The MAC men's basketball tournament begins tonight, and before I get all wrapped up in bracket hysteria, I took a bit of a stroll through nature, just trying to collect my own thoughts without the help of moving phosphor dots on a computer screen.

A quick reminder: all games are going to be aired tonight at 7 p.m. on MAC-Sports.com, and I'm hesitant to say there will be any upsets ... but we all know better, traditionally.

Ben crunched some numbers, as did cmadler in a similar vein, examining the previous data to determine likely winners (Akron-OHIO sounds about right) but don't let that crush your hope that your lower-seeded team has any chance. Remember that Buffalo has never been to the NCAAs. The other longest droughts include EMU (1998), NIU (1996), Toledo (1980) and Bowling Green (1968). And once the first round ends on Monday, we get a breather on Tuesday before two men's and two women's games each day Wednesday thru Friday.

Hey, let's do this.