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I feel like the Dambrot era has been the same CD on repeat for over a decade. Consistently good teams, but every so often when we have good teams with the potential to be great, they crumble. It's exhausting.

The Zips have given the Marketing Department a great opportunity for what could be a very lucrative sponsorship deal, especially if the contract is set up to charge each time we mention their name. I can hear it now... "And that's another uncontested layup...brought to you by EZ Pass--official sponsor of the Akron Zips defense." Repaint the lanes with the EZ Pass logo and we're all set.

InTheZone is exactly right, it's frustrating. I hope they do well, but I'm done wasting my time following them. I'll check the box score to see how they do from here, but that's the amount of effort I'm going to invest. Anything more just seems like a waste of time. I'm hardly calling for KD's head, but something has to change. This team collapses every year down the stretch, then even when they do make a run in Cleveland, they have played themselves into a 14 seed and have no hope of winning a tournament game since the athlete-deficient Zips run into a team that is superior in athletes and has just as much skill. I was hoping this year would be different, and this team could play it's way to an 11 or 12 seed and get matched up with a team that had some flaws. That is out the window. Even thinking that this team can win the MAC tournament title seems like a pipedream at this point. This is the lowest I've felt since the Abreu arrest. I took a year year off from really investing anytime in this program then. I'm probably going to do the same again. Kudos to those who stick it out once again. BTW, am I the only one who feels the football program's future, and potential, is way higher than the basketball program's? TB hasn't had the same quick turnaround in terms of W/L percentage, but he seems to be building a foundation that can lead the football team to greater relative Heights than what KD seems to be able to do. In four years, TB has the Zips winning a bowl. In 12 years, KD has yet to win a tourney game. To be fair, beating Utah State in the Potato Bowl, is probably akin to KD beating Florida State in the NIT. But I think Akron football is closer to beating a P5 team in a mid-tier bowl than KD is to winning a tournament game (about an equal comparison).

That's fair. I'll go along with that. It's funny you ask for some history, since I just commented about the 2008 Ken+ team. They had 6 losses (3 conference losses) and finished the season with a #19 RPI and was awarded a #9 seed. You'd think that they were a lock to get in, regardless of what happened in the MAC title game. Especially since they apparently were very highly regarded by the committee. I usually ask everyone each year to sort of use this as a benchmark.

If you make the NCAA tournament as a 9 seed after winning your conference tournament, which Kent did, there is a pretty high chance that you would have gotten in regardless. I'm not sure what Miami RPI was, but their resume was built OOC and included wins over Notre Dame, Tennessee, and Dayton.

I did not hear KD on the post game. But we do have a player who can penetrate and create his own shot and his name is Jimond Ivey. He has a skill set of being quick, athletic, and being able to dribble drive. He played terrible at the Buffalo game and KD yanked him after 4 minutes after his man drove past him twice and he committed a turnover. KD did not play him in the Kent game. The first thing he did when he got into the game last night at the 10 minute mark was take a jumper from the top of the key early in the shot clock. My internet went down for a couple of minutes and when I turned it on he was out of the game. He never played again until the game was out of reach. Jimond has to understand he is in the game to attack the rim, not take jumpers. This team desperately needs his skill set of attacking the rim. ( I know some of you have already given up on Jimond but I also remember people giving on Deji early in his career with Akron) What is most frustrating about last night is that it was a carbon copy of the Kent game. We had only 8 assists. Big Dog had a big night with 21 points. Reggie and Jake did not get any good looks and only took 8 shots. Noah could not penetrate and scored only 5 points. Kwan played well but picked up stupid offensive fouls for moving screens. Our players cannot penetrate even when Big Dog sets a screen. (Reggie had a costly turnover in Kent coming off a Big Dog screen) We were tied near the end of the game and then Miami pulled away when the game was tied. KD loves Noah's game of being a field general playing under control and directing our attack. But right now this team does not needs a general to guide our offense but a grunt who will attack the basket. We still can win out and get the number one seed but we need to do something different than the last 2 games. Go Zips!

I would attend the games whether we were 5-20 or 20-5. That's what we do as life long fans. Just like going to the football games even when they were 1-9. I never bought into that "at large" scenario primarily because cutting down the nets at the Q is the best way to end a season...at least from this fan's perspective. If we are looking for the bigger picture, we need to look no further than the MAC itself. That is our microcosm of incestuous mediocrity. WMU went to the tourney two years ago...bottom feeder this year. Toledo over last few years had some incredibly talented teams...nothing came of it. OU...has a run with Groce and then nothing. Buffalo...one and done with a star player who was a thief and kicked out of school. Miami once a power in the conference who had one great player (which will unlikely happen again) is struggling every year but does have Akron's #. Akron has won 22 out of 23 games against BG but Ohio lost twice to them this year. EMU has a star player in Thompson whose past is quite checkered. And the team up Route 76...enough said. It goes on and on. What about Central? And a final note, it seems these rule changes have affected Akron for the negative despite our Coach being on the rule committee. My thought is just like the economy is not set up to help the little guy nor are the NCAA rules.

For the third (?) time in this awful stretch of Zips basketball, teams close behind in the standings have all lost as well. Tonight, Ohio, Kent, Ball State, and UB sit at 9-6, one back of the 10-5 Zips. Now we realistically could be up three games right now if not for awful performances like tonight, and honestly I'm surprised that no one has even been able to tie us. Is this just a compilation of missed opportunities to run away with the regular season, or is it just destiny that we get the one seed? I'm leaning toward missed opportunities but regardless of how you feel, this MAC basketball season has been incredible. I may have to take a sick day on Thursday of the tournament to go to both sessions.

Should make for an interesting MAC tournament. Ironically, we may limp in to one of those top 2 seeds a year too late. I'm taking the Eastern Michigan Eagles for the win, Pete. We need to think more like those teams (and fans) in all those little southern and east coast conferences who always consider themselves underdogs and are just happy with a conference tourney win and a 16 seed and the slightest chance at being a Cinderella. Cant's trip to the final 8 and the Kittens trip to sweet 16 got us all thinking we are something we clearly aren't. We have a decent MAC basketball program that still has as good a chance as anyone (proven by tonight's results Kittens lost to BG twice? Kant twice to Buffalo?) in this conference at winning the MAC tourney. But that's it folks. It will never be anything more than that. That became crystal clear as we walked out of Auburn Hills on a cold March night a few years back. We have much more fun when we dream rather than when we expect.

Exactly. And I was totally serious. Nobody complains about sitting in bleachers when you can come to the JAR and be a part of something significant like that.

Same ol zips.

It certainly appears that teams are not doubling in the post anymore, to keep a man on all of our shooters. Thus, the load on Big Dog is getting too heavy. I thought that everything didn't go our way Friday in Ken+, and I felt that way again tonight. Thank You to every other contender for losing tonight also.

NIT TICKETS HERE!!!!! GET YOUR NIT TICKETS HERE!!!!!!!!

Ding ding ding. Tell him what he's won, Johnny!

Nonsense! The Hulkster knows Zips fans better than that and he wants to hear those excuses!

Even if we win the MACC, we will get nothing more than #14 seed and get destroyed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yup. I was one of them. I haven't seen a freshman flip the switch like that before.

At the Signing Day press conference Bowden discussed the essentially empty InfoCision and said (paraphrased) - To-date the people haven't come, but it isn't their fault. It's the University's fault. They haven't given the people a product worth following." The guy speaks the truth.

I type the following only on the off-chance someone might read your post and accidentally think it had any value. Following the three consecutive 1-11 seasons (not all with a different coach - the last one was with Bowden), we went 5-7, 5-7. To twist Akron's won/lost record over the 2009 - 2014 seasons (this isn't ancient history, it is all in InfoCision), and act like the Zips are some sort of winning program is beyond laughable. The cold hard facts are the Zips have openened InfoCision with a sparkling 16 - 56 record. You write the Zips were 17W - 13L. The truth is - the Zips were 5-7 & 5-7 in 2013 + 2014. And in 2015, were 3-5 going into November. And, as some have difficulty in comprehending, of course I'm only referring to the ABJ here...you can't use 2015 as a reference for stating "winning didn't help attendance." It's flat-out stupid. Losing wasn't "a long time ago." It was BIG TIME losing, and it held steadfast until as recently as last year. Does anyone realize that, rolling into November 2015, the Zips were 19- 61 since 2009? 19W-61L...yet some want to spin this as "a long time ago." Unbelievable. I will agree with you regarding one point: "Success", as you define it, will not change anything. If the Zips successfully go 19W - 61L over the next 5+ seasons, the stadium will be empty.

Why do you think support has been low? What has been consistent with Akron football for the past 25 years, and does that consistency lead to increased attendance? What new stadium in the history of mankind, has yielded a packed house when it's occupants lose 70+ percent of their games, over a decade? Until the final month of the 2015 season, that has been nothing provided for a UA student to get interested in Zips football. 1 month of good football doesn't overcome 25 years of ineptitude. Students have the right to bitch when their general fees are being used to bail out bungling ineptitude. They have less of an arguement when the teams are winning, and they can actually enjoys what should be a really cool part of being a college student. It's his own fault. You reap what you sew, and when you sow 1-11 teams, your have nothing to Market. And you need only to look in the mirror to see why. I can't see where UA is going overboard to cater to the students. They give away fee hats, some pizza, and a free year at school (which a UA janitor's kid gets too...it doesn't break the bank). I hate those stupid vouchers. People hand them out like Confederate money at games...it's just a way to tack on $5.00 per ticket to your fee, where they hope you don't use them so they make $5.00 extra per attendee. Most people I know tailgate before the game, and don't want crappy pizza and hot dogs during it. Again I will state - 1 month of good football doesn't overcome 25 years of ineptitude. Like shampoo, you need to lather, rinse and repeat. I hope Bowden creates a winner here too. I think he will. One thing is proven - There are only about 3,000 idiots like you and me that will consistently show up for bad football. What isn't proven is - How many smart people will give Zips football a fresh look if they start consistently putting W's in the win column?

Having had two season tix for years,including at the Bowl this all looks like'the more things change,the more they stay the same'. The situation with Infocision and historically support for the football program goes beyond what happens on the field. There never has been a groundswell of consistently good attendance either pre or post Info. I recall that the University seemed to 'assume' that by building a new on campus stadium that attendance would significantly improve. Hasn't happened consistently. The students just haven't been interested in any significant numbers. The fact that until last season the program has been losing for years hasn't helped. But I have spoken with students who have little interest in football who resent the fact that they pay high fees so the University can buy its own tix and pay off the bill on the stadium. Whether those attitudes would change with a consistent winner,who knows? I also think that the AD has done a really poor job of marketing. Frankly,they need to stop trying to cater to 18-21 year olds,it hasn't worked. Maybe try to get the attention of us older folks who might have money to attend games on a consistent basis and,who have a legit interest in football. But,I noticed that the AD is already trying to up the ante on season ticket holders for next year. Something as seemingly minor as not offering those $5.00 concession vouchers to some season ticket holders who got them in previous years is not the way to garner support after 1 winning season. Hopefully,Bowden can put another winner on the field in 2016. As far as attendance is concerned,I think the jury is still out.