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Zips @ #12 Creighton Bluejays


Dr Z

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1 hour ago, skip-zip said:

 

I think it should be enough to convince some people on here that we must play these games more often.  They have plenty of benefits, as some people have pointed out in this thread, and has been discussed many time in the past.  And it's also proof that there's not a mountain of separation between us and the top teams in the country.

 

However, when you consider that the lead went to double digits fairly early in the 2nd half, and stayed in double digits the rest of the way with the exception of a brief time near the 2 or 3 minute mark when it dipped to 8 or 9, the loss is still pretty decisive.  

 

As I said earlier, the frustration comes from the fact that we are not getting closer to winning these games.  And we were never close to being in a position to win this one.  

I do not share your frustration as there were too many positives in this game.  Kwan a senior, lead this team with 17 points and played great defense.  You have to love a kid that has a great game against good competition.  If Kwan plays like that in Cleveland we will be tough.  Jimond, played the most minutes of anyone on the team playing great defense.  He is the most athletic Zip, good rebounder, and has quickness.  Hopefully, this will convince KD that he should start and we are done with the 3 guard starting offense.  Jimond deserves a start even when Noah comes back and Josh should come off the bench.  I thought Antino did well attacking the basket although at times he got into trouble.  He is the one Zip that can create his own shot with his step back jumper.  This  was a great learning experience for Dunn Martin.  I saw him make a nice runner.  He has to learn to attack the basket rather than shooting a quick 3.  Most importantly, at Villanova last year this team got blown out in the second half.  Here, this team made a comeback in the second half and cut into the lead.  This team played with heart in the second half making key shots.  They could not get key stops down the stretch.  Since this was their first game against a ranked opponent, a 10 point loss in a well played game is not a frustrating loss. 

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1 hour ago, 1981 grad said:

not a frustrating loss. 

 

No, not on its own, necessarily.  I referenced a frustrating pattern where we don't seem to get any closer to winning any of these types of games.  And this game was over with about 13 min. left, and Creighton went into cruise control.  

 

Maybe next week in Spokane will finally be the breakthrough.  

 

Don't get me wrong.  For our OWN purposes, we need to play these games, and more of them.  But nobody in the country today outside of Akron fans cares that Kwan showed leadership. or Jimond looked good, or that the loss may not have looked as bad as a loss against another highly ranked team a year ago.  Nobody is going to view Akron any differently until we start pushing some of these teams to the wire and winning some of these games.  And regardless of what positives WE might pull out of a game like this, it's still more of the same in terms of Akron vs. the higher echelon of college basketball.  

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26 minutes ago, skip-zip said:

 

No, not on its own, necessarily.  I referenced a frustrating pattern where we don't seem to get any closer to winning any of these types of games.  And this game was over with about 13 min. left, and Creighton went into cruise control.  

 

Maybe next week in Spokane will finally be the breakthrough.  

 

Don't get me wrong.  For our OWN purposes, we need to play these games, and more of them.  But nobody in the country today outside of Akron fans cares that Kwan showed leadership. or Jimond looked good, or that the loss may not have looked as bad as a loss against another highly ranked team a year ago.  Nobody is going to view Akron any differently until we start pushing some of these teams to the wire and winning some of these games.  And regardless of what positives WE might pull out of a game like this, it's still more of the same in terms of Akron vs. the higher echelon of college basketball.  

 

We were without our starting PG and went into a hostile environment against an elite Creighton team and competed for 40 minutes. If you don't think we competed then explain to me why McDermott played 4 of his 5 starters 18+ minutes in the 2nd half, including Patton the full 20?

 

I've heard everyone all year say this is one of the worst Dambrot teams. This team didn't look like one of the "worst Dambrot teams" last night. I actually came away more hopeful on our outlook for the season after the game than I went into it feeling. Upsets in the regular season are talked about for a week or 2 then forgotten. Akron, like all mid-majors, will be judged on postseason success. Give me back Robotham and I feel we could compete against a lot of high caliber teams this season.

Edited by kreed5120
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16 minutes ago, Sportsjunkie330 said:

 

Thats pretty easy to explain actually. Beacause Akrons first team is better than Creightons second team. 

 

More likely it is the fact a 9 point lead is only a 3 possession deficit for the opposing team when they're a prolific 3 point shooting team like Akron. Creighton knew they had to continue scoring as Akron is capable of putting up points in bunches themselves. 

 

Edit: If Mac felt the game was well in hand he would have went to his bench the final few minutes.

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59 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

only a 3 possession deficit for the opposing team when they're a prolific 3 point shooting team like Akron.

 

Sorry, this is ridiculous.  

 

If only we had dropped 3 more 3 pointers at ANY part of the game, and this game would have been different.   And you can apply that rule to just about every game on any given day in D-1 college basketball.   It didn't happen.  

 

At minimum, the final outcome of this game was decided about half way through the 2nd half, same as Villanova, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Gonzaga, etc.  

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1 hour ago, skip-zip said:

 

Sorry, this is ridiculous.  

 

If only we had dropped 3 more 3 pointers at ANY part of the game, and this game would have been different.   And you can apply that rule to just about every game on any given day in D-1 college basketball.   It didn't happen.  

 

At minimum, the final outcome of this game was decided about half way through the 2nd half, same as Villanova, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Gonzaga, etc.  

 

We did have stretches where we made 3's on back-to-back possessions. We just couldn't come up with the stops defensively. Akron being such a 3 point heavy team allows us to erase deficits pretty quick. It also puts us in a big hole when they aren't falling. Being down 8-9 points with 3 minutes left isn't an insurmountable lead. It's ridiculous if you think it is. 

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31 minutes ago, K92 said:

Do you think last night's game diminished or enhanced Akron's reputation as being poison?

 

It did neither IMO. Teams that are wanting to schedule a solid team to either help their OOC SOS or as a tune up for conference play will continue to schedule us. The schools that don't want to risk an embarrassing defeat will continue not to. 

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3 hours ago, skip-zip said:

 

No, not on its own, necessarily.  I referenced a frustrating pattern where we don't seem to get any closer to winning any of these types of games.  And this game was over with about 13 min. left, and Creighton went into cruise control.  

 

Maybe next week in Spokane will finally be the breakthrough.  

 

Don't get me wrong.  For our OWN purposes, we need to play these games, and more of them.  But nobody in the country today outside of Akron fans cares that Kwan showed leadership. or Jimond looked good, or that the loss may not have looked as bad as a loss against another highly ranked team a year ago.  Nobody is going to view Akron any differently until we start pushing some of these teams to the wire and winning some of these games.  And regardless of what positives WE might pull out of a game like this, it's still more of the same in terms of Akron vs. the higher echelon of college basketball.  

My viewpoint is that of an Akron fan and not as an outside fan looking at whether Akron is a good team.  I like to watch good basketball and I thought Akron played well last night.  They do not have the talent Creighton has and would have to play error free basketball and hope Creighton has a sub par game to pull off the upset.  Neither happened last night.  Frustration was watching the Buffalo game and the Ohio State game last year where we had the talent to win but played sub par games.

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7 hours ago, skip-zip said:

 

I believe a game in which he takes 9 attempts from 3-point range is not going to turn out well most of the time.  Don't get me wrong.  I love the way he plays.  I just don't think he's an effective jump shooter.  

If that's the case, then Kwan should be on the bench.  However, that is NOT the case, and Kwan Cheatham is proving his role as on - floor leader of this team.  If -- no, when this team develops in MAC play into one of Keith Dambrot's best Akron teams it will be because of the depth of guard play and 3-point shooters.  I too was cautious in judging Kwan and the team in the preseason, due to his past inconsistency and the loss of Jake and Reggie on the wing.  Now I am convinced -- this team will not fall off from last year's in its jump-shooting ability.  That is in large part due to the overall maturation of Kwan, not just in shooting the rock, but his remarkable leap forward in steadying the team's offense and his off-ball movement.  

 

I will have more to say about the game at Omaha later, and it will begin with words to the effect of "never have I been  so impressed with a team that lost by double-figures, as I was by our team yesterday..."  And believe me, I have never been one to overindulge in optimism or praise of Akron hoops.  I am becoming a believer in this group's all-around potential for excellence.l

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I am happy about this game. In the first half they made some rookie mistakes, and that alone could have changed the outcome.

BUT, Creighton is a VERY VERY good team. Foster will be in the NBA. He is a phenom. There is no answer to him. We don't have an NBA defender to balance an NBA offense.

 

This team will do very well in the MAC. We played into a high level competitor in their house and did NOT get blown out. We held our own. And at one point had it back to 5 points.

 

Nothing to be ashamed of. When this team starts to come together they will be very good.

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18 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

Definitely.  I haven't seen Gonzaga play, but there's no way they're going to be as athletic as Creighton.

To stress your incredulity, B&G, allow me to prepare you for the Gonzaga Bulldog team you haven't seen.  First --Yes, Creighton is an entirely legitimate Top-10 team -- which played as well against us as Villanova did in 2015 -- and you probably remember what happened to that team.    HOWEVER, Gonzaga on their home court is 5-10 points better than Creighton --making them at least a top-3 national team, and possibly #1.  They have three seven-footers on the roster, the second one as good as the fantastic frosh Creighton started against us.  And the starter, Przemek Karnowski may be the top draft pick and the best collegiate player in the NCAA.  After Karnowski they have other All-America caliber athletes like combo guard Josh Perkins who scored 16 in yesterday's Zag win over Arizona and shot over 45% from 3-point range as a freshman last year.  Then Nigel Williams-Goss is playing great ball at the other guard spot, and was MVP of the recent tournament where the Zags beat Iowa State for the title.  I have followed Mark Few and this program since they surpassed mid-major status so many years ago, and I believe this is the best team Gonzaga has put on the floor, and the one most-likely to reach the Final Four.  IF the Zips play their best game,  similar to the performance versus Creighton's Blue Jays, the spread will be closer to 20 than the 12 they lost to on Saturday night.  But, that quality of Akron team makes them the strong favorite to win another MAC title, and I think our depth in the backcourt means we're more likely to win the last game in Cleveland this year.

Edited by Z.I.P.
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When the Zips lose games likes this, it imperils their chances of getting into the ACC (sorry, just resurrecting a ridiculous conversation from last year).:lol:

 

The loss was about what I expected.  I'd much rather see them with a road loss to Creighton than a home win against Adrian.  It certainly prepares them better for the rest of the season.

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Thought the Zips played pretty well, no complaints here. The double teams on Big Dog early were effective and that was a big factor.

 

  Have seen the Zags twice this season and they are outstanding. The word huge doesn't do justice to describe the size they can throw at you. They can really shoot it too. I saw one of their 7 footers knock down a catch and shoot 3 pointer with zero hesitation. Unreal. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Bluejays put the smack down at ASU. Score looks a little more respectable but they were up 20 on Bobby Hurley's crew for much if the 2nd half. 

 

While Akron had issues with Creighton I'm thinking it will certainly do the team some good in conference play.  

Edited by gozips19
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  • 4 weeks later...

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