Dr Z Posted March 13, 2017 Report Share Posted March 13, 2017 "It's good for us,'' Akron coach Keith Dambrot said. "Thank God it's Houston because we have a lot of Houston kids on our team. This will help us get motivated to play. They're all disappointed but we're getting over it." --EA of PD UH Cougars dot com information The Chron lists the Houston connections: Antino Jackson (Cypress Springs), forward Emmanuel Olojakpoke (Cypress Springs), forward Daniel Utomi (Westside) and guard Ty Dalton (Second Baptist). An experimental rule in this tournament eliminates the 1 and 1 free throws, can this benefit the Zips? NIT bracket image found here. ESPN stats and matchup found here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bUAkronG Posted March 13, 2017 Report Share Posted March 13, 2017 Like others have said, I'm worried about the motivation with this one. It's got to be hard to get over the disappointment and get prepared to play the next game. I'm glad that the Houston connection will help, and the Wednesday game does give us an extra day of prep. Just doing a quick bit of stat browsing and it appears that UH is a guard oriented team with talented Junior guard Rob Gray Jr averaging 20.5 ppg, and Senior Damyean Dotson(who is listed as a guard but must be a wing at 6'5", 210lbs) averaging 17.3 ppg. Dotson also averages 7.0 rebounds per game to lead the team. They do not appear to have a lot of size as the only player I can see that gets many minutes with any size is 6'10", 200lb Danrad Knowles. He only averages 7 ppg though and it appears down the stretch he didn't play significant minutes. My guess is that we will have trouble defending their guards but should have success with our bigs in Big Dog and Kwan. I actually want to watch their game against UConn to get a better idea of their style of play and will probably be able to give a little better insight once I've done so. I'm still disappointed about Saturday but I love Zips basketball too much to not get excited to watch them play again. Their small NIT run a few years back is one of my fonder memories as a fan and I'd love to see them put another one together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted March 13, 2017 Report Share Posted March 13, 2017 Former Ellet star Braeon Brady is currently in JUCO but has given a verbal to UH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Z Posted March 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 The Cougars are ready to go. The Cougars earned their invitation to the postseason by posting the program’s 21st 21-win season in school history and finishing in the American Athletic Conference, which boasted nationally ranked Cincinnati and SMU. Entering Wednesday’s game, Houston has won eight of its last 11 games. Alex Faust will do the play-by-play, and Reid Gettys will be the analyst on ESPNU. Gettys was part of the “Phi Slama Jama” era in the early 1980s. The game is being played at the Health and Physical Education Arena (H&PE Arena) is an 8,100-seat multi-purpose arena in Houston, Texas. It was built in 1989 and is home to the Texas Southern University Tigers basketball and volleyball teams. The Zips are an eight point underdog. Odds Sharks predicts a 70-67 Zips victory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 It appears we have some competition in the coveted 21 win department. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackburn Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 I don't see the Zips guards being able to handle Houston's guards. And we will see how BigDawg does on the inside against some taller fellas. Looking for someone to be our next Dials and get us a postseason win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 I actually feel Big Dog against their bigs is the one advantage that we have and will need to exploit if we have any chance of winning. Here are their F/C that play regularly along with how much they play: 6'10 200 23 MPG 6'9 235 11.4 MPG 6'10 230 16 MPG 6'7 230 20.3 MPG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackburn Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 (edited) That is a lot of fouls to use... That is a lot of height, I am worried about their length. That seems to give our guys trouble. Someone please clarify what the FT rules are for this tournament...? Regardless, we will go inside early and often. That is the KD way. Edited March 14, 2017 by Blackburn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 34 minutes ago, Blackburn said: That is a lot of fouls to use... That is a lot of height, I am worried about their length. That seems to give our guys trouble. Someone please clarify what the FT rules are for this tournament...? Regardless, we will go inside early and often. That is the KD way. Teams are given 4 fouls and on the 5th the opposing teams shoot 2 free throws. At the 9:59 mark team fouls are reset to 0. It should help the Zips considering they had to be among the nation leaders in misses on the front end of 1 and 1. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 I wish men's b-ball would just adopt a typical 4 quarters format. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackburn Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 I agree with the 4 quarters and less Team Timeouts to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Z Posted March 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 19 hours ago, kreed5120 said: I actually feel Big Dog against their bigs is the one advantage that we have and will need to exploit if we have any chance of winning. Here are their F/C that play regularly along with how much they play: 6'10 200 23 MPG 6'9 235 11.4 MPG 6'10 230 16 MPG6'7 230 20.3 MPG The last guy (Jimmy Hall) to play against Big Dog is 6'8" 235. Hall had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. I hope the guys you listed are less talented than Jimmy. Big Dog will get his touches tonight, no doubt. Hopefully he converts the majority of his attempts, and the Zips hit their threes when he passes back to the perimeter. Something tells me it will come down to Kwan having a successful game to pull off the upset. Time to walk the walk, get to MSG and prove to everyone this program is serious! We need some "January Kwan" tonight! BTW, with the Cal loss, the Cougars are the highest seeded team left on our quadrant. UH coach Sampson says that 330 pound Isaiah Johnson is a joy to watch. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 (edited) 2 hours ago, Dr Z said: BTW, with the Cal loss, the Cougars are the highest seeded team left on our quadrant. I watched the 1st half of that game before going to bed. Watching that game you could tell CSUB came out treating it like it was the most important game of their season. Cal players were treating it like it was their last class before spring break. It translated into a CSUB 45-19 lead going into halftime. It appears Cal stepped up their play in the 2nd half, but that margin was too much to overcome. Zips need to come out with that same energy. The NIT isn't the NCAAT, but it's still a huge upgrade over the CBI or CIT. Don't take the opportunity for granted. Edited March 15, 2017 by kreed5120 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Damn, that Cal loss completely ruined my NIT bracket. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 2 hours ago, Dr Z said: BTW, with the Cal loss, the Cougars are the highest seeded team left on our quadrant. Well let's go win a few games then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K92 Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Six10Three30 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Finally someone mentions a more accurate assessment of Big Dog's weight. To have listed him at 295 was laughable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 I just don't have confidence in this team. Kinda felt this way all year, even after we hung close w/ Gonzaga & held our own against Creighton. I'm betting we get beat by 10+. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, clarkwgriswold said: Damn, that Cal loss completely ruined my NIT bracket. Your bracket must really be a mess now. Out of the 8 games played yesterday, the lower seed won six of them and one of the winners was a 4 over a 5. All three 3 seeds that played lost. Edited March 15, 2017 by MDZip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtyolcrowe Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Based on what happened last night in NIT; hopefully the team noticed that the lower seeds played with some swagger and won! I want to see Antino take over the leadership today since they are in his hometown along with a few others and will this team to a victory. This is a pretty good situation for this team to advance if they win!!! OH and please utilize your TO's well KD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 14 minutes ago, MDZip said: Your bracket must really be a mess now. Out of the 8 games played yesterday, the lower seed won six of them and one of the winners was a 4 over a 5. All three 3 seeds that played lost. Yes it is. I am in a nationwide bracket competition and the opening games dropped me to 4th place (out of 5 competitors). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 13 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said: Yes it is. I am in a nationwide bracket competition and the opening games dropped me to 4th place (out of 5 competitors). This man feels your pain. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJGood Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Hoping for a good solid game, especially for the seniors. It will be a tall order tonight. Just win and keep on playing! Its not like I can turn my attention to Akron baseball like I used to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 7 hours ago, Blue & Gold said: This man feels your pain. I love the Onion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWAkron Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Hoping the 2011 parallel continues with our winning a few games and KSt losing by 40. Techinically, not a home game for Houston? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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