The MAC at this early stage is showing up stronger in the computer rankings than most people anticipated. 9th and 12th in Sagarin. After today's results are figured in, the conference will have stronger ratings.
I’ve wondered since last season if a continued high conference ranking by the MAC would ever translate into multiple bids. My guess is NO. The committee will simply continue to change the criteria from situation to situation to do whatever they want to do. They are comfortable with the basketball hierarchy (the conferences receiving multiple bids) as they’ve known it, and, believe smugly, that everyone else should know their place in it. Although they will offer the occasional at-large, non-major conference inclusion to show how “fair” they are, their real focus at that moment will be on adding the 6th & 7th place teams from Major Conferences A, B, C and D.
Maybe I am over inflating their actual position, and the MAC has not really earned more teams in the tourney. However, I think there was some evidence last year that I’m not that far off in that there was more than one conference ranked below the MAC that received multiple bids.
This is why I will especially be watching these ratings with interest this season. To see if the conference performs well but this trend still continues.