Dave in Green

The problem with the Zips' big 2012-2013 winning streak was that only 3 of the 19 wins were over top 100 RPI teams (no top 50). Then the PG made a big mistake that ended his career, cost the Zips a win over Can't and created an opportunity for the NCAA tournament selection committee to say, let's see how these pretenders do against VCU's Havoc defense without a real PG. Similarly, Toledo's great RPI last season was compromised by no real signature wins and some weak losses. This season Buffalo was best positioned in RPI in the MAC, but also has no real signature wins and a not-so-sterling overall record. The only way a non-MAC-tournament winner has a chance to get a good seeding from the NCAA tournament selection committee is to put it all together -- no excuses. It can be done, but so far over the past decade every MAC team has found a way not to do it.

You are too easy. Can't, 2002, #19 RPI, #10 seed, lost to Indiana in the Elite 8.

2013 Zips were a #12 seed, etc.

That's why I pointed that out in my post.

And Buffalo is #42 right now with a 15-7 record. And Toledo was #38 after losing in the MAC tournament last season and was the highest-ranked RPI team to be excluded from the NCAA tournament. I hope no one is under the illusion that a MAC tournament loser with a high RPI might get an at-large bid from the NCAA tournament selection committee. Reality is that no MAC team can reach a high enough RPI to get an at-large bid. Ain't a gonna happen. Fuhgeddaboudit. The only benefit of a higher RPI for the MAC tournament winner would be to get a slightly higher NCAA tournament seeding, which may or may not work to the Zips advantage depending on the luck of the seeding draw.

Are we critiquing Pat's shooting form or his results? His raw shooting results show that he leads the Zips with a 56.7% field goal shooting percentage. By the way, that's #1 in the MAC -- pretty good for someone who misses a lot of shots in close. Big Dog is second for the Zips at 50% and Deji and BJ are tied for third at 45.6%. That makes sense as they are the primary inside scorers whereas most of the other players shoot a high percentage of 3s. We also know that Pat's free throw shooting is shaky at 58.8%. What the raw stats don't show is the percentage of jump shots Pat makes vs. short shots in the paint. We know he took an unexpected pair of 3-pointers against OU and one was just off and the other swished. I would assume the team tracks the percentage of each type of shot each player makes and encourages them to play to their strengths. The fact that Pat has been green-lighted to shoot mid-range jumpers and even 3s after 2 seasons of mostly short shots in the paint suggests the coaching staff has increasing confidence in his ability to hit those shots, regardless of how some may see his shooting form as awkward. As for Pat and Big Dog working well in tandem, they've so far only had a few minutes in each of a few games where they've had a chance to get acclimated to each other. Coach Dambrot has obviously seen some potential there or he wouldn't have said more of the Pat & Big Dog Show "is coming down the line." That's not to say it's a slam dunk it's going to work. Maybe it will and maybe it won't. No one should be too quick to embrace or dismiss it until it's been given a fair chance to develop.

Interesting quote from Ryan's story:

You don't have to imagine Pat and Big Dog being on the floor at the same time. They already have been in several games this season, including last night's Buffalo game. As I said in the other thread, Big Dog is exclusively a low-post player with no outside game. Pat has a nice mid-range jumper and also made 1 of 2 3-pointers against OU, so Coach Dambrot apparently believes Pat could play some stretch 4. His exact quote from the interview you linked to in your first post was: "I wanted to play them both (Pat and Big Dog) together a little bit, which is coming down the line."

It's impolite to remind Zips fans of the blankety-blank years.

RooYahoo, why not just have a single Zips Centers discussion thread instead of starting a new one every week or two? I tried to get some input from you in one of your previous threads here, but you never responded to my question. Why not just have one thread and stick around for the discussion you've started? I think both Pat and Big Dog have had problems with self-confidence and both need encouragement to keep raising their games. I think the Zips center position is one of the team's strong points, and was pleased to hear Coach Dambrot say that there will be more of Pat and Big Dog on the floor together in upcoming games. If they ever play effectively together, the Zips game would rise to a new level.

The RPI Wizard is fun. Just for kicks I entered wins for all 30 games this season and the Zips RPI projected to #12. So even with an undefeated regular season the Zips would still rank behind where, for example, #8 Gonzaga and #9 VCU are right now. But it's interesting to see how high in RPI a team with a middle-of-the-road SOS like the Zips could rise if it ran the table during the regular season.

I like this quote, especially considering who it came from:

Oddball stat of the day is the comparison of the free throw shooting percentages for the Zips vs. their opponents over the first 23 games of the season: 65.3% vs. 65.3%

The East is down to a 3-way tie at the top, and another co-leader will fall Tuesday when Can't visits the Zips. Zips 75, UB 72 Can't 61, MU 60 BGSU 69, NIU 65 UT 72, BSU 61 CMU 70, WMU 65 OU 76, EMU 73 EAST Zips 7-3 Can't 7-3 BGSU 7-3 UB 6-4 OU 4-6 MU 3-7 WEST UT 7-3 CMU 6-4 WMU 5-5 EMU 3-7 NIU 3-7 BSU 2-8 Tuesday's matchups: 7-3 Can't @ 7-3 Zips 7-3 BGSU @ 5-5 WMU 7-3 UT @ 6-4 UB 6-4 CMU @ 4-6 OU 3-7 MU @ 3-7 EMU 2-8 BSU @ 3-7 NIU

Honestly, after the first few minutes of the game, I thought the Zips were toast. UB's starting 5 players are all quick, athletic and relentless. They blew by the Zips at will, won most of the scrambles for loose balls and generally made the Zips look slow and overmatched. I had forgotten about the one Zips advantage that really came into play late in the game. While Coach Dambrot rotated in wave after wave of fresh players, UB's 5 starters slowly began losing their physical edge. In the last few minutes you could see the Bulls breathing harder and moving slower. The Zips sent in fresh players off the bench and the Bulls could no longer blow past them. When they tried taking outside shots many fell short and there were even some air balls. The Bulls had run out of gas. The Zips' deep rotation paid off in this game.

Any mention on TV of LeBron and family at the game?

UB player stepped on Deji when he was on the floor.

These two teams are about as different as you can get. It's a classic matchup of a team that relies heavily on outside shooting against a team focused on scoring inside. The Zips are #4 in the country in percentage of total points per game scored on 3-point shooting while UB is #295. Those who obsess over the Zips relying too much on the 3 and wish for more inside scoring and trips to the free throw line will likely go nuts if the Bulls' inside game trumps the Zips' outside game at the JAR tonight. The most ironic comparison is that these two very different teams have exactly the same true shooting percentage (2-point, 3-point and free throw shooting combined) at 53.0%. They're also almost identical in points per possession, 1.06 for the Zips and 1.07 for the Bulls. So the the two teams basically arrive at the same scoring results in completely different ways. Which is better? The one that wins, of course.

Deji's assignment is to bring high energy off the bench, which he does well. He played just 9 minutes in the first half but was 6-6 from the field. He played a higher than average 13 minutes in the second half -- second only to Noah's 14 minutes -- and was 2-5 from the field. Part of Deji's effectiveness is based on the change of pace he brings to the Zips offense. Coach Dambrot tries to use each player in the way he believes their individual skill set will best contribute to the team. If he thought having Deji start and play longer minutes would result in better results for the team, you can bet he'd be doing just that.

Many were also predicting a long recovery time for Reggie last season. He was a little off form in a couple games before they finally diagnosed mono, then he sat out 5 games. In his first game back (against Buffalo) he played 13 minutes, and then 15 minutes in the next game against Can't. The MAC tournament was next, and against OU Reggie played 27 minutes -- well above his season average of 19 minutes per game -- and hit all 4 of his field goal attempts.

Reggie's mild case of mono last season caused him to miss 5 games. But mono severity varies wildly and could extend from a few weeks to many months.

It's nice to see that Coach Dambrot also believes that Pat's value goes beyond just hanging out in the paint. Last night he trusted Pat to take a pair of 3-point attempts when he'd previously only taken 1 in his first 2.5 seasons. The first attempt against OU just missed but the second was right on target. The made 3 came at a critical time early in the second half when the Kitties had reduced the Zips' 10-point lead down to just 2, and triggered a UA run stretching its lead back out to 11 before OU's late rally. I don't think the Zips really need another 3-point shooter, especially one who's so effective in the paint. But Pat's ability to hit from long range suggests his mid-range jumper could also be trusted as another weapon in the Zips' arsenal.

Talk about a traffic jam at the top, how about a 4-way 6-3 tie in the East, which is really wide open now. In the West, UT is all alone at 6-3. Zips home game with UB Saturday is pretty big. OU 83, Zips 82 WMU 67, Can't 66 UB 82, BSU 78 BGSU 76, CMU 74 (OT) UT 84, EMU 60 NIU 69, MU 67 EAST Zips 6-3 Can't 6-3 UB 6-3 BGSU 6-3 OU 3-6 MU 3-6 WEST UT 6-3 CMU 5-4 WMU 5-4 EMU 3-6 NIU 3-6 BSU 2-7 Saturday's matchups: 6-3 UB @ 6-3 Zips 3-6 MU @ 6-3 Can't 6-3 BGSU @ 3-6 NIU 6-3 UT @ 2-7 BSU 5-4 WMU @ 5-4 CMU 3-6 EMU @ 3-6 OU

Really nice comeback effort even if it fell just a bit short.

I'd almost rather having the Zips play from behind than trying to hold a lead.