Dave in Green

The Zips coaching staff is continuously trying to upgrade the team's tournament status. This season they moved up from previous tournaments where the mid-major entries weren't eligible to play for the tournament championship even if they beat the high-majors to a tournament (Charleston) where they played 3 high-majors (actually 4 including the Penn State road game) and were eligible to win the tournament championship. Beating both USC teams in Charleston helped raise the Zips tournament profile another notch. They're working on the best possible future tournaments that would not only allow them to play for the tournament championship against high-majors but which would also enhance recruiting. There's no reason to be concerned that nothing has yet been announced.

Tree is 30-55 (54.5%) from the free throw line and 74-142 (52.1%) from the field. He's considered a reserve forward, playing 6th most minutes per game, but leads Estudiantes Concordia in rebounding (8.1 per game) and is second leading scorer (12.7 points per game). Pretty much what you'd expect from Tree. (stats at this link)

Yep, regular season MAC champ is guaranteed an NIT bid if they fail to win the MAC tournament.

Sorry to say that the Bulls dropped the Chips, 89-84. The AP story describes Hurley as the "bratty point guard on two title teams at Duke." He's a hero at UB and, depending on how the Bulls do in the NCAA tournament, perhaps the next new hot young coach that high majors in search of a jump-start for their programs will be pursuing.

I've made it pretty clear here over the years that I really trust Coach Dambrot's judgment. It's not that he doesn't make mistakes like all the rest of us. It's just that he knows his players better and more about basketball in general than all the rest of us, so he's more likely to be correct in his decisions than we are. That's not meant to discourage anyone from posting their opinions. That's just my opinion. It's fun for us fans to discuss various scenarios, and that's really what this forum is all about. But I knew the minute I heard his radio interview after last night's game that the Zips were not likely to accept a post-season tournament bid. I've always been in favor of going for a CBI or CIT offer in previous seasons. So I saw some thoughts posted here by those in favor of doing it this season that reminded me of things I'd said in the past. But what Coach Dambrot said last night got me to thinking about the specific circumstances of this season's team. It started off the season with a lot of potential and fell short of its goals due to a number of unforeseen circumstances that have left a lot of players missing or hurting. I think Coach Dambrot looked at the big picture and used good judgment in turning down the CBI/CIT offers this season. As Dr Z so aptly said, cash in the chips and go home. The chips in this case were discovering that this team is really resilient in coming back from multiple player problems that would have devastated most teams. We lost some good players and discovered that some players were capable of more than we'd imagined. Among the chips cashed in is the streak of 21+ win seasons, which some may value less than others but which undoubtedly has some real value. Considering all the circumstances, it was a season to be proud of without trying to extend it. Let everyone heal, get reinvigorated and come back next season with some new blood and even higher goals.

Done (per GoZips.com).

CMU started the same 5 players in every game this season -- 3 juniors, 1 sophomore and 1 freshman. Their 4 leading bench players in minutes played are 2 freshmen and 2 juniors. So the most successful regular season team this season will return their top 9 players. The Chips will be the MAC pre-season favorites regardless of what happens in tonight's game. After next season they'll lose 5 of those top 9 players.

I really do try to be as objective as a fan of one team can be when evaluating how game calls go. For example, on the incident where Hurley was T'ed up, he had a right to be upset. Nyles clearly took extra steps going to the basket and all three officials missed it, as they often do against Zips opponents. At that point I thought the Zips were up one in the bad call/no call department. As the game went on the balance tipped the other way. Grin and bear it is the thought that came to my mind as I watched Pat last night. He has reached the point where he no longer contests calls by the officials. When he knows he's committed a foul he kicks himself in the butt, and when he knows an official has made a bad call against him he just walks away from the ref with a big grin on his face. Late in the game Big Dog had a questionable call against him and Pat came off the bench with a huge grin on his face after having had a close up view of Big Dog's non-foul. Grin and bear it is all anyone can do when calls and no calls seem to come on an inconsistent, random basis. There's nothing the coaches, players and fans can do about it. Well, we can vent here without being fined by the MAC. I guess it's more accurate to say that there's nothing we can do to change things. Ultimately we just have to hope that the bad calls and no calls even out over time and our team is helped as often as it's hurt.

Keep in mind that Coach Dambrot was answering these questions in the emotional minutes after losing a heartbreaker. His players were all in the locker room, and according to Coach Thomas there wasn't a dry eye in there. Everyone was physically and emotionally spent, and Coach Dambrot's statements about one of the lesser tournaments probably reflected what the whole team was thinking at that moment. We all understand that there are pros and cons to playing in the CBI or CIT. Let's see what the players and coaching staff decide is best for this Zips team after they've had a chance to recover and think it all through.

Skip, I think we're talking about two different things. I recognize there were times when the Zips were not well positioned for rebounds. That's different from long rebounds that go over the heads of defensive players closer to the basket and are more easily caught by offensive players further away. I saw an unusually high number of cases where Buffalo players were able to step back away from the basket and snag those long rebounds that were over the heads of Zips defenders positioned for more normal rebounds. The Zips also benefited from a few of those, just not as many. It's just the nature of the game that along with all the earned rebounds there are some lucky bounces that randomly go in favor of one team or the other. In this game the Zips lost in both categories.

Hmmm, Bulls-Chips. Hadn't thought of it that way before. From what I saw last night of how they dismantled Toledo, the Chips are for real. I give them a good chance to take out the Bulls, especially with Moss playing on a sprained ankle.

I think the rebounding disparity was the result of a combination of three factors. First, Buffalo was a slightly better rebounding team than the Zips over the course of the season. Second, Buffalo was both physically and mentally fresher than the Zips and simply boxed out and went after rebounds with more focus and energy. And finally, Buffalo did benefit from more lucky bounces than the Zips. I started shaking my head about halfway through the game at the number of long rebounds that were going directly into the hands of a Buffalo player outside the paint. Over 100 games those lucky rebound bounces would even out. But in a single game there can be a big disparity as there was last night. Adding all three factors together ended up sinking the Zips.

Captain Kangaroo likes me.

The players and coaching staff are going to get together and talk out all the pros and cons before making their final decision. If they elect not to play in the CBI or CIT, I'm sure it will be for all the right reasons, including some that haven't been mentioned here. Whatever their decision might be, cowardly is certainly one word I'd never think of using to describe this Zips team.

I'd like to see players start earning playing time for next season by virtue of their performances in pre-season practices and scrimmages, and continue earning more or less PT by virtue of their total performance in games. By total performance I don't mean just points and rebounds, but combined performance in all offensive and defensive aspects of the game -- something that might start showing up in +/- ratings, for example.

Coach Dambrot said he'd talk it over the team but he's thinking probably no tournament. They've just played a bunch of games in a few days. Pat was hurting at the end of this one. Antino is exhausted. He also said that the Zips program has reached a point where the CBI and CIT just aren't too exciting. I'm thinking that with all that went wrong this season maybe it's best to just end it now and start thinking about next season.

Pat's done.

Pat's foot is hurting.

Nyles taking over nicely for Antino.

Buffalo has really turned the pressure up and the Zips are on their heels.

Two nights in a row they've called a jump ball on a half second touch.

Wasn't expecting twin towers. Must mean Pat is up for significant minutes.

At the Q now and the Chips are absolutely wiping the floor with Toledo.

About rooting for CMU, I'm watching them go toe-to-toe with Toledo on TV at the Winking Lizard right now, and the Chips look darn tough.

I'm not sure there's ever been a basketball game played where there wasn't at least one phantom foul called and at least one hard contact missed.