Friday, February 26, 1999
MAC tourney: Miami favored, Kent tough
RedHawks have best road to final
BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Miami coach Charlie Coles looked at the Mid-American Conference Tournament bracket and shook his head.
“Toledo's got to go on the road?” Coles said. “Wow. Toledo's RPI is in the 30s. Man, this league is tough this year. They should give a waiver and let all eight teams into the NCAA (Tournament). The MAC has been overlooked for so long, we deserve it.”
MAC PAIRINGS
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Saturday, Feb. 27
At Higher-seeded team
• Ball State at Miami, 3 p.m.
• Marshall at Kent, 2 p.m.
• Toledo at Ohio University, 7 p.m.
• Bowling Green at Akron, 3 p.m.
Tuesday, March 2
At Toledo, Ohio
• Miami-Ball State winner vs. Akron-Bowling Green winner, 6:30 or 9 p.m.
• Kent-Marshall winner vs. Ohio-Toledo winner, 6:30 or 9 p.m.
Wednesday, March 3
• Championship, 7:30 p.m.
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Miami, the No.1 seed, plays No.8 seed Ball State in the first round Saturday at 3 p.m. at Millett Hall.
“They're dangerous,” Coles said. “This year, there are eight teams who could win it.”
A look at the MAC draw:
• Team to beat: Miami. Despite Coles' talk, the RedHawks are the most talented team in the league. Wally Szczerbiak is clearly the best player in the MAC, and Damon Frierson may be the second best. When they play defense like they did Wednesday against Kent, the RedHawks are hard to beat.
• Team nobody wants to face: Kent. The Golden Flashes are deep, physical and play hard. They can hit the three, which makes them a hard to bury.
• Team that most needs the automatic NCAA bid: Ohio U. The Bobcats have the third seed and plenty of talent. But with 17 wins coming in, they won't get to NCAAs without winning the tournament.
• Team that needs one more win: Kent. It would give the Golden Flashes 21 and may get them into NCAAs.
• Player most likely to be MVP: Szczerbiak. He can have a bad game and still end up with 22 points. He has a ten dency to play well in big games.
• Player under pressure: Szczerbiak. Everyone expects him to be great, and teams will constantly double-team, hold and push him and generally make his life miserable.
• Best unknown player: Anthony Stacey of Bowling Green. At 6-foot-4, he can play inside and he can shoot the three. He's probably the toughest matchup in the league. He overpowers guardsand takes big men away from the basket.
• Toughest draw: Toledo. Falling to the sixth seed means the Rockets have to go to Ohio U., one of the toughest places to play in the league. A win would likely pit them against Kent in the semifinals.
• Weakest draw: Miami. With the league so balanced — five teams finished either 12-6 or 11-7 in MAC play — no one gets a free ride. But Miami beat Ball State at Ball State, and the RedHawks match up well with either semifinal opponent (Bowling Green or Akron).
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