Ohio U upset top seed Toledo and is seeking their first MAC Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament bid since 2012. That season they went to the Sweet 16 and their coach John Groce became my Illini's head coach. We made the NCAA's our first season but didn't the rest of his tenure at Illinois and haven't since (until tomorrow barring any COVID-19 difficulties).

Meanwhile Buffalo has won four of the last five MAC Championships. However the head coach for three of those four titles, Nate Oats, is now the head coach of Alabama. He's done a little better than Groce has.

Look out for the winner of this game in the NCAA Tournament. Ohio U has won three NCAA Tournament games since 2010 including the Sweet 16 run in 2012 and Buffalo won NCAA games in 2018 and 2019. Of course the coaches for those runs aren't there anymore though.

What a journey it has been for Buffalo, who found themselves on the laughable scores thread some time back, iirc? Quite a turnaround to get to here, and maybe further?

Go Bobcats!
Slaughter those Bulls and let's eat steak tonight!

As far as these 1 seed upsets in a "normal" mid major conference where you have 1 maybe 2 teams which are far above the others in the league then 1 seeds going down is a big deal.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketb...conference

The MAC however entered its tournament with the #1 team having 4 MAC losses and the #2-#6 teams all sporting 5 MAC losses. The #1 (Toledo) really wasn't even the favorite due to the long track record of not getting it done. Buffalo while the #2 seed has track record in the MAC tournament and is the most mature of all the programs.

I can remember back when whomever had the senior guards won the MAC tournament but now the MAC really has "programs" and basketball coaches in the MAC stick around generally much longer than they due in football. Buffalo has lost coaches for a very high level of success and Ohio has 5 HCs since 2008 but this is not typical of the MAC.

You can see the programs just by looking at who has won the MAC since 2005.

Buffalo (4)
Ohio (3)
Akron (3)
Kent St (3)

They've collectively won 13 out of the 15 past MAC tournaments and are always in the mix at the top of the MAC. These 4 schools are closer to Cleveland and have the ability to bring fans to the conference tournament. Toledo while not loaded with banners is usually pretty good too. Bowling Green has a new arena and its helping them.

On the program side for example John Groce was the coach at Ohio for a couple of those tournament wins and is now the HC at Akron. He and Boals at Ohio are the too highest paid basketball coaches in the MAC so this conference history to it. Rob Senderoff has been at Kent St for 10 years. Tod Kowalczyk has coached 11 years at Toledo.

MAC basketball is on the rise. Better coverage since the realignment and the second tier schools are bringing in higher caliber coaches. Salaries are now higher on average than the MVC. NIU hired an assistant on Bobby Hurley's staff from Arizona State. Don't have the salary info on that hire but probably close to 500k.

Getting back to tonight's game I like Buffalo with a competitive 8-10 point victory tonight. Ohio though is a hot team having won 8 of 9 going back to January so anything is possible but that one loss was to Buffalo at home. Ohio also has a track record for winning the MAC tournament as a lower seed (did it one time as a 9 seed) and the last time was a #3. Seeds as you can see aren't as important as other conferences.

(03-13-2021 09:15 AM)schmolik Wrote:  Look out for the winner of this game in the NCAA Tournament. Ohio U has won three NCAA Tournament games since 2010 including the Sweet 16 run in 2012 and Buffalo won NCAA games in 2018 and 2019. Of course the coaches for those runs aren't there anymore though.

I don't feel too confident the MAC is going to win a game in the NCAA tournament this year. Ohio however was a #9 seed in the 2010 MAC tournament, a #14 seed in the NCAAs and defeated #3 seed Georgetown in the first round.

The Buffalo team that won in 2019 was a #6 seed so they were favored to win in the first round but they didn't reach a Sweet 16.

The winner of the championship game I see coming in as a #13 seed this year. MAC overall is down somewhat.

This Bobcat squad just might ruin someone's tournament. They are rolling!

That was quite a run. Ohio had the lead 116 minutes out of 120 played in Cleveland against the #1, #2, #4 seeds in the conference tournament.

Never threatened down the stretch.

Led #4 Kent by 28 with 8 to go
Led #1 Toledo by 18 with 8 to go
Led #2 Buffalo by 19 with 8 to go

That is how you do it, leave nothing to chance.

NCAAs will be interesting. Virginia slotted in the first round. If they can't make it because of COVID then Louisville will be the replacement.

Get through that and its the Creighton/UCSB winner. Creighton didn't look that great in the BE final against Georgetown and haven't made it past the second round since 1974.

(03-15-2021 08:49 PM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  That was quite a run. Ohio had the lead 116 minutes out of 120 played in Cleveland against the #1, #2, #4 seeds in the conference tournament.

Never threatened down the stretch.

Led #4 Kent by 28 with 8 to go
Led #1 Toledo by 18 with 8 to go
Led #2 Buffalo by 19 with 8 to go

That is how you do it, leave nothing to chance.

NCAAs will be interesting. Virginia slotted in the first round. If they can't make it because of COVID then Louisville will be the replacement.

Get through that and its the Creighton/UCSB winner. Creighton didn't look that great in the BE final against Georgetown and haven't made it past the second round since 1974.

Two winnable games if UVA’s short-handed. Could be Sweet 16 city in Athens just like 9 years ago.

(03-15-2021 08:58 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  

(03-15-2021 08:49 PM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  That was quite a run. Ohio had the lead 116 minutes out of 120 played in Cleveland against the #1, #2, #4 seeds in the conference tournament.

Never threatened down the stretch.

Led #4 Kent by 28 with 8 to go
Led #1 Toledo by 18 with 8 to go
Led #2 Buffalo by 19 with 8 to go

That is how you do it, leave nothing to chance.

NCAAs will be interesting. Virginia slotted in the first round. If they can't make it because of COVID then Louisville will be the replacement.

Get through that and its the Creighton/UCSB winner. Creighton didn't look that great in the BE final against Georgetown and haven't made it past the second round since 1974.

Two winnable games if UVA’s short-handed. Could be Sweet 16 city in Athens just like 9 years ago.

And this time the coach isn't going anywhere. Jeff Boals is an Ohio alum and would stay for a salary bump/contract extension.

Regardless just making the NCAAs is a huge shot in the arm for his program, reestablishing Ohio among the top in MAC basketball. There was only one senior on the team this year so he's still building.

Boals won't have the body of work to leave just yet but in a year or 2 he very well might. Should be a good next season for the MAC.

(03-16-2021 07:02 PM)Ohio Poly Wrote:  Boals won't have the body of work to leave just yet but in a year or 2 he very well might. Should be a good next season for the MAC.

A lot of ifs and butts and this point for Boals.

Tournament success at Ohio came in his second year like John Groce. Larry Hunter and Tim O'Shea needed several years to get it done.

John Groce received a 15% raise and contract extension after a second round performance in 2010. I'd think Boals is in line for something similar, particularly if he can win against Virginia.

The question is will his time in Athens be like Groce with a quick sweet 16 or will it be more like Keith Dambrot where he hangs around 13 years and keeps Ohio in the Top 3 of the conference consistently. My guess is the latter rather than the former this time around.

To add to this, Ohio has plans to expand the Convo with practice courts and a new grand entrance. Athletic department is looking to do a VCU/SBU model so they may pay up some to keep Boals in place.

There are a lot of open P6 jobs right now so if Boals can beat Virginia I'm sure schools will be calling Athens. Obviously I'm familiar with Groce because he was Illinois's coach. The MAC is well respected in men's college basketball which is good and bad. Unfortunately I don't know of many Mark Few types willing to resist the temptation of the call up to the "majors". The most recent call up I remember was Nate Oats, formerly of Buffalo and now of Alabama.

(03-17-2021 06:12 AM)schmolik Wrote:  There are a lot of open P6 jobs right now so if Boals can beat Virginia I'm sure schools will be calling Athens. Obviously I'm familiar with Groce because he was Illinois's coach. The MAC is well respected in men's college basketball which is good and bad. Unfortunately I don't know of many Mark Few types willing to resist the temptation of the call up to the "majors". The most recent call up I remember was Nate Oats, formerly of Buffalo and now of Alabama.

He's an alum plus he is "older" at 48 and from the area. Already the highest paid employee at the school so he's getting paid decently.

We'll see I guess.

(03-13-2021 01:43 PM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  As far as these 1 seed upsets in a "normal" mid major conference where you have 1 maybe 2 teams which are far above the others in the league then 1 seeds going down is a big deal.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketb...conference

The MAC however entered its tournament with the #1 team having 4 MAC losses and the #2-#6 teams all sporting 5 MAC losses. The #1 (Toledo) really wasn't even the favorite due to the long track record of not getting it done. Buffalo while the #2 seed has track record in the MAC tournament and is the most mature of all the programs.

I can remember back when whomever had the senior guards won the MAC tournament but now the MAC really has "programs" and basketball coaches in the MAC stick around generally much longer than they due in football. Buffalo has lost coaches for a very high level of success and Ohio has 5 HCs since 2008 but this is not typical of the MAC.

You can see the programs just by looking at who has won the MAC since 2005.

Buffalo (4)
Ohio (3)
Akron (3)
Kent St (3)

They've collectively won 13 out of the 15 past MAC tournaments and are always in the mix at the top of the MAC. These 4 schools are closer to Cleveland and have the ability to bring fans to the conference tournament. Toledo while not loaded with banners is usually pretty good too. Bowling Green has a new arena and its helping them.

On the program side for example John Groce was the coach at Ohio for a couple of those tournament wins and is now the HC at Akron. He and Boals at Ohio are the too highest paid basketball coaches in the MAC so this conference history to it. Rob Senderoff has been at Kent St for 10 years. Tod Kowalczyk has coached 11 years at Toledo.

MAC basketball is on the rise. Better coverage since the realignment and the second tier schools are bringing in higher caliber coaches. Salaries are now higher on average than the MVC. NIU hired an assistant on Bobby Hurley's staff from Arizona State. Don't have the salary info on that hire but probably close to 500k.

Getting back to tonight's game I like Buffalo with a competitive 8-10 point victory tonight. Ohio though is a hot team having won 8 of 9 going back to January so anything is possible but that one loss was to Buffalo at home. Ohio also has a track record for winning the MAC tournament as a lower seed (did it one time as a 9 seed) and the last time was a #3. Seeds as you can see aren't as important as other conferences.

Before 2000, there was only one "program" in the MAC: Miami.

Miami won 19 MAC championships in 48 years from 1952-1999. 16 NCAA tournament berths. Sweet 16 runs in 1958, 1969, 1978, and 1999. Great players like Wayne Embry (NBA Hall of Famer), Ron Harper, and Wally Szczerbiak.

Since then, Miami has completely fallen off the map. Only 1 MAC championship (2005) and 1 NCAA berth (2007).

Miami has made the NCAA's 17 times a fact that would surprise a lot of people.

The story is that in the MAC's early days there wasn't as many members (WMU, Toledo, BG, Miami, Kent, Ohio) and both Miami and Ohio to a lessor extent were in front athletically as older schools with more tradition.

Kent State when they were first added to the MAC was a project athletic school like Buffalo was when added and for many decades struggled in men's basketball.

Over time the other schools in the MAC caught up to Miami on coaching and facilities. Miami having a high percentage of out-of-state students and less alums to send to the tournament in Cleveland is also factor, especially compared to Kent/Akron who are right next door.

Ohio is definitely a school that I'm taking in my bracket in the first round at a minimum.

Note that the Bobcats took my #1-seeded Illini down the wire in Champaign earlier this year. It took some heroics from Ayo Dosunmu (a first team All-American) in the last minute for us to avoid an upset. Jason Preston in particular is an incredible player and will actually be the best player on the court when they play UVA (and many of their other potential matchups down the road).

(03-17-2021 11:00 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  Ohio is definitely a school that I'm taking in my bracket in the first round at a minimum.

Note that the Bobcats took my #1-seeded Illini down the wire in Champaign earlier this year. It took some heroics from Ayo Dosunmu (a first team All-American) in the last minute for us to avoid an upset. Jason Preston in particular is an incredible player and will actually be the best player on the court when they play UVA (and many of their other potential matchups down the road).

A lot were surprised when Ohio ended up with the first 13th seed despite finishing only 5th in the MAC (the top 5 teams were only separated by a game though).

One data point the committee looked at was the close play @ Illinois a #1 seed. Another is Ohio beat Cleveland State a #15 in the tourney 101-46 earlier in the year. Definitely helped Ohio somewhat.

It will be an interesting couple of weeks for sure to see what Ohio does and what the contract extension looks like. He may become the MAC's first 1 million dollar basketball coach.

When Illinois barely beat Ohio, I thought something was wrong with the Illini. Now that game probably said more about Ohio U than it did about Illinois.

If Boals becomes the MAC's first million dollar coach, it probably tells you why they keep losing head coaches. A million is peanuts for power conferences, I'd imagine many MVC coaches make a million a year now.

(03-17-2021 11:35 AM)schmolik Wrote:  When Illinois barely beat Ohio, I thought something was wrong with the Illini. Now that game probably said more about Ohio U than it did about Illinois.

If Boals becomes the MAC's first million dollar coach, it probably tells you why they keep losing head coaches. A million is peanuts for power conferences, I'd imagine many MVC coaches make a million a year now.

The coach at Loyola makes 1.1 million. A few of the A10 coaches pay 1 million+, VCU is the highest at 1.5 mil.

https://www.midmajormadness.com/2019/11/...or-2019-20

At this level they don't just spend to spend. They take the "show me" approach wanting to see results before they roll out the wallet.

A million is about the minimum for a P5 coach. In the Big East everyone is 2 million+

https://www.midmajormadness.com/2019/11/...or-2019-20

Boals is at 581k base w/ bonus 881k for his initial contract so he isn't exactly far away w/ extension.

Porter Moser's getting a raise after this season, either at Loyola or another school. If I had my choice of the available jobs if I were Moser, I'd go for Indiana. I think Indiana will call a lot of people who they think they can get but will turn them down but Moser would be perfect for them.

Hard to believe Few still makes less than $2 million a year, less than everyone in the Big East, and he hasn't even thought of leaving.