2026 NCAA Tournament

[zippy5]

I hope they get in

[csims0917]

2 Bid MAC bring more money and exposure. Doubling the postseason money gained is never a bad thing.

[csims0917]

12 hours ago, Zippy87 said:

ESPN Bracketology has Akron as a #12 and Miami as a #11...same region. 

The script is in!

[Let'sGoZips94]

24 minutes ago, csims0917 said:

2 Bid MAC bring more money and exposure. Doubling the postseason money gained is never a bad thing.

 

And when Miami OH gets pounded by 20+, any future push for a 2 bid MAC in the future will be that much more difficult. 

 

Sacrifice the money this year, snub Miami OH, and let the conversation be "what if" instead of "I told you the MAC is overrated."

Edited Friday at 03:35 PM by Let'sGoZips94

[ZippyRulz]

12 hours ago, Zippy87 said:

ESPN Bracketology has Akron as a #12 and Miami as a #11...same region. 

 

CBS Sports is similar..

[UAZipster0305]

If Miami gets in, it encourages creampuff scheduling. The selection committee is smart enough to know this.

 

If Miami had our schedule, they'd have at least 3-4 losses, and there would be no discussion about an at-large bid.

Edited Friday at 04:53 PM by UAZipster0305

[exit322]

The selection committee is in a tough spot with Miami.

 

The bubble has collapsed, all of the bubble teams fell apart.

 

Miami went and lost to a .500 MAC school in the tournament, but they're 31-1.

 

Miami's 11/11 Dayton game would be its first against even a Q2 opponent., but all of these bubble teams are 18-15 or some crap too.

 

I don't envy that discussion that they're gonna have.  I kinda think just because of the 31-1 (and I think the MAC is a little better at basketball than it's given credit for), they probably should be in...likely a play-in game, but in.  But I wouldn't be shook up if they instead are a 1 in the NIT.

[kreed5120]

1 hour ago, csims0917 said:

2 Bid MAC bring more money and exposure. Doubling the postseason money gained is never a bad thing.

 

One can argue it's best for them to play in Dayton. That would be a much easier win opportunity for them than against a 6 seed. If they win in Dayton that would count as a tournament credit, which nets the MAC an extra $2M.

[Let'sGoZips94]

He's right about everything except Miami OH being a top 30 team. 

Edited Friday at 07:02 PM by Let'sGoZips94

[Let'sGoZips94]

 

[Let'sGoZips94]

Per Bracketology, Miami OH is now Last Four In with A10 getting at least 2 teams in. 

 

Those Oxford khakis are going to be brown stained tomorrow if this continues. 

Edited 20 hours ago by Let'sGoZips94

[kreed5120]

7 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Per Bracketology, Miami OH is now Last Four In with A10 getting at least 2 teams in. 

 

Those Oxford khakis are going to be brown stained tomorrow if this continues. 

 

Dayton I don't see having a path to an at-large, but I wish they did. It would be hilarious watching Miami play Dayton in Dayton.

[ZippyRulz]

ESPN bracketology as of this hour has us as #12 vs. St. Johns in Tampa

 

[LZIp]

So if we’re a 12, 75% chance we’re out west (Portland or San Diego), and then Tampa as ZippyRulz posted. If for some reason we sneak to an 11 seed, we’d be looking at Buffalo or OK city.

 

No clue who we’re supposed to be rooting for today. st John’s beat UCONN by 20 last night, so hoping they end up higher than a 5 seed.

 

its interesting..the only thing Miami has going for them is their record (and I guess a 3 point win over us), but the metrics say we’re the better team. The committee has obviously leaned heavily on metrics in the past, but seems like it won’t matter in terms of seeding for us against them.

Edited 3 hours ago by LZIp

[Let'sGoZips94]

9 minutes ago, LZIp said:

So if we’re a 12, 75% chance we’re out west (Portland or San Diego), and then Tampa as ZippyRulz posted. If for some reason we sneak to an 11 seed, we’d be looking at Buffalo or OK city.

 

No clue who we’re supposed to be rooting for today. st John’s beat UCONN by 20 last night, so hoping they end up higher than a 5 seed.

 

its interesting..the only thing Miami has going for them is their record (and I guess a 3 point win over us), but the metrics say we’re the better team. The committee has obviously leaned heavily on metrics in the past, but seems like it won’t matter in terms of seeding for us against them.

 

The only reason Miami OH is anything higher than a 12 is because Dayton's play-in games are only 11 seeds. Would be wild, though, if the MAC not only gets 2 bids but also 2 11 seeds. 

[Illini Zip]

I love how we win not only another game, but a conference championship no less and we lose one spot in the NET. 

[Let'sGoZips94]

 

Imagine missing the tourney this way. It's almost as bad as intentionally fouling up 1 with a few seconds left.

Edited 2 hours ago by Let'sGoZips94

[kreed5120]

17 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

The only reason Miami OH is anything higher than a 12 is because Dayton's play-in games are only 11 seeds. Would be wild, though, if the MAC not only gets 2 bids but also 2 11 seeds. 

 

The play in games are typically 11 seeds, but they can and have been 12 seed games before. What impacts that is the number of AQs the committee feels is above vs below the bubble line.

[kreed5120]

10 minutes ago, Illini Zip said:

I love how we win not only another game, but a conference championship no less and we lose one spot in the NET. 

 

It's because according to NET we should have won by something similar to what the game spread was. Winning by 3 in metrics eyes was us underachieving. If we won by 10+ we would have improved. Margin of victory is heavily weighted in these predictive metrics. 

[kreed5120]

5 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Imagine missing the tourney this way. It's almost as bad as intentionally fouling up 1 with a few seconds left.

 

Utah Valley paid $1 million to compete in the conference tournament as well. They were originally not going to be able to participate as they never paid their exit fee for leaving the Big West. 

[Illini Zip]

30 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

 

It's because according to NET we should have won by something similar to what the game spread was. Winning by 3 in metrics eyes was us underachieving. If we won by 10+ we would have improved. Margin of victory is heavily weighted in these predictive metrics. 

I know what was predicted, but Toledo played way above their NET 130 ranking if you ask me. Especially in the first half.

 

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Illini Zip

[kreed5120]

2 minutes ago, Illini Zip said:

I know what was predicted, but Toledo played way above their NET 130 ranking if you ask me. Especially in the first half. &nbsp

 

Toledo played well the last 2-3 weeks of the regular season as well. I actually predicted they would knock off Miami and make the final. Obviously UMass beat them to the punch. Their NET is in the 130s because they frankly weren't very good November thru early February. Predictive metrics don't account for that.

[kreed5120]

I mostly follow mid-major basketball so I asked chatGBT who Akron is most likely to face in round 1 and which of those opponents presents the most favorable matchup. ChatGBT didn't mention it but UNC NBA draft lottery player is out for the year.

 

Best Matchups for Akron

1. Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball

 

Why it favors Akron:

 

Plays a slower, more half-court style

 

Defense is usually solid but not overwhelming athletically

 

Akron’s disciplined offense could operate comfortably

 

Upset profile:

Teams like Vanderbilt historically lose more 5-vs-12 games because they don’t overwhelm opponents physically.

 

2. North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball

 

Why it could be manageable:

 

Fast tempo but sometimes inconsistent shooting

 

If Akron controls pace and limits transition, it becomes a half-court game

 

UNC teams seeded around 5 sometimes have defensive lapses

 

Risk: rebounding disadvantage.

 

Tougher Matchups

3. Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball

 

Why it’s difficult:

 

Extremely athletic SEC roster

 

Pressure defense and transition scoring

 

Can overwhelm mid-majors physically

 

Arkansas-type teams are usually under-seeded on the 5 line, making them dangerous.

 

Worst Matchup

St. John's Red Storm men's basketball

 

Why it’s the hardest draw:

 

Elite defensive pressure

 

Forces turnovers and speeds teams up

 

Physical rebounding team

 

For a MAC champion like Akron, this is the exact style that causes problems—constant pressure and athletic depth.

 

✅ Best → Worst matchup order

 

Vanderbilt (best)

 

North Carolina

 

Arkansas

 

St. John’s (worst)

 

 

 

 

[ZippyRulz]

CBS Sports has Yale drawing St. John's and us vs. Wisconsin.

 

[NWAkron]

agree on st John's being worst