New Hoops MAC Tournament format

[MDZip]

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

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

At least they aren't doing it where a weaker team gets the automatic #2. This will also help prevent the "bunching" of the East teams we've seen before where it is often more advantageous to be the #3 than the #2.

[Roo]

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?

Exactly!

So they changed the format....tell Dambrot to do better in the regular season so we are in better position to have a higher seed. We have flopped in conference play the last couple of years, all we have to do is win the MAC to get a bye. One would assume that is what you want your team to do anyhow and this is the MAC, we should be near the top every year.

In a different thread, aren't people saying we should be ranked? Well if we are ranked, I am fairly certain that we would have had to finished strong in the MAC, no?

[MDZip]

Hustlebelt posted an article "New MAC Basketball Format: Would Akron Still have won?" where they simulate the game results. After the first two rounds, the results looked pretty much the same except that Akron played WMU before Miami (and would still meet Can't in the final). Because of that switch, they had Akron losing to WMU even though they played those exact same teams. Silly article.

[GP1]

This does mean KD must have his lineup & rotations down as the conference season begins.

By conference season? What are they doing in Canada? He needs to have his rotations down before the season starts and then go on an ass kicking frenzy from day one.

[GP1]

The paranoia seems to running a little deep. Anyone stop to consider this might be the year this rule change helps the Zips?

Are you saying people think it is one way, but it is really the other way? I would agree.

To be the best, you have to beat the best. It's the same tournament for everyone so let's just go out there and win it regardless of the set up.

[johnnyzip84]

It's no secret that the Zips have a great following at the Q and have used it to their advantage the last 5 years (at least). So while I don't think this change was brought about to "get" the Zips, I do think it may be a result of complaints, particularly from the West, that UA (and Can't State) has a competitive advantage as a lower seeded team since they can at least count on a semi- home court advantage during the "run" required for a lower seeded team to win the tourney. IMO the good thing for us Zip fans is that the change comes too late for the rest of the MAC! These Zips are good enough to win it all regardless of the format.

[Zip Watcher]

It's no secret that the Zips have a great following at the Q and have used it to their advantage the last 5 years (at least). So while I don't think this change was brought about to "get" the Zips, I do think it may be a result of complaints, particularly from the West, that UA (and Can't State) has a competitive advantage as a lower seeded team since they can at least count on a semi- home court advantage during the "run" required for a lower seeded team to win the tourney. IMO the good thing for us Zip fans is that the change comes too late for the rest of the MAC! These Zips are good enough to win it all regardless of the format.

Interesting point about this maybe making the hill from mediocrity to respectability tougher ... at least as it relates to becoming a good tournament team in the way the Zips have. It'll be a little harder to progress later in the weekend and build that experience if you have a .500 or below regular season.

[ZZZips]

I heard about this change from KD while in Montreal last weekend. There are both pros and cons as has been pointed out in the previous posts. This was not a league office decision. League decisions such as this follow a bottom up protocol for approving the changes. The coaches mull over the options and if they have a majority decision it is fowarded to the MAC Council of AD's. The council then vote on acceptance or can reject the idea and send it back to the coaches for further review.

Most of us did not like the past format of division leaders getting the top seed and bye's in each bracket. This option also has some negatives (most notably the ability for two strong teams in a very weak divsion to get to the semi-finals wthout playing a game on a neutral floor). This format does make it harder to run the table if you are not seeded with a bye, but KD does not view it with disfavor.

[MDZip]

In another slightly interesting tournament twist, NCAA Mens Basketball selection committee chair Jeff Hathway is out after resigning as the AD at UConn. His replacement:

Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski was named the chair of the 2013 NCAA tournament and said late Friday there are a number of options available to the committee. One of them could be to bump up Bobinski's chair to 2012. Each of the 10 members of the committee have five-year terms.

[w00t]

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.

If there are any objects in your home sharper than a spoon someone should hide them before you hurt yourself.

[w00t]

“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.

See above.