Tough week for the Rockets in Cleveland

The Rockets’ week in Cleveland for the MAC tournament ended as they always do — disappointing. The guys were not expected to win, so nothing lost, nothing gained there. Eventual MAC tournament winner Ohio U. took care of them with a strong second half to send them home with an 18-16 overall record. The TU women fared poorly, too, losing again to Eastern Michigan in the semifinal round. The Rockets lost to the Eagles last year in the title game.

The MAC East continues to dominate the tournament. Own may be a better description of their hold on the tournament. The East side of the league hasn’t lost the tournament since 2004 when Western Michigan won it. UT hasn’t won it since 1980, the first year of the tournament. That’s when the Rockets won it on U of Michigan’s campus. The Rockets have had great success playing in Michigan’s venues, as we know. But UT's been coming up empty in the men’s tournament since then for the past 32 years. Next year ought to be better for them overall and in the tournament, as the Rocket men return every player from this year’s much-improved team. Winning the MAC West is very doable; in fact, I think the Rockets will be picked to win it. After that, though, the power side of the conference stands in the way of them winning the tournament and the MAC’s only berth in the NCAA.

The same can be said for UT's girls. They lose two senior starters, but Naama Shafir returns for her senior season and hopefully a much healthier one. She’s a damn good player and a terrific person who represents the university well. Hopefully the gals can put it together and make to the NCAA next year instead of the WNIT. It’s nice to win the WNIT as they did last year, but it means you’re only the 65th best team in the country.

The men got a consolation prize, only because the 32-team CollegeInsider.com tournament exists. UT, BG and Kent State are representing the MAC in this roundball fest of also-ran schools from college basketball’s low-hanging fruit conferences. The Rockets beat McNeese State, the Southland Conference runner-up, in the tournament opener and will play Robert Morris on Saturday afternoon in friendly Savage Arena. Like the far-too-many bowl games that invite mediocrities, this tournament is pretty much in that vein. But if the Rockets bring home the tournament hardware, I guess it’s worth their time playing in it. Other than that, it’s not much to brag about to anyone that you’re the 100th best men’s college basketball team in the country. I know as a UT alum I should be more excited but it's not like the Rockets are playing in the best one of all the tournaments, the NCAA.

UT’s ladies get the chance to defend their WNIT title, starting Friday night against the University of Detroit at Savage Arena.  Here's to the Rocket ladies repeating as WNIT champs, and the Rocket men winning the CIT!