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OU Game - thoughts and predictions


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Unfortunately I can't make it tonight due to my son's basketball practice. I expect the Rowdies to be out in full force, especially with it being Nate's last home game.This is a winnable game for the Zips. OU has some of the same issues we do, mainly some youth and inconsistent play throughout the year. I was surprised to see the line as high as it was (Zips by 9).Zips 62OU 57

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60-51 Zips! Vegas nailed the line once again. More proof to stay away from betting. Can someone that was there give us a synopsis? ThanksON TO CAN'T!
vegas didnt nail the line, the mac refs did. They kept it as close as they could for the majority of the game.
thank you! Glad someone acknowledged it. The grey haired one on the OU half was awful all game. He made 3 bad calls in the first 5 minutes of the game!I am glad we could send Nate out with a nice win. I think we played well. We had our offensive struggles but what else is new? When it came down to it, we had more heart and came out on top.*edit* wow, I was tired when I wrote that lol... long day!
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Expect more zone defense against the Zips. Until our guards start making open shots we are going to struggle.
Right after the St. Francis (NY) game I suggested that MAC coaches, in spite of their general disdain for zone defense, would throw a few against the Zips. I'm just surprised it's taken this long (was the NIU game the 1st game in which we saw quite a bit of zone?) for it to occur. It'll be iteresting to see whether Can't will go with one at any time on Sunday. I don't recall them playing any zone the 1st time around.
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I don't know how much zone we'll see on Sunday. I just don't know that it fits that team's "personality". I would certainly expect to see a lot more zone defense against the Zips in game one of the MAC tournament no matter who the opponent may be though.

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The refs may have helped keep it close for awhile, but the Zips were doing pretty well on their own at allowing OU to stay closer than they should have. Overall, the refs were not as big a factor as they have been in other games.The Zips had problems with the zone in the first half, but adjusted just enough in the second half to pull away. They fired away from outside in the first half and shot miserably. In the second half, they finally pounded it inside. B McKnight was deadly on his short-to-medium-range jumpers, and also made some nice kickout passes to the open man. He also played hard and smart on the defensive end, and is becoming more than just a shooter. If this continues I think he deserves strong consideration as most improved player on the team.But if we're going to talk about individuals, Nate Linhart showed in his final home game why he is so important to this team. He just had all the right offensive and defensive moves at just the right times to carry the team forward when other players seemed to be too tentative and unsure of themselves. I was especially concerned that Hitchens appeared to be lost at times. But KD said in the postgame interview that Hitchens was under the weather, so maybe the bug he had a couple of weeks ago is lingering. Keep your fingers crossed that he gets well, because the Zips will need him to live up to his big game reputation in the MAC tournament.At times Tillman looked like he could take over the game. But the Zips defense adjusted and started picking off the lobs inside. Tillman is talented, all right, but it's not translating into OU wins.The Zips get big credit for outrebounding OU 33-25, and continuing to shoot well from the free throw line. As long as they can't hit from the perimeter, they cannot afford to be outrebounded or miss their free throws.At this point of the season, this team pretty much is what it is. They aren't going to be making drastic changes, so it's all going to come down to focus and effort. I really believe the players are all trying hard, and maybe they're trying a little too hard on those outside shots. If someone can relax enough to start hitting consistently from outside and loosen up the defense inside, the Zips could be tough to beat.

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Good win .. had to have it. Now on to Wanker County.Observations from last night:- KD finally got away from letting the opponent dictate the style and tempo in the second half. I was relieved to see it. They punched it inside & got Brett some good looks. They penetrated the middle of the zone, and that led to kick outs & rotations to open shooters. Our guards are ice cold .. but at least we got them some more open looks.- I thought McNees helped us in the second half when he settled down. Humpty looked like a Frosh in December .. very tentative with the ball. Good on D .. but tentative with the ball. That led to some turnovers.- Welcome Back Conyers! Jimmy picked a good time to come in and contribute. I think he helped us big time with energy & defense in the second half. His attempts were in the flow and open looks. 1-2 from outside I think? Jimmy helped yesterday. He was also able to "commit" a foul that should have been Brett McKnight's 4th foul earlier in the half .. so that helped.

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