Have a (Joe) Koch and a smile.

That, basically, is my Twitter philosophy. If you have any idea what that first sentence means, you’ve been following my tweets at the best and worst of times. If you don’t, but you’ve read my random, inane and occasionally funny (thanks for the compliment!) Twitter feed, you know where I’m coming from.

In the name of donuts, RPIs, random stats and #MACtion, I’d really like to just clear up a few things.

Twitter is fun. It’s informative, it’s growing, it’s a valuable tool for people in my field and in many others. I try to never forget that it’s fun.

I just feel, sometimes, that if I took to Twitter and started giving away a dozen donuts to selected followers, half of them would get angry that I wasn’t giving away something healthier — and half would wonder why they couldn’t get a second dozen, too.

Interaction is good. Idiocy is bad.

That’s not to claim I’ve never been an idiot, in life or on Twitter. And I’m not disagreeing with the possibility that my many Twitter arguments on Saturday night and Sunday morning could have been squelched had I chosen to walk away or not snipe back.

I almost fell out of my chair when I read people saying that Akron’s loss at Buffalo ended not only the nation’s longest win streak but also ended any chance Akron had of landing an at-large NCAA Tournament berth should the Zips need one two weeks from today.

It certainly didn’t help, but reports of the Zips’ death are both premature and off base. Because they were continually brought into my Twitter mentions by people I really didn’t want there even if they were bringing accurate information, I responded.

I really do know better. But I also know my stuff — anyone who’s ever read my tweets knows that — and I pride myself on watching lots of games, knowing the rules, knowing the landscape, knowing the scenarios and being on top of things. I might be a really mediocre writer and I might never make it as a comedian, but on most things there’s no question about my preparation and knowledge.

Again, thanks for the compliment!

So, when someone I choose not to follow comes into my mentions and makes insinuations, accusations or untrue statements, I have the choice to ignore that person. Sometimes, though, I choose to respond, and I don’t really even remember how it became a full-blown Twitter fight Saturday night, as the kids might call it, but it did.

I got angry about three things in particular.

1. My tweets are MY tweets.

If you don’t like them, click unfollow and move along.

It’s really simple — I follow and unfollow new people every week — and if I don’t find myself informed/entertained by someone’s tweets, I simply move along. If my tweets/columns/blogs/thoughts are that bad and that off-base, why not just ignore them? Why harp on them, to me especially?

Like I always used to tell my mom when I was younger (and when I was 28) – “But…but…they started it!”

I’ve always had a philosophy on reader feedback — from stories, tweets, e-mails, etc. When a reader takes the time to point out an error I’ve made in a story (and it happens), I always write that person back to say thanks not only for reading, but for pointing it out. Anytime someone sends an email about one of my stories in any regard, I always read it. If the email comes off as critical or in disagreement but contains sound thoughts/theories and is presented in a mature fashion, I’ll take the time to respond. In many cases, I’ve even appreciated it.

When I share an opinion based on research, facts and my (often unhealthy) knowledge of a subject — like the very soft “bubble” teams are on or jockeying to get on in regard to making or missing this year’s NCAA Tournament — I think I’m right. I might mix it with sarcasm and attempts at humor, but I’ve done my work and know the facts regarding a subjective process.

There are 31 automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. That means 37 at-large teams fill out the field, chosen and ultimately seeded by a committee using certain criteria and its own judgment. It’s a committee that uses something called the ratings percentage index (RPI) to evaluate teams, and uses those teams’ wins and losses against other quality teams to make its decisions.

(A good article on the tournament criteria and committee can be found here.)

Those are facts. We can’t truly know how the committee members will ultimately evaluate Akron or any other team, but to say on March 2 that Akron is definitely not going to get an at-large berth is just wrong. You, um, follow?

2. I was accused of being an Akron homer.

In addition to being an Ohio alum, I wrote and tweeted that Akron wasn’t a top-25 team. I’ve written multiple times that Akron had better not leave it to chance and/or the committee when it comes to making the tournament. The Zips have a good team and one that’s capable of being more than just a participant in the NCAA Tournament, but their NCAA Tournament resume has some holes and some bad losses.

I also wrote that Akron was in trouble going to Buffalo and, well, Akron was in trouble at Buffalo.

Again, it was spun that way because people came into my mentions making multiple arguments, calling me names and spreading false statements. I could have ignored them. I did not.

In regard to being a homer or rooting for any team, at any time? No. I worked for the Cleveland Browns for a decade. In my articles, the Browns went 159-2 during that time. Now, though, I have no bias and no preference for anything but a good story. Akron chasing the NCAA Tournament happens to be a good story. Saying that chase is over if Akron doesn’t win the MAC Tournament title is really jumping to false conclusions.

3. With two weeks left before Selection Sunday, maybe as many as 60 teams are still alive for those 37 at-large spots.

Some are on life support, but there’s a lot of basketball still to be played. Some of those still-breathing teams will win automatic berths via their conference tournament championships, and until we know how those shake out we can’t really narrow down the bubble.

This is public data, updated almost to the second on various sites. After jumping all the way up to 34 in the RPI with its 19th consecutive win, an overtime win at Ohio on Wednesday, Akron slipped to 47th after losing at Buffalo. Akron, right now, has 22 Div. I wins vs. five losses, an RPI strength of schedule rating of 137, a couple of bad losses, a couple of early losses that came without key players Demetrius Treadwell and Nick Harney available, and a record of 3-4 vs. other teams in the RPI top 100.

If Akron wins out in the regular season and then loses to Ohio (or someone else) in the MAC Tournament title game, the Zips will have 25 Div. I wins, six losses, an RPI in the high 40s and record of either 3-4, 4-4 or 4-5 against top 100 teams (as Princeton could end up being a top 100 RPI team). That’s far, far, far from a bulletproof resume. It’s also one worth discussion.

This year, especially. Ole Miss is 21-8, has the 132nd best schedule rating and just lost to Mississippi State, which would finish at the bottom of any league, the MAC included. Ten-loss BYU has a 62 RPI but is 0-6 against top 100 teams. One person tweeted to me that there’s no way Akron could get in over Arizona State (20-10, 121 SOS, 94 RPI) or Indiana State (16-13, win over Miami (Fla.), 60 SOS, 78 RPI), but the numbers say otherwise.

Last year, Virginia got into the field and was a 10-seed with the lowest RPI among at-large teams at 51. Iona got in with eight losses, a 142 SOS rating and a final RPI of 48.

To be dead at this point of this season, you have to be really bad. Akron is alive — nothing more, nothing less — heading down the stretch. Just like I tweeted last night.

The two primary things working against Akron’s potential standing as an at-large team are its overall strength of schedule and bad losses at Coastal Carolina and Buffalo. Those could be enough to keep the Zips out, but 25 wins and a respectable record against top 100 opponents could get the Zips in. Akron passes the eye test, got on the national radar with that long win streak and isn’t an unknown commodity to the committee. If that MAC title game is Akron-Ohio, part III, it promises to be really good television across the region, including where the committee will be camped out in Indianapolis.

If Akron loses in the MAC title game, is 25-6 and has an RPI in the 40s, the Zips are squarely on the bubble. Their fate would then be decided by party-crashers — teams who win auto-bids via conference tournaments that otherwise had no chance to get in — and by what the likes of Southern Miss, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Villanova, Indiana State, Temple, Virginia, Boise State, Cincinnati, Tennessee and Baylor do from here.

That’s not only a March viewer’s guide for Zips fans, but a sign that Akron — based on what we know right now and what those teams have done lately and have left — is very much alive, even if its chances aren’t great.

So, Twitter, what’s so hard to understand about all that?

Wait a second. Don’t answer that. I’m boycotting Twitter fights ’til at least Tuesday.