Dave in Green

Though not in a game, my favorite Zips dunk is this Pat to Deji with an assist from the wall:

Good catch. Iowa State students do have to purchase a sports pass. To attend men's basketball games a student must purchase a $249 all sports pass, which they have sold out this season. While a student can purchase a football only sports pass for $125 (also sold out), there is no option to purchase a basketball only sports pass. Source

I don't disagree that the 2 for 1 is a valid option under the right conditions and I don't believe that Coach Dambrot would disagree. Last night it would have made more sense if Noah was running the show. For starters, the Zips wouldn't have had to call a timeout. I think Coach Dambrot would have trusted Noah to bring the ball upcourt and get off a reasonable shot in about 10 seconds if it was available. Without Noah the number of things that could have gone wrong with the 2 for 1 strategy was increased. While all of us are making subjective calls on this, it's interesting to read a more objective analysis. Ken Pomeroy gave it his best try and started his commentary by saying: So for those who don't want to get bogged down in a complex analysis, I'll quote KenPom's conclusion before the link to his analysis: Investigating the value of two-for-ones

Quick comparison: Over the past four seasons Iowa State has had one of the top Big 12 basketball teams. They typically average about 13,000 fans per game and have about 8,000 more students than UA. Their AD said a couple of years ago that fewer than half the allotment of 2,500 student tickets typically is used, compared with 80% of the non-student tickets sold. So that's less than 1,250 students per game or less than 10% of total attendance.

Skip, you need to re-read my post. I said it was an interesting option but pointed out the problems of the Zips trying to go 2 for 1 in this specific case as others have also done. The 2 for 1 is not a slam dunk or coaches would automatically use it every time the opportunity arose. It depends on a lot of variables, some of which I mentioned in my earlier post. If I had a nickle for every time a basketball coach passed on a 2 for 1 opportunity I'd be out of this NEO deep freeze right now cruising in the Bahamas on my luxury yacht.

Last week it appeared that it was a 6-team race for the 4 top MAC tournament seeds. But WMU is back in the mix with 2 straight wins after the return of their starting PG, ending the 1-5 stretch when he was out with an injury. With 7 teams now looking to have a real shot at a top 4 seed, tiebreakers could end up being the difference in the Zips avoiding extra tournament games. The Zips have already lost the tiebreaker with UT, having lost both games. But they currently own the tiebreaker with 3 of the other 5 top teams -- BGSU (2-0), WMU (2-0) and CMU (1-0). The Can't game is especially important because beating Can't twice would give the Zips the tiebreaker over 4 of the other top teams. A split with Buffalo could also give the Zips an edge in seeding, depending on how tiebreakers shake out beyond head-to-head record. Bottom line is that with 5 games left the worst the Zips can do is own the tiebreaker with 3 of the other top 6 teams and at best they could hold the tiebreaker against all of the top teams except Toledo. Of course that all depends on the Zips winning enough of the next 5 games to be in a tie for at least the 4th best conference record.

The 2 for 1 is an interesting option. The Zips rebounded a missed Toledo shot with 59 seconds on the clock. Had they rushed a shot in 10-15 seconds, Toledo would likely have used the full 35 seconds on their possession, leaving the Zips with another 10-15 seconds for their final play. The Zips haven't shown great ability to get off shots in 10-15 seconds, and that would have been compounded tonight without their starting PG available to quarterback the plays. The Zips typically do better when they take the time to set up an open man. Pat had an opportunity for a high percentage shot with 32 seconds left but was bumped pretty hard as he was releasing and no foul was called. I think if the Zips had missed a couple of quick shots and Juice had delivered on his that there would have been complaints that the Zips should have taken the time to set up a high percentage shot as they normally do. As to why Antino was on the bench late in the game, he was physically exhausted. He averages 13 minutes per game and played 31 minutes tonight. Antino waved to the bench for a sub whenever he thought his exhaustion was hurting the team. Antino asked to be taken out with about 2 minutes left and then returned with about 1 minute left after he'd caught his breath. Otherwise, Coach Dambrot always tries to have the players on the floor at the end of a close game who he thinks will perform most reliably in the specific situation.

At least there was a little good news tonight with BGSU falling back to earth with a home loss to Miami. The Zips started the night 1 game behind the conference leader and are still 1 game behind, but now behind 4 teams instead of just 1. UT 68, Zips 66 MU 67, BGSU 56 Can't 58, BSU 53 CMU 68, NIU 66 UB 78, EMU 63 WMU 80, OU 69 MAC STANDINGS 9-4 - UT 9-4 - Can't 9-4 - BGSU 9-4 - CMU 8-5 - Zips 7-6 - UB 7-6 - WMU 5-8 - MU 5-8 - EMU 4-9 - OU 4-9 - NIU 2-11 - BSU SATURDAY MATCHUPS: 5-8 MU @ 8-5 Zips 9-4 Can't @ 4-9 OU 9-4 UT @ 7-6 WMU 7-6 UB @ 9-4 BGSU 2-11 BSU @ 9-4 CMU 5-8 EMU @ 4-9 NIU

It really did hurt to start the game thinking the Zips were at a big disadvantage without Noah, then being amazed at how well Antino and Malcolm filled in to keep the Zips in the game, and then end up losing a heartbreaker by 2. Coach Dambrot specifically subbed in Malcolm to cover Juice on that last possession because Malcolm is about as quick as Antino but longer. Malcolm covered Juice as well as anyone on the team could and stayed with him step for step. But a fall away jumper is one of the toughest shots to cover, and Juice is a master at it. That's why many project him as MAC player of the year. Another painful loss, but I still like the Zips' potential to peak at the Q.

Deji missed the EMU game with reported back spasms, which could affect his game tonight if he plays. Noah missed practice with reported flu-like symptoms, which could also affect his game if he plays. Having 2 of the Zips' 4 guards questionable against Toledo is a real gut punch. Toledo will have no sympathy.

Already posted several different times -- every time this same subject comes up here. Just do an internet search for college basketball budgets for dozens and dozens of hits that show how many more millions of dollars than UA are spent by the oft-cited mid-major programs that have grown into national powers. The common denominator is that basketball is the showcase sport for these schools, not football. Mid-major schools struggling to keep up with the big boys in D-I football don't have enough athletics budget left over to fund a national power basketball team. Alabama football alone generates enough surplus to fund 16 Zips basketball teams: Alabama athletics reports $33 million operating surplus in 2013-14 as football drives huge revenue

I don't get this part. I don't get how it's "easier" to spread out when spreading out results in being shushed and told not to stand. If students don't want to get shushed and told not to stand up and make noise, then common sense tells us it's easier to sit in the upper section of the JAR on the south side with other students who want to stand up and make noise. We need more noise in the JAR and students should be leading this.

A greyshirt only has to foot the bill for the first semester if he elects to go to school. Optionally he could stay out of school that semester and, for example, hold a job to earn money. He could also take some courses at a community college at a lower cost than would be charged at a D-I school.

Well, we certainly don't want a PG who can't shoot or we would have just stuck with Carmelo. But the reality is that Noah and Antino were pure PGs in HS who happened to also be decent shooters, and Josh is a combo guard who can play both the 1 and 2 at a high level. That doesn't necessarily mean that Noah and Antino are forever locked in as PGs and Josh's only chance with the Zips is at SG. That will all get start getting worked out when Josh arrives on campus and starts working out with the Zips. The key question is whether Josh can be a better PG at the college level than Noah and/or Antino or if he brings more to the program as a SG along with Jimond. Looking back at Nyles' career, he was, like Josh, a combo guard in HS who ran the offense and scored in bunches. In junior college he ended up playing more SG than PG. At UA he was not successful in his first season as a PG and as a senior is now the starting SG next to a true freshman PG. Maybe Josh has a similar career path or maybe it's different. Hard to say at this point. But the simple facts are that going into next season the Zips are returning both of their PGs and losing both of their SGs.

There's just one thing in that story (the part in bold below) that doesn't make sense to me: The Zips already have a great pure PG in Noah who's averaging 30+ minutes per game as a true freshman and has 3 full seasons ahead to get even better. They also have a nice backup PG in Antino who also has 3 full seasons ahead to backup Noah. The Zips are graduating 2 seniors in Deji and Nyles after this season, and they're both SGs. How does it make any sense that Josh would see more time at PG than SG when the Zips are already solid at PG but will be short on SGs next season?

In the About Us it says:

Good call on Pat being slightly off his season average on the 4 games previous to EMU yesterday. He was 19-40 or 47.5% from the field in those 4 games compared with his season average of 55.4%. To put that in perspective, if he'd made just 1 more field goal in each of those 4 games he would have been right on his season average. So while he's been just a little off over the 4 games prior to yesterday, he was right back on average against EMU as 6-11 = 55%. As with all players, Pat misses a few easy shots and makes a few tough ones. It's the nature of the game. Sometimes Pat will shoot about 45% per game and sometimes about 65%, averaging out to about 55%.

I assume that you're joking as I was about the shooting percentages on 2- and 3-point shots. Pat was 6-11 from the field. He leads the MAC in field goal shooting percentage. Pat was not the problem today.

You're right. I was only using an anomaly to make a joke.

Only 6 games left to straighten out this mess. EMU 78, Zips 75 BGSU 79, BSU 65 CMU 75, UB 74 MU 77, OU 66 WMU 69, NIU 65 MAC STANDINGS 9-3 - BGSU 8-4 - Zips 8-4 - UT 8-4 - Can't 8-4 - CMU 6-6 - UB 6-6 - WMU 5-7 - EMU 4-8 - OU 4-8 - NIU 4-8 - MU 2-10 - BSU WEDNESDAY MATCHUPS: 8-4 UT @ 8-4 Zips 4-8 MU @ 9-3 BGSU 2-10 BSU @ 8-4 Can't 4-8 NIU @ 8-4 CMU 6-6 UB @ 5-7 EMU 4-8 OU @ 6-6 WMU

Zips hit 12-32 (37.5%) of their 3s and 13-46 (28.3%) of their 2s. So they obviously should be taking more high percentage shots.

In a 3-point loss like this Deji could have easily made the difference.

The 4 freshmen and 2 sophomores are a combined 3-26 from the field.

If Deji is out then BJ becomes the designated driver.

Can't 76, UT 75 (OT) MAC STANDINGS 8-3 - Zips* 8-3 - BGSU 8-4 - UT 8-4 - Can't 7-4 - CMU 6-5 - UB 5-6 - WMU 4-7 - OU 4-7 - EMU 4-7 - NIU 3-8 - MU 2-9 - BSU * Zips currently own tie breaker over BGSU for MAC tournament #1 seed SATURDAY MATCHUPS: 8-3 Zips @ 4-7 EMU 8-3 BGSU @ 2-9 BSU 7-4 CMU @ 6-5 UB 4-7 OU @ 3-8 MU 4-7 NIU @ 5-6 WMU