Both are good players but it's tough to argue with the:
Weathers was a consistent performer all season for Miami. He averaged 16.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.9 steals per contest in 32 games this season. He led the RedHawks in each of those categories except rebounds, where he was third. He had nine 20+ points games this year with a high of 31 points against NKU (Nov. 20). His ability to drive to the basket resulted in a massive amount of free throw attempts. Weathers finished 160-for-206 from the charity stripe. His total free throw made ranks 32nd and his total attempts rank 33rd in the nation. Weathers also ranks 49th in the country with 60 total steals.
That's all good and you can't take these stats out of the voters minds, but aren't they supposed to be voting based on conference performance only?
No, I don't think that is the case. I think it's up to all voters to decide what they think is important. Some may throw out the non-conference performances altogether, and most I'm sure weight league performance much heavier in their minds, but I'd guess most people look at the whole season in some way.
Even if you do look at just MAC games, Carter averaged 12.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, shot 51.8 percent. Weathers averaged 14.9 points, 4.6 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.2 blocks, 3.6 rebounds. Weathers wasn't just Miami's best player, he was just about their best everything: scorer, passer, defender, shot blocker.
If Carter would have had his opportunity sooner, he might have pulled it out, and I certainly can see him being the better player in the long run, but I understand why Weathers won this award.