed the home team something like 50-75k per home game. Home teams weren't generating anywhere near that type of revenue before so they had to eat huge losses to host games. It made many schools just opt out of participating altogether. I don't know what the costs are now, but I'd imagine it will be less since teams no longer have to fly to multiple locations over the course of several weeks. I do like your idea of consolation games.

Also late in the 2nd half Castenada literally ripped ball out of Kent's big hands after he looked to have secured an offensive board

I wasn't sure where to post this, but the Lady Zips made the NIT field.

Luckily we don't have to worry about paying for that this year

Ohio will be in the 16 team CBI tournament. They will play Rice in the first round. All games will be played in Daytona Beach during the days of March 19th thru March 23rd. I actually think that's an improvement from the old campus format. Gives the snow birds a chance to watch and who wouldn't enjoy a mini Florida vacation in mid-March? https://www.gazellegroup.com/main/cbi/schedule-2/

Toledo should have been a 5th or 6th seed IMO. I wonder if they opted for the lower seed knowing they would get a home game?

Obviously he couldn't cut it as a critic

I'm in the same boat. Looks like we'll just have to make the Sweet 16 that way we can attend a game in Philly

I feel Akron was less talented than Toledo on paper too. Akron combatted this by slowing down the offense and using the full shot clock to minimize possessions. I expect us to do the same against UCLA. Guys like Ali and Castaneda will have to knock down tough shots with ~5 seconds left in shot clock for this to be effective.

If anyone is looking to attend it looks like flights are starting around $850

Wright State with the play-in game in Dayton. That should be fun for their fans being able to attend.

It's just not your individual NET, but also who you beat and where. Longwood, St Peter's, Akron, and Montona St. all are within a few spots of one another. We might still be seeded below those teams, but the committee will also be looking at who each team beat. Akron has 2 Q2 wins while those 3 programs have a combined 0. None of the programs have a Q1 win. That's why I think Akron has a chance of being ahead of them. As for what the committee decides who knows.