For Mid-American Conference men's basketball teams, one really is the loneliest number.
The MAC hasn't entered an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament since 1999 and MAC tourney champs have had to go to the dance solo seven out of the past ten years.
With the college basketball landscape as rocky as it currently is, 2002 might be the best chance the MAC has had in awhile to enter more than one team in the NCAA tourney.
There's one catch, though - most MAC teams have already played the games which will determine whether or not they get in.
MAC teams, as well as plenty of other "mid-major" schools, rely on preseason schedules for at-large bids to postseason tournaments. What happens during the conference season, although important in terms of recruiting and momentum, goes largely unnoticed as big-time, big-money conference action tends to dominate media coverage of college basketball.
So what happens in February when it's time for the NCAA fairy godmother to name its Cinderella, at-large teams from smaller conferences? Well, one can assume the selection committee shakes the dust off of a mid-major's season recap, gives a quick glance to their conference and overall record and fixes their eyes squarely on one point - said team's preseason schedule.
If a school got lucky enough to score a road win against a respected program, or was invited to a preseason tournament and performed well, one could suppose they're in as long as the ACC doesn't have a stellar year and get seven at-large bids.
Well, the jury is still out on the ACC this year. Although North Carolina has hit the toilet faster than a fraternity pledge and Duke, Maryland and Virginia might as well start packing already, it's hard to get a clear bearing on just how good "middle" ACC teams like North Carolina State, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest really are.
The MAC, however, is more predictable. Bowling Green, Kent State and Ohio in the East and Ball State in the West have stepped up as probable contenders for a MAC title, but that means little to the selection committee. What follows is a quick look at what really matters come March - how they did before conference play.
Bowling Green's preseason schedule included Ole Miss, Washington, Michigan and Duquesne - not slack, but also not perfect. With only one loss as of Tuesday, to Washington at the Top of the World Classic, the Falcons definitely made the most of its schedule even if it didn't rack up a Top 25 win. A win against Ball State tonight would improve its stock, but not as much as it would have if it occurred last month.
Kent State had a preseason schedule similar to Bowling Green. Wins against Kentucky and Xavier combined with memories of an upset of Indiana in last year's NCAA tourney would have increased the team's stock, but the Golden Flashes lost both of those games. Unsightly losses to Buffalo and Youngstown State will dog this team come March.
Ohio University beat Duquesne, DePaul, Navy, Long Island and Oakland before entering MAC play. None of the aforementioned wins will impress the NCAA selection committee. A close loss to Wisconsin, however, proves that the Bobcats can compete and possibly steal the MAC title. One thing all of the aforementioned schools have in their favor, however, is that they compete in the MAC East - arguably much tougher and more respected than the West this year.
Now we come to Ball State. Despite being the only MAC team currently listed in ESPN.com's "bracketology" section (ESPN's "if the college basketball season ended today, these teams would be in" section), losses to Butler, Indiana and Oklahoma State might loom larger than they would've had the Cardinals not embarrassed themselves at Kent State. But, alas, Ball State did beat two of the top teams in the land (Kansas and UCLA) at Maui and performed admirably against a Duke team that has proven itself capable of beating almost anyone, anywhere. And, more importantly, the aforementioned games were on television.
Ball State would earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as long as the team wins its MAC division - a luxury not afforded Kent State or Ohio due to their relatively weak non-conference schedules, but one Bowling Green just might share.
Ball State or Bowling Green as an at-large team in the NCAA's? If I were a betting man, I'd count on it.
Write to Elbert at third_strike@hotmail.com
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