But first, some housekeeping news about the CIT. It appears that Buffalo will play somebody in the second round on the virtue of their win at Quinnipiac. However, OHIO will receive a bye directly into the quarterfinals. Remember, "12 teams will advance with four teams receiving a bye into the quarterfinals, based on seeding. The seeding will be determined using RPI, strength of schedule, conference ranking and geographical location."
Got all that? Need a diagram? Me too.
All games will be played at 7 p.m. ET. If you don't live in the Eastern time zone, this is unfortunate.
MEN
CIT First Round, Tennessee Tech at Western Michigan
The Golden Eagles have a rather atrocious nonconference record. The 6-5 looks decent but those wins are against three non-D1 teams, Gardner-Webb, and SIU-Edwardsville (twice). With luck, fortune, and WMU's forwards, the MAC oughta go 3-0 in the CIT.
Tim at Bull Run made a good point: with this speculative seeding they do in the tournament, "geography" is a factor in determining second-round matchups. Buffalo and WMU are pretty much the only two schools near each other in the second round. Yikes.
CBI First Round, Miami at Rhode Island
I don't know about this one, though. It could be the first postseason loss. Note: this was also said about Kent State at Saint Mary's, OHIO at Marshall, and probably Buffalo at Quinnipiac. Am I just that self-loathing, or are all these road victories surprising to you?
Lil' Rhody's best win was at A-10 champ Richmond and their lone MAC victory was at Toledo. The Rams are a team with size and depth, and although Miami's front seven has had a week to rest those mechanical legs, I can't imagine there's much more hydraulic fluid left in them. We'll see if Julian Mavunga received any structural upgrades.
WOMEN
WBI First Round, Buffalo at Wright State
MAC Player of the Year Kourtney Brown travels to Dayton to play the Raiders, who went 18-12 in the regular season. WSU went 2-2 against the MAC and their only claim to fame is a victory over Central Florida. This is UB's first postseason tournament.
WNIT First Round, Delaware at Toledo
Thanks to winning the regular season, the Lady Rockets are in the WNIT. Double thanks to being a really good team with a longshot, albeit within throwing range, of getting at-larged for the NCAA, they'll get a home game against the Blue Hens, who finished fifth in the CAA with a 20-13 record. They avoided the MAC all year, but now they must visit Toledo, who already has a team called the Hens. Not enough room in this roost for two flocks.