COLUMN: Early March success is only the beginning for Guevara
Central Michigan women's basketball coach Sue Guevara talks with her team during a timeout against Toledo on March 9 at McGuirk Arena.
Sue Guevara is damn good at her job.
She transformed the Central Michigan women's basketball program from unknown to known over her first few seasons at the helm. After 12 years of Guevara, the entire nation takes note of the Chippewas.
Four-straight MAC West Division titles, three-straight outright MAC regular season titles, two MAC Tournament championships, a run to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and much more.
Now, she's a three-time MAC Coach of the Year.
Guevara made CMU women's basketball relevant for the first time since Donita Davenport was coaching in the mid-1980s.
Just over 33 percent of a full calendar year, or 124 days to be exact, have flown by since the 2018-19 season opener, but the way Guevara works, the season is only beginning.
It's March, better known as Guevara's favorite time of the year. Yes, even more favorable than Christmas, New Years or the beloved Thanksgiving.
Everyone is on an even playing field in March. Sure, there are teams with a pass to the MAC Tournament quarterfinals and others that had home court advantage in the first round. However, one loss and you're done. There is no such thing as double elimination.
The Chippewas (24-6, 15-3 MAC) are the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament, and losing in the quarterfinals is not an option. It's not entirely about winning the nonconference games or earning a MAC regular season title. Even though those things are nice, that's not Guevara's end goal anymore.
She wants another NCAA Tournament run. Once you taste it, you want more. Winning is addicting.
To understand how Guevara is able to get more each year, it all starts with her philosophy.
Tough nonconference games construct the team for conference play, which then is used for seeding in the MAC Tournament. Meanwhile, success in Cleveland is key to making the NCAA Tournament.
The Chippewas were battled-tested in the nonconference, dropping games to South Dakota State, Louisville and Tulane. In Guevara's opinion, that doesn't mean failure. Instead, it's preparation.
Due to that philosophy, along with the "every game is a championship game" mentality, Guevara should have no problem taking CMU back to the MAC Tournament championship game.
She's also in the pristine position to watch the confetti fall from the rafters, just as she did a year ago. Winning is what Guevara is best at, so there's no reason to expect anything else.
With the Chippewas earning a bye to the quarterfinals, their first opponent will be No. 9 Eastern Michigan. CMU ripped through the Eagles twice in the regular season.
If Guevara's group advances to the semifinals, it's likely to be against Buffalo – a team the Chippewas topped twice earlier in the campaign. The most important event is the championship game, which, if the rankings shake out as expected, would be against either Ohio or Miami (Ohio).
During the regular season, the Chippewas split a two-game series with the Bobcats and fell to the RedHawks. It's also important to note that CMU has won eight-straight games and 11 of its last 12.
Based on the No. 1 ranking, CMU's past success down the stretch and record against MAC opponents in the regular season, the tournament is Guevara's to lose.
On that note, welcome to March.
