Congratulations

[Districtballer]

Congrats on playing a very good game. You guys kept it close. I'm kinda glad that Wood was in the game so we faced your full team. You guys did a very good job on Maynor, he was definitely not himself today. Wood is a load inside, but Sanders definitely blocked him several times in the second half and made him really change his approach to the basket. You guys have a good team, and I hope you guys do well the rest of your season. GoZips can now officially stick a sock in his mouth after all the crap he was talking. And for being lucky to keep within 20 of you guys, not quite. And the best was comparing VCU to Austin Peay. That said, I really appreciate the classy posters and fans of the Zips, you have a fine team and a good program. I look forward to seeing you guys at the Siegel Center in Richmond next year. I'm glad we won't have to see Wood again for sure. That said, it should be a decent win for us and will hopefully help our at-large profile a bit. It was nice bantering with you Zip fans. I'll be back before our game next year to chat up that game as well!

[zippyfan34]

District, congrats to VCU as well. When the freshman post player gets an offensive game to go with his defense he is going to be a beast. I will be watching your games come conference tournament time and rooting you on. I was also glad to see Wood back just so he gets back into game shape before the conference tourney, but to say Akron had its full team, Wood is no where near 100%. He only shot 2-9, partly due to Sanders, but a large part due to his knee and he didn't appear to have much lift at all. Maynor and Schuler are a great pair of players. Hope all the VCU fans that made the trip up have a safe trip home.Watching the OU/GM game and GM is handily winning 28-13 at the moment .

[Blue & Gold]

Great game. Very intense! Lots of fun. Maynor is the real deal! Very smooth. VCU look like a Sweet 16 team!

[skip-zip]

DistrictBaller...VCU played a nice game today. You guys have a good team. But, you certainly did not beat an Akron team that was anywhere close to "a full team". Our #1 player did not start, was getting taken out of the game frequently, and was just recovering from Knee surgery. Our #2 player has a hip problem, and our #3 guy is playing on a knee that needs surgery as soon as the season is over.If anyone listened to KD after the game, he liked that we worked well against VCUs defense to get shots. They just weren't dropping. Sometimes, games go like that. Plus, it seemed like every VCU shot that was dancing on the rim fell in. It was one of those games. Although KD tried hard not to say it, that play near the end of the game where Jeremiah gets pushed from the front, and jumped on from the back and falls to the floor was complete BULL !! And the non-call on the goaltend right around the same time might have been even worse. I guess that happens when the officials for bracketbuster games come from the other conference. The inside guys from VCU climbed a lot of back to get rebounds. I guess those are not fouls in the Colonial, although they are everywhere else.

[Districtballer]

DistrictBaller...VCU played a nice game today. You guys have a good team. But, you certainly did not beat an Akron team that was anywhere close to "a full team". Our #1 player did not start, was getting taken out of the game frequently, and was just recovering from Knee surgery. Our #2 player has a hip problem, and our #3 guy is playing on a knee that needs surgery as soon as the season is over.If anyone listened to KD after the game, he liked that we worked well against VCUs defense to get shots. They just weren't dropping. Sometimes, games go like that. Plus, it seemed like every VCU shot that was dancing on the rim fell in. It was one of those games. Although KD tried hard not to say it, that play near the end of the game where Jeremiah gets pushed from the front, and jumped on from the back and falls to the floor was complete BULL !! And the non-call on the goaltend right around the same time might have been even worse. I guess that happens when the officials for bracketbuster games come from the other conference. The inside guys from VCU climbed a lot of back to get rebounds. I guess those are not fouls in the Colonial, although they are everywhere else.

And the inevitable excuses and griping about referees and conference conspiracy theories begin. Last I heard you were unbeatable at home. You guys can't even sell out a nationally-televised ESPN2 game??? Now Ohio...THAT is a fanbase. For a nationally televised game that Akron is lucky to get at home, I expected a lot more. It's pretty pathetic that you resorted to griping about officials and their conference affiliations having anything to do with the outcome. We were the better team, and that was clear throughout the game. We were playing 5 freshmen on the floor at times against your team. Our leading scorer was playing on a sprained ankle and a ligament problem in his shooting hand. Maynor played one of his worst games in a while. And those refs also happened to be the same guys who gave the game to ODU on national television last week and called a Tech on Grant exactly one week ago. You guys just lost to a better team. That said, I greatly respect your coach and team. You have a fine program there, and you should be proud that you got to represent yourselves and the MAC on national television against one of the better mid-major schools in the country. I'm looking forward to having you come down to the Siegel Center next year. We'll show you what a real game atmosphere looks and sounds like. Good luck with the rest of the season.

[Zipgrad1990]

It will be even tougher for Akron to win next year at VCU especially since we loose 6 seniors. One thing that might be in our favor (and something VCU doesn't want) is the coach for VCU may be gone after this year. That's the problem with a great coach at the mid-major level, most of the time they move on.I couldn't tell if it was goal tending on Wood's shot or not; being at the game I didn't get a replay. I did find it surprising his shot was blocked as I don't think he has ever had a shot blocked when he was that close to the rim. I did think he was hammered on the one play and didn't get a call, but that's life in college basketball, no team can whine that one or two bad calls to cost them the game. Over the course of a game I'm sure their are usually bad calls both ways.I give prop's to VCU's defense, but Akron didn't help themselves by missing several wide open shots either. I think the key in the second half was VCU kept up their defensive intensity and Akron slacked up a bit after a good first half. Akron also missed a lot of bunnies inside all game long, probably due to the VCU shot blocker making the Akron players tenative about taking shots.

[bUAkronG]

I couldn't tell if it was goal tending on Wood's shot or not; being at the game I didn't get a replay. I did find it surprising his shot was blocked as I don't think he has ever had a shot blocked when he was that close to the rim. I did think he was hammered on the one play and didn't get a call, but that's life in college basketball, no team can whine that one or two bad calls to cost them the game. Over the course of a game I'm sure their are usually bad calls both ways.I give prop's to VCU's defense, but Akron didn't help themselves by missing several wide open shots either. I think the key in the second half was VCU kept up their defensive intensity and Akron slacked up a bit after a good first half. Akron also missed a lot of bunnies inside all game long, probably due to the VCU shot blocker making the Akron players tenative about taking shots.

SO TRUE!!!couldn't have said it better. I would like to say we lost to a superior team but unfortunately we beat ourselves today. This was a very winnable ballgame for us and we choked. Congrats to VCU and good luck the rest of the season.

[ZippyRulz]

We shot .283 inside the 3 point line and .240 outside the line...that will get you beat no matter where you play. And many of the missed shots were wide open (as KD admitted) and many of them weren't even close. We have suddenly lost our home court mojo. VCU didn't shoot well either but started making some shots down the stretch...that was the difference. Like the Zips, they are good in their conference but not a real threat beyond the mid-major realm. Goaltending is when the shot is blocked on its downward trajectory, not on the way up or at the top of its arc. Because the ball slows down as it reaches the top of the arc people get confused and think it's coming down before it actually is. 4,000 was a good crowd for an early start against a team most people aren't very familiar with and the Rowdies got some good airtime.

[skip-zip]

District....I never said anything about any "conspiracy theory"...just pathetic officiating. Those kinds of things do not go uncalled in our conference. Climbing over the back for rebounds is something that has been a foul since I started playing basketball when I was 8 years old, and it's still a foul in the MAC, Big Ten, etc. If that kind of thing doesn't get called in your league...fine. But, it's a clear advantage in a bracketbuster game for the visiting team. It's actually the HOME TEAM that has to adjust to officials who call a game that is familiar to what the team from their conference is accustomed. It really can put you at a disadvantage if you don't adjust quickly enough, and that's almost impossible to do in one game.We won't be coming to your place next year with a very good team. We lose 4 of our top players at the end of the season. And like we've been telling you, 3 of them had injury issues going into this game, at some level or another. And, without going into great detail, we're talking about more than "sprained ankles". The crowds at our arena seem to go up and down based on the notoriety of our opponents. Virginia Commonwealth is pretty much a "nobody" to sports fans in Ohio. So, likewise, we don't get as big of a crowd as we might get for a K.E.N.T, Ohio U., or Miami game. This is no disrespect. You guys are having a fine season. But, very few people in Ohio are familiar with Virginia Commonwealth.

[RamLifer]

District....I never said anything about any "conspiracy theory"...just pathetic officiating. Those kinds of things do not go uncalled in our conference. Climbing over the back for rebounds is something that has been a foul since I started playing basketball when I was 8 years old, and it's still a foul in the MAC, Big Ten, etc. If that kind of thing doesn't get called in your league...fine. But, it's a clear advantage in a bracketbuster game for the visiting team. It's actually the HOME TEAM that has to adjust to officials who call a game that is familiar to what the team from their conference is accustomed. It really can put you at a disadvantage if you don't adjust quickly enough, and that's almost impossible to do in one game.We won't be coming to your place next year with a very good team. We lose 4 of our top players at the end of the season. And like we've been telling you, 3 of them had injury issues going into this game, at some level or another. And, without going into great detail, we're talking about more than "sprained ankles". The crowds at our arena seem to go up and down based on the notoriety of our opponents. Virginia Commonwealth is pretty much a "nobody" to sports fans in Ohio. So, likewise, we don't get as big of a crowd as we might get for a K.E.N.T, Ohio U., or Miami game. This is no disrespect. You guys are having a fine season. But, very few people in Ohio are familiar with Virginia Commonwealth.

Well if you want to complain about injuries I guess our players are just in better shape and stay healthier. Injuries are no excuse, you have to play with the team you have and not the team you could be. We were/are the better team. Sorry your coach and recruit better players for the future either for next year. You need to be ready to reload every year.