The MAC Finals and BG's last two opponents in it

[BGSU33]

First off, what an exciting run in the MAC Tournament, especially for a team picked dead last in all of the MAC! It felt fantastic to be in the hunt instead of sitting at home like the past decade and a half.

That said, BG still remains the only team in the MAC to never win the MAC Tournament. This was the 39th MAC Tournament and BG is now 0-4 in Finals appearances. BG has fielded several teams as #1 seeds, has had several teams led by players who went on to play in the NBA, and has had several MAC Player of the Year guys who couldn't get their respective teams to the end. To end the 51-year NCAA drought, it's not going to happen until BG can overcome its impossible hurdle, and finally win a MAC Tournament title. The drought and inability for BG to do it has reached epic proportions to the point where I, like some of you, have started to wonder if I will see it happen in my lifetime. While that might seem like a dramatic statement, BG is averaging 1 appearance every 10 years and has no title in four decades. So, it is a valid one.

BG actually made the MAC Finals in two of the first four years of the Tournament (1980 and 1983), including making an appearance in the very first year it played (1980 vs Toledo). BG even lost to an Ohio team that BG had swept in the regular season in the 1983 MAC Finals which BG hosted in Anderson Arena that year (see how this hasn't been easy for BG). Then, 19 years would pass before BG made a return appearance in 2002.

All of which got me thinkings.....It's unfortunate that the two times BG has made the finals of the MAC Tournament in the past 36 years since 1983 (in 2002 and 2019), they have had to face two of the best teams I have ever seen in the near 30 years I've been following MAC basketball. In 2002, BG led in the second half, but lost, to a Kent State team that advanced all the way to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. Then 17 years later BG finally gets another shot at a championship and led in the second half, but lost, against a nationally ranked Buffalo team with easily the best record and resume for any MAC team during the regular season in the past 30 years that I've been following MAC basketball. It's been frustrating to me that in the only two Finals appearances BG has made in the past 36 years of the tournament, that we had to play the two best teams during that time frame. Think about that for a minute....BG has only played in 2 MAC Finals in the last 36 years, and faced the two best opponents it could have faced. Incredible...

All of which shows just how hard it is and has become for BG to achieve a title. From losing to its rival in the very first tournament played, to losing to a team you swept in the regular season, to playing two of the best teams in the time frame of the MAC Tournament, to missing out on 35 of the 39 MAC title games, it goes to show just how hard this is and has become for BG.

[FalconTurf]

I agree it's tough and my thoughts are:
$20 million won't buy it,
A new arena is a nice home but doesn't take you anywhere,
A single great individual performer won't carry you there, and
A successful coach can't brow-beat and drag a team there.

It takes the perfect storm of athletes, coaches, university support and an open path. It can be done but there is no way Falcon Nation can demand it, fire/hire coaches to get it, or simply expect it is our turn. Eventually it will happen and this year was a good opportunity with one hell of a team blocking the path. Hopefully Coach Huger and the returning team (plus recruits/transfers) provide another opportunity next year and with opportunity the odds increase. As a fan base we must strongly support this program while opportunity exists and we may eventually get our wish. At this point I think the program has positioned itself well and if we get the right chemistry for Cleveland next year could be the year.