[Captain Kangaroo]

Could be looking for a new coach soon?

[g-mann17]

Could be looking for a new coach soon?

There is a heckuva coach in Athens, if they don't mind bald whiney d-bags.

[Blue & Gold]

Zips to Face Challenges Versus Wildcats

Courtesy of George Thomas & the ABJ.

[Dr Z]

Hot Seat

Northwestern has never made the NCAA tournament.

Northwestern basketball has been so historically bad that they have only appeared in the NIT tournament six times.

After 12 seasons in Evanston Carmody has a record of 160-177 overall and an awful record of 58-126 in the Big Ten.


PUT HIM OUT OF HIS MISERY ZIPS !!!

[mes102]

Northwestern Message Board

[lilroodude]

There is a heckuva coach in Athens, if they don't mind bald whiney d-bags.

HAHA! AMEN!

[Dave in Green]

Zips practiced today against the 1-3-1 zone that Northwestern uses extensively.

Generally speaking, NU is a better shooting team than the Zips and relies much more on 3-point shooting, while the Zips appear to be the better rebounding team.

NU's most impressive stats are in the areas of assists and turnovers. They're the 4th best team in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio, and the 7th best in assist percentage. This suggests that they guard the ball well and are good at hitting the open man rather than relying on individual players creating their own shots.

While some may dismiss NU's record as unimpressive, it should be noted that they had the 13th best SOS in the country. All of their losses have been to top 100 teams, of which there are many in the Big Ten. They also have 3 wins over top 100 teams, including 1 top 25 team. Their only OOC losses were to Baylor and Creighton, both top 25 teams.

This will not be an easy game, and will require the Zips to come fully prepared and enthusiastic if they want to be competitive. If they play like the Zips of 2 seasons ago in the CBI game against Wisconsin-Green Bay, it could get ugly.

This is exactly the type of game against a mid-level team from a major conference that the Zips have to win on a consistent basis to gain the kind of national respect that Can't once had and OU started building with their 2010 NCAA tournament upset win over Georgetown.

This will be a good test of this team's resiliency after a painful MAC tournament loss. The Zips need to make a statement that they deserved to be in the NCAA tournament by taking the NIT seriously.

[xu9697]

Zips practiced today against the 1-3-1 zone that Northwestern uses extensively.

Generally speaking, NU is a better shooting team than the Zips and relies much more on 3-point shooting, while the Zips appear to be the better rebounding team.

NU's most impressive stats are in the areas of assists and turnovers. They're the 4th best team in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio, and the 7th best in assist percentage. This suggests that they guard the ball well and are good at hitting the open man rather than relying on individual players creating their own shots.

While some may dismiss NU's record as unimpressive, it should be noted that they had the 13th best SOS in the country. All of their losses have been to top 100 teams, of which there are many in the Big Ten. They also have 3 wins over top 100 teams, including 1 top 25 team. Their only OOC losses were to Baylor and Creighton, both top 25 teams.

This will not be an easy game, and will require the Zips to come fully prepared and enthusiastic if they want to be competitive. If they play like the Zips of 2 seasons ago in the CBI game against Wisconsin-Green Bay, it could get ugly.

This is exactly the type of game against a mid-level team from a major conference that the Zips have to win on a consistent basis to gain the kind of national respect that Can't once had and OU started building with their 2010 NCAA tournament upset win over Georgetown.

This will be a good test of this team's resiliency after a painful MAC tournament loss. The Zips need to make a statement that they deserved to be in the NCAA tournament by taking the NIT seriously.

AMEN!!!

A run to the Final 4 for Akron could be a springboard to bigger and better things next year. Yeah, I get the "best of the rest" mentality. But there are good teams in the NIT every year, and the "68 best" don't go the the Big Dance.

[Akronnnnnnnn]

If they play like the Zips of 2 seasons ago in the CBI game against Wisconsin-Green Bay, it could get ugly.

That game was an absolute nightmare.

Looking forward to tomorrow night. I have to give the NU fans credit, they seem to have done their research on us, and aren't fully confident in their team(some are, some aren't) with their matchup with us.

[lilroodude]

Zips practiced today against the 1-3-1 zone that Northwestern uses extensively.

Generally speaking, NU is a better shooting team than the Zips and relies much more on 3-point shooting, while the Zips appear to be the better rebounding team.

NU's most impressive stats are in the areas of assists and turnovers. They're the 4th best team in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio, and the 7th best in assist percentage. This suggests that they guard the ball well and are good at hitting the open man rather than relying on individual players creating their own shots.

While some may dismiss NU's record as unimpressive, it should be noted that they had the 13th best SOS in the country. All of their losses have been to top 100 teams, of which there are many in the Big Ten. They also have 3 wins over top 100 teams, including 1 top 25 team. Their only OOC losses were to Baylor and Creighton, both top 25 teams.

This will not be an easy game, and will require the Zips to come fully prepared and enthusiastic if they want to be competitive. If they play like the Zips of 2 seasons ago in the CBI game against Wisconsin-Green Bay, it could get ugly.

This is exactly the type of game against a mid-level team from a major conference that the Zips have to win on a consistent basis to gain the kind of national respect that Can't once had and OU started building with their 2010 NCAA tournament upset win over Georgetown.

This will be a good test of this team's resiliency after a painful MAC tournament loss. The Zips need to make a statement that they deserved to be in the NCAA tournament by taking the NIT seriously.

Reminds me of that lucky team in Athens.

[skip-zip]

Guys, these NIT games are ALL ABOUT who is excited to be playing.

We knocked off Temple several years ago in a game where a few hundred people showed up to see them on their home court.
I'm sure Florida State players and fans were thrilled to be playing in the NIT a few years ago against a relatively unknown school like Akron too.

This tournament is a GREAT opportunity for mid-majors to prove themselves, with the added advantage of having games against top seeds in the first round who may be very, very upset that they were not selected to play in the Big Dance, feel like they've already proven themselves, and don't really care.

Wichita State's run last year is a prime example. Something similar would be HUGE for our program. But...again.....we have to be THAT TEAM that is EXCITED about playing. If we aren't, a repeat of the Wisconsin GB debacle is a very good possibility.

I hope the CBI and the NIT is perceived as a WORLD of difference to our guys.

[Dave in Green]

Forgot to mention that NU runs the Princeton offense along with a 1-3-1 defense.

Saw where one NU blogger was lamenting that NU got such a tough draw in Akron, and is predicting a 70-65 Zips win.

Another blog said NU will have trouble with UA's bigs, and that they have no one who can match up against Zeke.

Yet another blog mentioned that the NU coach and team were paying for all student tickets -- guess they're trying anything to pack the house.

[Dave in Green]

A little more on NU's Princeton offense:

An in-depth analysis of NU's Princeton offense suggests that the Wildcats may be missing one key element -- a post player talented enough to draw double coverage to open up a perimeter player to hit the open 3.

Lacking a talented post player, NU has trouble freeing up perimeter players, and often has to settle for contested outside shots late in the clock.

There should be no question that Zeke will be able to handle whoever NU plays in the post one-on-one. If the other 4 Zips players can stay with their men, NU will have a hard time getting open shots.

The bad news is that the Princeton offense also emphasizes back door cuts, which have been known to catch the Zips napping.

Zips defense is going to be critical in this game.

Princeton's Flaws Being Exposed

[Dr Z]

Saw where one NU blogger was lamenting that NU got such a tough draw in Akron, and is predicting a 70-65 Zips win. Another blog said NU will have trouble with UA's bigs, and that they have no one who can match up against Zeke.

Those guys will be happy when they see the money line at +200 tomorrow, they should make a killing betting the Zips.

[Akronnnnnnnn]

Forgot to mention that NU runs the Princeton offense along with a 1-3-1 defense.

Saw where one NU blogger was lamenting that NU got such a tough draw in Akron, and is predicting a 70-65 Zips win.

Another blog said NU will have trouble with UA's bigs, and that they have no one who can match up against Zeke.

Yet another blog mentioned that the NU coach and team were paying for all student tickets -- guess they're trying anything to pack the house.

He must really believe he is on the hot seat then.