Given that men's basketball is the flagship athletic program of the University, it's nice to see the Flashes go above .500 with today's come from behind win at Central Michigan.
However, in order for the basketball program to become the "vehicle for revenue generation and national distinctiveness," the Flashes will need to start winning more consistently on the road unless you buy into the narrative presented on Flash Fanatics that the regular season record doesn't mean anything.
The argument advanced on Flash Fanatics is that winning the MAC Tournament is the only thing that matters. If just getting into the NCAA Tournament is the goal then maybe that is a valid argument. However, if the goal is to not only get into the NCAA Tournament but also advance, then going into "The Dance" with a mediocre record and a 15 or 16 seed is not a sound strategy since that almost assures playing a number 2 seed and losing by 20 or more points. How can an embarrassing loss in the NCAA Tournament give the program national distinctiveness when Cinderella stories by other mid-majors capture the spotlight and headlines every year?
The 2015–16 Austin Peay Governors won a bid to the NCAA Tournament after they defeated Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State, Belmont and UT Martin in the OVC Tournament as an 8 seed. They finished the season 18–18, 7–9 in OVC play and as a #16 seed lost to Kansas 105-79 in the First Round. Would anyone seriously believe that winning the OVC Tournament and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament brought "national distinctiveness" to Austin Peay State University? The same argument could be said of Kent State should the Flashes end the regular season with an unimpressive record followed by an embarrassing loss in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
Next Tuesday, Kent State plays Division East leader Buffalo at home, which will tell us a lot about how good the Flashes really are with just 10 more games to go in the regular season. With tough road games at Ball State and Buffalo coming up, Kent State will need to win four of its five home games if the Flashes want to finish with a respectable record and go into the MAC Tournament with confidence.
Go Flashes!!!
http://getsomemaction.com/standings.aspx?path=mbball
http://www.kentstatesports.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball
However, in order for the basketball program to become the "vehicle for revenue generation and national distinctiveness," the Flashes will need to start winning more consistently on the road unless you buy into the narrative presented on Flash Fanatics that the regular season record doesn't mean anything.
The argument advanced on Flash Fanatics is that winning the MAC Tournament is the only thing that matters. If just getting into the NCAA Tournament is the goal then maybe that is a valid argument. However, if the goal is to not only get into the NCAA Tournament but also advance, then going into "The Dance" with a mediocre record and a 15 or 16 seed is not a sound strategy since that almost assures playing a number 2 seed and losing by 20 or more points. How can an embarrassing loss in the NCAA Tournament give the program national distinctiveness when Cinderella stories by other mid-majors capture the spotlight and headlines every year?
The 2015–16 Austin Peay Governors won a bid to the NCAA Tournament after they defeated Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State, Belmont and UT Martin in the OVC Tournament as an 8 seed. They finished the season 18–18, 7–9 in OVC play and as a #16 seed lost to Kansas 105-79 in the First Round. Would anyone seriously believe that winning the OVC Tournament and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament brought "national distinctiveness" to Austin Peay State University? The same argument could be said of Kent State should the Flashes end the regular season with an unimpressive record followed by an embarrassing loss in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
Next Tuesday, Kent State plays Division East leader Buffalo at home, which will tell us a lot about how good the Flashes really are with just 10 more games to go in the regular season. With tough road games at Ball State and Buffalo coming up, Kent State will need to win four of its five home games if the Flashes want to finish with a respectable record and go into the MAC Tournament with confidence.
Go Flashes!!!
http://getsomemaction.com/standings.aspx?path=mbball
http://www.kentstatesports.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball
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