MAC Tournament - where BG goes to die - Take 36

[BGSU33]

The MAC Tournament has simply been a House of Horrors for BG. We've now played in the event 36 years and have never won it. How big was not getting a bye in this tournament with those close losses? Huge. We never even made it as far as a bye would've taken us. The format of this tournament now is completely about the teams that receive the byes. Trying to win five games in six days in this thing is damn near impossible. You can't lose a game you don't play. Our Achilles' heel the last several weeks was getting hurt from three-point range and unable to win close games. Both happen again tonight. Long Live 1968.....

[Falconwriter]

I predicted a relatively early exit (again) for this team. The fact that they couldn't defend their home court multiple times when they had a chance to secure the MAC East was the tell on this one.

I do believe this coach will break the drought, but it was never going to be with this group of players. It's going to require more of the coach's own recruits before that happens. Too much culture of losing impeded deep in the psyche of players for BG who returned this year from the Orr era; and it showed in those home losses.

It's probably going to require close to a clean sweep of the roster before we see a title. This year's effort was impressive, despite how they tanked at the end. Nobody on this Earth gave them a prayer of competing for the division up to the final day. Jans did wonders, all things considered.

[BGSU33]

It's just becoming so, so disappointing to never be able to win this thing. Not just this year, I mean ever. This is the 36th year of the MAC Tournament and we've never, ever won it. Not once. Every year we're left thinking about the following year when we've been bounced, but let's face it, it is "next year." It just doesn't happen. And it could be another 36 years from now until it does again at this rate. Sadly, it's very realistic many of us may never see BG win the MAC Tournament in our lifetime either. We always talk about not seeing BG in the NCAA Tournament in many of our lives, but we're not ever getting back to the NCAA's until we win the MAC again.

We've had teams led by guys who went on to play in the NBA, multiple MAC Player of the Year winners, #1 seeds and we even hosted it before - and it doesn't matter. We can't win it. This is also a big part of why outsiders do not take BG seriously, because we're essentially not relevant to anyone but ourselves. Look at our peers in the MAC East alone such as Akron, Kent State, Ohio and Miami. They've all won several MAC Tournaments and have gone on recent runs to the Elite Eight (Kent State) and Sweet 16 (Ohio and Miami) by winning the MAC Tournament to springboard themselves and showcase themselves on the national level. People know these teams. They remember their players. They have seen them play. This is why and how people nationally know guys like Wally Szczerbiak, Gary Trent, Bonzi Wells, etc, and why a guy like Antonio Daniels (who was drafted higher than all of them) is to most people someone they might have heard of but never saw. Same goes for talking about teams like our East peers but us not being mentioned in the same breath as them. Sure we've beaten them in the regular season, and hell, we even have winning records against some of them, but we can't win when it counts the most, and that's where they've excelled.

The bottom line is, we're never going to change our losing culture until we stop losing this thing. We can continue to rack up great regular seasons all we want, but until we break through and win the MAC Tournament, things aren't going to change. If we went 0-28 for a regular season but won the MAC Tournament, no one would forget it. The day we win the MAC Tournament is the day we take a step forward on several levels. Until then, we'll remain best known for being a school in "Kentucky" that people have heard about but never ever see.

[MarkL]

I don't know how long we will have Coach Jans. If he keeps this up, a Big Ten school will come calling at some point. He has an impeccable reputation and he just coached one heck of a turnaround, with a previous coach's players. Just to think, if Holmes did not get injured against UB, we probably would have won that game which I think would have given us a top 4 seed and extra rest time. We were very close this year .... and this was only year 1 with Coach Jans. Now just wait to see what his recruiting and his incoming junior college transfer players can do. During Jans' tenure here, I believe the tournament losing tradition will come to a close.

[Flipper]

When it comes to hoops...I think we have the same national footprint as any other MAC school nationally....zero. Ask 10 basketball fans who Gary Trent or Bonzi Wells is and they will look at you blankly.

[BGSU33]

When it comes to hoops...I think we have the same national footprint as any other MAC school nationally....zero. Ask 10 basketball fans who Gary Trent or Bonzi Wells is and they will look at you blankly.

I disagree. I'm honestly not being a smartass when I ask this, but do you or have you lived outside of the Midwest? I can't speak for A-10 country, but I can speak for ACC country as I lived and worked for an institution there for a decade. People know and knew about the MAC. Maybe it was because of being a basketball hotbed but I was impressed and surprised by their general basketball knowledge. Having lived in the South and out West over the last 15 years and many conversations later it became clear most people who knew about the MAC, and I was surprise by the number who did, knew much more about other schools than they did us when it came to basketball. Football was a different story which was pleasing.

[jpfalcon09]

I thought it was a successful season given what Jans had to work with. Team definitely overachieved and I think came back down to Earth late in the season when things got tighter. Its disappointing to lose in the tournament, especially when the team lost two close games at the end of the year that would've ensured a double or triple bye, but nothing can take away the job Jans did. I agree with Mark that the NCAA drought will come to an end with Jans at the helm.

[Flipper]

Midwest born and bred...worked a fair amount in the Carolinas a number (15 or so) of years ago but that's about it. My experience has been the exact opposite. No one knows or cares even a little bit about MAC hoops...we're just another alphabet conference amongst the hundreds of D1 basketball programs. Football is another story. I hate mid week November games, but thanks to those 50-47 type shoot outs we've often had, we've made an impression. I've talked to football fans from far and wide that think we're a fun conference to watch because it the games are so wide open.

Even in the 80's people knew BG football. Hell, I worked with a guy who played LB for Wyoming in the 80's and he knew BG football thanks to Brian McClure gunning for the passing record.

I also think the disposability of the product has an impact...people are conditioned to shorter news cycles...their attention spans are so much shorter than they were before. I think you'd have as hard a time finding someone who can tell you anything abiut Florida Gulf Coast's run as you would Kent State's

[Falcon137]

I travel roughly 3-4 months of the year all over the country, but, mostly to the northeast and southeast.

People in, NY, Philly, DC, Richmond, Atlanta, Charleston, Savannah, know MAC basketball exists because it's one of those leagues that gets an auto bid. But they know absolutely nothing about the teams or the league. However, if I visit one of those cities in November or December, the talk immediately goes to that NIU / Toledo game, or BG vs Ohio. Even if they didn't watch the game, they say they saw a small blurb in the paper about it or heard the score on their way in. In the Boston / New England area you get people asking and knowing about college hockey and BG, WMU, and Miami. MAC basketball doesn't register out of the midwest.

[Rollo83]

So how much do we know abut Tulane, East Carolina, LaSalle, TCU, Creighton, Washington State, St. John's basketball programs? It's all pretty much a regional perspective unless you're a top 25 team.

[Flipper]

I know more about UK basketball than MAC basketball because ther Wildcats are on TV every fricking week.

Karl Anthony Towns is a grown assed man...