And the nightmare situation for the selection committee has hit. With 50 seconds left, Miami(OH) tied their game with Massachusetts at 81 when Peter Suder hit a step-back jumper. But the Minutemen would take the lead back as they got the ball down low into Daniel Hankins-Sanford , who strongly muscled his way in to a lay-up with 29 seconds left.

The Redhawks had been in so many close games this season that you figured they would pull it out. They got the ball to Luke Skaljac at the top of the key when the defender trying to cut off the pass slipped. So Skaljac changed his mind to drive to the hoop and took a dribble back to take a three-pointer. But before he could shoot it, the defender recovered and so Skaljac decided to pass the ball instead. The indecision cost him as the pass was intercepted by Marcus Banks Jr.

Banks then calmly over the next 20 seconds hit the 4 biggest free throws of his life and UMass handed Miami (OH) their first loss of the season.

So, does a team that went 31-0 in the regular season, with a NET ranking of 54th, no wins against Quad 1 teams, and just lost to 204th ranked UMass still get an at-large bid. Personally, I think they have to be in the tournament – the regular season has to mean something. Any team that goes 31-0 clearly has the talent to win a game in the tournament.

But I am not the person handing out tickets to the dance. The Selection Committee is the one who has to make that decision – and it will be hotly debated in the media and in their conference room about should a team be rewarded for winning all their games if they do it against no teams that would play in the tournament. I don’t envy either the Selection Committee or the Miami (OH) team and fans.

The MAC has stolen a bid from the bubble. The big question is whether they have stolen it from a struggling power conference team or from their regular season champion.