MDZip

Interesting, there are three other MAC players listed there that play at a high level as efficiency as well. Javon McCrea is only two spots behind Zeke and Chris Evans is #91. The other player is from Ohio, but not named Cooper (he probably just isn't getting enough minutes to qualify, I'm sure ). It's Reggie Keely, I have some respect for his game (he is shooting it almost as well as Zeke), but as a point of interest all of them are frontcourt players and Zeke has already played against the other two and pretty well shut them down. I expect he could have the same effect on Keeley. Also find it funny that they say he passed on Major D-1 offers to stay home.

That's a huge win for them, they still control their own destiny easily with 5 games left against the three other East division leaders. They still have a legit shot, past two of the toughest teams in the league (Toldeo and CMU). CMU is 7-0 but only 13-7 overall which means they had a losing record in non-conference play, so I wanted to see if the MAC was really weak. Here are some of the teams they scheduled. Northwestern #5 Notre Dame #14 Purdue Florida #20 Texas (which they won) Marquette There is a team that challenges themselves OOC. I expect CMU to win the whole thing now, but the Zips could still win the East. Great quote from Jodi Kest "We wanted to make sure to draw plays to get Hanna Luburgh involved. She had the hot hand so you have give it to her sometimes." Should give the ladies some more confidence going forward. First good MAC team they've beaten.

All right, I think we gave it enough time to enjoy the BGSU win. On to the big game. Zips 68 Bobkitties 64.

Only difference between tonight and the Buffalo game is the Falcons aren't shooting 90%. Otherwise a remarkably similar game.

I think the last game ESPN broadcast from the Rubber Bowl was against Marshall. When Announcer one mentioned that the University had purchased the Rubber Bowl for $1 from the city, Announcer two stated "The University got taken".

Another fun little exercise on Breitbart where they take the top 16 conferences and name a 10 man team for each one. The MAC is 16th and they use a player adjusted formula that I reallly didn't look into, but they have Zeke ranked at the top but no sign of DJ Cooper (or Tree) but did have both Brian Walsh and Nick Harney listed. I'd vote for that top five. Rnk MAC All-Conference Team Ht Yr Off Def PG/Per Value Add 16 Zeke Marshall Akron 7' 0 Sr 5.31 -2.45 0.50 8.26 115 Javon McCrea Buffalo 6' 7" Jr 3.84 -2.01 5.85 158 Chris Evans Can't St. 6' 8" Sr 3.64 -1.66 5.30 164 Rian Pearson Toledo 6' 4" Jr 3.32 -1.42 0.50 5.24 205 Brian Walsh Akron 6' 5" Jr 3.41 -0.92 0.50 4.82 239 Jon Smith Ohio 6' 6" Jr 2.56 -1.89 4.45 352 Reggie Keely Ohio 6' 9" Sr 2.66 -0.98 3.64 356 Richaun Holmes Bowling Green 6' 8" So 1.76 -1.86 3.62 372 Nick Harney Akron 6' 7" Jr 2.66 -0.89 3.55 375 Shayne Whittington Western Michigan 6' 10" Jr 2.51 -1.03 3.54

It just keeps spreading. Now on Breitbart Sports and Bleacher Report. And since Bleacher Report is now tied to CNN Sports, I'd imagine it might show up there soon.

Joe Lunardi had a chat session today and someone from Fort Worth submitted a question that was remarkably close to the same one I submitted. Scott (Fort Worth) Do you see any chance that if Akron and Ohio U each have 25+ wins and meet in the Conference Championship that the loser could get at-large consideration and finally make the MAC a two-bid league again? Joe Lunardi (3:26 PM) Not gonna' happen, Scott. The MAC continues to schedule too poorly out-of-conference to put itself in position for multiple bids. I'd disagree on that one. I think the Zips did a pretty good job scheduling OOC this year. I think in conference is where their SOS takes a big hit.

Timbers up 3-0. Very possession oriented game. I think I've seen that style before. And didn't the young man, Gaberiel Genovesi, who just set a school record for the 800 meters originally commit as a soccer player? Still think he should do both. By the way, why did no one post a picture of this awesome sculpture on campus? Is it not from this year? Can't tell from the Top Drawer Soccer article.

Jay Bilas tweeted about it, CBS Sports has picked it up. Certainly getting the word out there. Interesting comment from the author: "These are really good mid-major teams. The basketball's enough, but then again, I'm not writing about this game unless someone drums up this kind of idea." Pat Forde also mentioned the Zips OU game (and later talked about the NIU futility but didn't mention they were part of the MAC, thank goodness). Ohio at Akron (14). Saturday, 5 ET. Both teams are unbeaten in Mid-American Conference play. If there is any chance for the MAC to be a two-bid league, these are the only potential contenders for an at-large. There is some rivalry here: Ohio snatched the NCAA bid by a point in the MAC tourney final last year and went on to reach the Sweet 16, while the Zips were consigned to the NIT. And finally, ESPN's Back to the Basket mentions the Zips-Bobcat's tilt. One commenter even wanted to know why the Zips weren't getting any top 25 votes. Akron, Ohio (Ohio at Akron): MACtion lives! On Saturday, Ohio held on to a nail-biting one-point win over Can't State, while Akron had to rally from a 20-point deficit -- outscoring Buffalo 25-9 over the final 10 minutes of the game -- to eek out a 68-64 win at home. Those dual saves improved both teams to 6-0 in league play as they get ready to duke it out on Akron's home floor. Never sleep on MACtion, people.

That aritcle already has a few hundred comments, yeah about a quarter of them are "this is stupid" but it got some conversation going about the Zips. I just added them to my meager twitter account to help boost the number since they announced it. With that and Seth Davis' tweeting about his custom made shirt and giving the Zips some more pub, I really like the move.

Congratulations! You have been a smartass for three thousand posts! You have just set an all-time record! I knew you could do it! See? I've been keeping track since Wednesday, March 15th 2006! Remember that day? You threw out your first smartass comment on the MAC tournament. Since then you have gone three thousand posts without failing once to be a smartass! Let me shake your hand again! I'd also like to present you with a specially inscribed scroll commemorating this historical event. Again, may I say "Congratulations!" You are an inspiration to all smartass people in this world!

Yep, its pretty unique, the only other reference I could find to a Z nickname is Zias of Eastern New Mexico which is used for their women's teams only. There are 41 Bulldogs and 25 Wildcats (no wonder Arizona and Gonzaga tried to use their Z). I always felt that UA should use that as a marketing slogan for the school - "We've got everything covered - from A to Z". TM And for OU - 16 Bobcats. The only unique names in the MAC are Zips, Golden Flashes and Chippewas. And there are three Redhawks but only Miami uses a capital H.

Outstanding. Tree actually is sixth overall and third in the conference games only in rebounding, although as mentioned only one board behind McCrea and two behind Majok Majok, who is one other good big man that hasn't been mentioned. He'd be a nice addtion too, but the interesting thing is that all of the other bigs you hear of are one at a time at other schools. We have four. And the leading three point shooter in conference games only - Reggie McAdams - 70%

Great shots, thanks for sharing them. There appears to be some evidence that Zeke may have occasionally been fouled.

Nice crowd over 5,000 to see the Zips win a tight one. Unbelievable comeback. An 18-0 run helps a lot when you're down by 12.

Back to within 1! Hey, is this the official game thread?

Can't State missed a last second shot. OU wins.

Akron goes on a 21-7 run to come within 6 at the half. Very winnable game now.

Dillard is 6'5". Why would you not consider him to be a big receiver?

Anyone know if this actually started? The first round was supposed to be complete in January. I did notice in the head coaches bracket they didn't have enough head coaches and filled the bracket out with a few others so Can't State Coach Rob Senderoff takes on Antonio Gates in the first round. That's nice, at least Can't State will get to the second round of one tournament his year.

I know this has been mentioned buried in some other threads, but I really thought it deserved its own thread, especially after his production over the last couple of games (his knee was obviously an issue and his 3 pt percentage over the last two games is 70%). He actually sits at 1,077 career points so it did happen a number of games ago, so I went and dug into his career stats to discover something pretty important about him. He was THE man at UMBC (he sort of had to be since they weren't very good), but he was used to playing double the minutes and getting double the points, rebounds, etc. so more minutes from him I am sure would up his production. He had to know, however, coming into Dambrot's system that it wasn't a star system, so obviously winning means a whole lot more to him than individual stats. I feel the same way about Brian Walsh. As much as I want the team to reach the NCAA's I really want it for these two unselfish players for whom it is their last shot. Go Zips!

Caught this on the Bobkitten's board: Ohio 5-0 Akron 5-0 WMU 3-2 (losses to Ohio, Akron) Toledo 2-3 (losses to Ohio, Akron, WMU) NIU 2-3 (losses to Ohio, Akron, WMU) Can't 2-3 Miami 2-3 BGSU 2-3 CMU 2-3 EMU 2-3 Buffalo 2-3 Ball St 1-4 Too bad Ball State didn't beat WMU, would have been fun to have the rest of the conference all be 2-3. I don't think NIU is any good, but it is interesting that the other teams in the MAC may cannibalize each other. It might not be East domination again because even though the East is 10-4 against the West, Akron and OU have 7 of those victories, so the rest of the East is 3-4 against the West. I could see a final standing looking something like: Akron 14-2 OU 14-2 WMU 11-5 Can't 10-6 Toledo 8-8 CMU 7-9 EMU 7-9 BGSU 6-10 Miami 6-10 Buffalo 5-11 NIU 4-12 Ball St 4-12

Anyone who doesn't think Melo is a D-1 player should go review the Penn State game, but both he and Kretzer are freshman, we've almost gotten spoiled with who can step in and play right away as freshman but think of how inconsistent Tree was just a year ago, it'll come for both of them. But we need to win a championship THIS year so a little less playing time for both is probably not bad with the way the upperclassman are playing. Walsh at the point is an intriguing idea, wasn't that how McNees ended up at the point, he was shooting guard but we had a desperate need for a point and he more than filled the bill even though it was not his natural position. Hey, he's on the bench, are we sure he's used all of his eligibility?

If there is one West team I'd have rather drawn at home, it is Toledo. They have nothing to lose.