New Hoops MAC Tournament format

[Zips Win!]

http://www.mac-sports.com/News/tabid/969/A...ent-Format.aspx

[Valpo Zip]

I like it!.

I hope this will reduce, because it won't eliminate, the nonsense talk of: the regular season is just warmup... and only three games in March matter.

[Zip Watcher]

As a fan of the tournament who declares the quarterfinals day a company holiday ... I don't like this format. 3 evening sessions is a crap load of babysitting to come up with.

Also, the Zips would have had to win 5 games instead of 4 last year?

Gut reaction here .. I don't like it. I do reserve to change my opinion with further thought.

[Aaron]

Is the MAC West top team still the #2 seed? If so, I could see why the whole MAC West + Can't State voted this change in. I don't think I like it.

[ZachTheZip]

Is the MAC West top team still the #2 seed?

No. It's straight-seeded 1-12 based on conference record.

[ejcool27]

No I believe the Tourney will be seeded 1-12 on record alone the divisions will not come into play so Akron could be one and Can't could be two!

[Z.I.P.]

No I believe the Tourney will be seeded 1-12 on record alone the divisions will not come into play so Akron could be one and Can't could be two!

Then why have two divisions? I suggest the MAC go to a one division table. And most importantly, include relegation. Toledo, NIU, enjoy your final season before joining the OVC. 2013, look for Morehead State and Murray State to play for a MAC title!

[Hilltopper]

I'm with Zipwatcher on this one. It really puts all the emphasis on winning the regular season. At this point in time, I think it gives an advantage to any team in the West division that can run the table on the weaker teams in that division. Being able to play 2 games against Toledo, NIU and Eastern is not the same as playing 2 against the majority of the teams in the East.

[akronzips71]

“We are very excited to implement the new tournament format to better position our regular season champions and highest performing teams for success in the NCAA National Championship and other post-season tournaments,” said Brad Bates, Director of Athletics at Miami University and Chair of the MAC Council of Directors of Athletics. “We believe this change will reward teams for their body of work and strength of schedule over the course of a season and provide greater opportunity for national success.”

This is simply a direct slap at Akron which has excelled in the tournament for several years while not winning the division.

In other works, K E N T should have gotten the NCAA bid not Akron so we are going to fix it.

[Zip Watcher]

“We are very excited to implement the new tournament format to better position our regular season champions and highest performing teams for success in the NCAA National Championship and other post-season tournaments,” said Brad Bates, Director of Athletics at Miami University and Chair of the MAC Council of Directors of Athletics. “We believe this change will reward teams for their body of work and strength of schedule over the course of a season and provide greater opportunity for national success.”

This is simply a direct slap at Akron which has excelled in the tournament for several years while not winning the division.

In other works, K E N T should have gotten the NCAA bid not Akron so we are going to fix it.

This isn't going to matter to the Zips.

[Zipmeister]

Seems like a reasonable system to me (a lot like what the Horizon league does).

Want to avoid playing a lot of games in the conference tourney (and hold your baby-sitting fees down)?

Win a lot of games during the regular conference season.

[Zip Watcher]

Seems like a reasonable system to me (a lot like what the Horizon league does).

Want to avoid playing a lot of games in the conference tourney (and hold your baby-sitting fees down)?

Win a lot of games during the regular conference season.

I've been to pretty much every MAC tournament game since it moved to the Q in 2000. It's a great time .. and a corporate holiday. That aspect of my reservations doesn't really relate to how many games the Zips are in .. I'm there regardless.

For the price, you can't beat it if you're a hoops fan.

Go Zips!

[ZachTheZip]

There are three sections of a given team's schedule: Non-conference, Conference, and Conference Tournament. In the order that they affect your team's chances to get into the NCAA tournament, they are the Conference Tournament, the Non-Conference, and the Conference.

Putting the focus on the thing that matters least is a terrible decision. If the MAC encouraged teams to win more OOC games, the conference record wouldn't matter as much. This new format seems to actively promote the MAC being a 1-bid conference.

How is it a good thing to focus on the conference season? How does that help the MAC?? Please, somebody tell me.

[Zipmeister]

There are three sections of a given team's schedule: Non-conference, Conference, and Conference Tournament. In the order that they affect your team's chances to get into the NCAA tournament, they are the Conference Tournament, the Non-Conference, and the Conference.

Putting the focus on the thing that matters least is a terrible decision. If the MAC encouraged teams to win more OOC games, the conference record wouldn't matter as much. This new format seems to actively promote the MAC being a 1-bid conference.

How is it a good thing to focus on the conference season? How does that help the MAC?? Please, somebody tell me.

I'm not sure I could ever explain the logic behind the newly adopted system to someone who thinks OOC games are more important than conference games.

Well, actually I could explain it. They just wouldn't understand.

[GoZips]

Quote from BGSU AD:

"Changing the tournament bracket falls in line with our philosophical approach to each of the MAC Championships,” said Greg Christopher, Director of Athletics at Bowling Green State University and Chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee. “Our tournaments and championships are about preparing our best teams for post-season. With that in mind, it makes sense to give our top teams byes and better-position their paths to the championship."

This change is designed to help the Golden Felons get to the NCAA tournament. The objective is

so obvious a blind man in Milwaukee saw through this.

[akronzips71]

Quote from BGSU AD:

"Changing the tournament bracket falls in line with our philosophical approach to each of the MAC Championships,” said Greg Christopher, Director of Athletics at Bowling Green State University and Chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee. “Our tournaments and championships are about preparing our best teams for post-season. With that in mind, it makes sense to give our top teams byes and better-position their paths to the championship."

This change is designed to help the Golden Felons get to the NCAA tournament. The objective is

so obvious a blind man in Milwaukee saw through this.

THAT is what I said a few posts up! They are tired of the Zips dominating the tourney, so they are changing the rules to make us play more games in the hopes that K E N T will be a #1 seed and only have to play a worn out Zips team.

[MDZip]

The paranoia seems to running a little deep. Anyone stop to consider this might be the year this rule change helps the Zips? Pick up the 1 or two seed and the path is easier, even a three or four looks to be the same as last year so this might actually be a good thing, especially this year. Maybe they were discussing a nine seed (OU) making it a couple years ago and didn't want to repeat that (although sometimes it seems the tournament hot hand could have the best chance for a win in the NCAA tournament).

[Doug Snyder]

There are three sections of a given team's schedule: Non-conference, Conference, and Conference Tournament. In the order that they affect your team's chances to get into the NCAA tournament, they are the Conference Tournament, the Non-Conference, and the Conference.

Putting the focus on the thing that matters least is a terrible decision. If the MAC encouraged teams to win more OOC games, the conference record wouldn't matter as much. This new format seems to actively promote the MAC being a 1-bid conference.

How is it a good thing to focus on the conference season? How does that help the MAC?? Please, somebody tell me.

Why bother. If you can't get it from reading your question....you are not going to get it.

[Dave in Green]

As a Zips fan, I completely understand that the MAC wants to send its best team to the NCAA tournament, as that team represents the entire MAC on the national stage. But OU was far from the best regular season team in the MAC two years ago, and they upset Georgetown in the first round. Would Can't have been able to do the same?

Oh well, I remember when Dale Earnhardt haters used to beat up on NASCAR for having a point system that they thought favored Earnhardt and Richard Childress Racing. They said that if the point system was changed, Earnhardt wouldn't have been so dominant.

What they failed to understand is that Childress set up the team, car and driver to be optimized for the existing NASCAR point system. If the system was different, the team and driver would have adjusted their style to the new system and done just as well.

I have enough faith in KD as a coach to think that he can change his system to put more priority on the regular season as opposed to focusing on peaking at tournament time. After all, there's no immutable law that says Can't is always going to have the best regular season team in the MAC.

I think the Zips will do just fine under the new format.

[akronzips71]

I think we'll do OK, but I do think this was an anti-Akron move based on our recent performance in the tourney.

[Blue & Gold]

This does mean KD must have his lineup & rotations down as the conference season begins. Last year's team took the entire regular season to jel. Not that the hot team can't win anyway, but this system does reward the most consistent team.

Look for Western to be the #1 seed. Ball State may get the #2 slot. The MAC East is just too brutal.

[Quickzips]

Not sure what to think about all of this. I guess we will have to just let this one play out a little bit. I like that the division champs don't both get an automatic top-2 seed anymore, because let's face it, there hasn't been a West division team that has deserved it in years. At the end of the day though I'm not really sure this is going to make that much of a difference. The fact of the matter is that the last 3 conference tournaments were won by teams that didn't have first round byes, including two by our Zips. Is an extra game for the lower seeds or an extra day off for the top two going to make a big difference? Maybe, maybe not. All that said, it would sure be nice if we could put together a good enough season where we don't have to rely on the conference tournament to punch our ticket to the big dance.

[Blue & Gold]

Also, the top 2 seeds getting byes straight into the semi-final round? It actually may be nice to have a warm-up game in Cleveland before the MACC Final Four on Friday night.

And actually, I love the MACC Tourney & plan my entire week around it. Now, if the Zips do better in the regular season and earn a #1 or #2 seed, that means I'll only have 2 Zips games to enjoy.

Right now I don't think I'm too thrilled with the new format.

[Valpo Zip]

Am I missing something here? why is everyone acting as if the zips will never get one of the top 2 seeds?

The MAC is changing the format to get us? Really!!!??? gotta love the conspiracy theory

The MAC wants to have more well attended games...yes that includes regular season games. And if a team takes the whole season to gel, well they have to pay for it. The last seeded team can still win it all, they just have to win 5 games. So the Ohio bobcats of two years ago would have still been the champs.

This is not designed to get us or the bobcats. The MAC's main motivation is better attendance and more $$$. As a fan, i like this because it extends my "significant" college basketball season from 3 days to 2 months.

Here's for the day when the zips' significant season starts in November. Could it be this year?

[Blue & Gold]

As a fan, i like this because it extends my "significant" college basketball season from 3 days to 2 months.

Good point.