MDZip

Matt Foldesy, the 2011 Ohio High School Boys Division I Player of the Year, rounds out the 2012 freshman class. So the Ohio D-I player of the year is the "afterthought" in the class. Unbelievable. I think at some point in the future it is going to be revealed that Caleb Porter is some sort of Wizard.

Apparently Temple is at least going to talk to the MWC-CUSA merger folks.

Hang on now. If you read the SI article Dr. Z linked to she did sing it live but she sung into a dead mic. The players and referees even teared up a little listening to her. So there is actually truth on both sides.

I would think an at large birth would be painful no matter who it is coming from. Zipmeistering the Zipmeister!

Well I don't have a lot of respect for their prognosticating powers anyway, since they have the 11 and 12 seeds listed as the play-in spots, when it is actually 12 and 13 this year.

Joe currently has the Zips as a 13 seed playing Wisconsin in Nashville. I'd like that. C'mon Zips, turn it on, finish even stronger.

C'mon George, he said he wanted you to start a thread. I think it's great to have interaction with fans, after all that's your audience. I'm sure you've seen that some people were not thrilled when you got the job, but I hope you also see that people have been very pleased with what you have done lately. Welcome and I wish I did not live 300 miles away so I could attend as well. I hope it's a great session.

I love Nik's intensity and passion for the game, but there is no chance he has the best footwork of our big guys. His footwork near the basket often involves a travel, missed bunny or turnover. If you want to compare footwork arouind the basket, I'd keep my eye on the other Nick.

If the Zips win all of their remaining home contests, they are guaranteed one of the top four seeds. If they beat NIU and EMU loses today (both of which are very possible), all of the West teams are eliminated from knocking the Zips out of a top four seed. Miami can't catch them, and if we win all of our remaining home games, the worst we can be is 13-3. That eliminates BGSU, especially since we would hand them a loss. With a win today and EMU loss, the worst the Zips could possibly be is a five seed, no matter what. A five would be a complete collapse. Zips are looking great for a top four seed.

Can't State up by 14 at the half. MAybe its just the conspiracist in me, but they just showed the MAC schools banners that are up on the wall while they were showing the Can't State cheerleaders. Managed to get every banner in except the Zips. Pretty sure it was on purpose.

One reason for Brett at at the end of a tight game: #9 in the conference in assist/turnover ratio One reason for Nik: #12 in rebounds per game. Both are good defenders. It isn't always scoring.

Being the top seed in the tournament gets one other prize - a guarantee of being in the postseason, even if only the NIT.

Just as a side note, I poked around that site a little more since there were a lot of stadium notes and in one section I noticed this from a writer who apparently came from NJ. So we arrived into Akron around 7, parked and walked downtown into beautiful Canal Park. The city's done a nice job revitalizing the area, but there are some shady folk (ed. note: he apparently was not referring to CK or JohnnyZip84 when he was making this comment) when I was walking around taking pictures. The Aeros have a terrific AA facility both inside and out. Loved how they incorporated Wings Warehouse into the interior design. Its a bar and restaurant with patio that has a view of the game. Most times I'm not a fan of just single level seating, but it was fine here. The crowd was average and there was a lot of talk about Ohio State's season opener (Yes, even where there is a D1 football team just down the street, OSU still dominates in this state). Apparently we are not the only ones who notice it. Of course if it was this year, Akron was OSU's season opener. Reading further down he stopped at Infocision on his way back and reported the following: Our last day was spent heading home and we stopped half-way again in Akron. Besides the zoo, there seems to be only one touristy thing to do in the city itself, and that is the Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, former home of the Seiberlings, who founded Goodyear. So we stopped there and it was pricey but worth it. Both the house and grounds were interesting to check out. Then it was off to #110 on the list: InfoCision Stadium, home of the Akron Zips. Weird visit. We parked at a downtown lot, where a shuttle brings you to the stadium, since the parking map didn’t show much nearby. It felt like we were the only ones downtown, we were definitely the only ones on the shuttle and the whole experience was empty. Fans that were there talked more Ohio State than Akron and the Zips seemed like a joke. Even though, they are a joke (they lost 41-3 to Temple), it was still the home and conference opener, hope should be in the air, even after a 1-11 season. It’s too bad because they have a beautiful, brand-new stadium. Loved the stadium here as it had some great features, like building it below ground with the lower deck of seats below street-level (makes it more intimate and appealing). Also, they made good use of a steep grassy seating area set in the end zone. Nice job too of having concourse banners, ring of honor and retired numbers. And of course, what would a college football game without me sitting through a lightning delay. Yet another one here lasting about an hour and a half. This is getting tiresome and frusterating, especially as this one was just for the threat as I never saw lightning or heard thunder (it was all legit though as it was in the vicinity). After waiting that out, Temple came back and blew the Zips out.

Always find it interesting to see the other sides perspective, this came off the WMU board. Zips are still getting significant respect. RE: Akron could go undefeated in the MAC next year I believe they lose two contributors, cvetenovich and mcclanahan. But their other 7 guys would start for anyone in the MAC. They will be tough next year. Ohio returns everyone too. Seriously, their second five of Treadwell, Harney, Gilliam, Mclanahan, and their tenth man could finish first or second in the West.

Whew. That was lucky. Hey did anyone watch the MAC feed and hear that obnoxious woman the whole game and then some other guy screaming at the end?

We're lucky to be going to OT but what happened on that last play? Looked like Diggs was expecting a timeout?

OU is only down four and the Flashes lead at the half. I expect both to win, and I expect the Zips to come back.

25 minutes. 28 points. Good god. I can see why some have a di"Stain" for WMU.

Spectacular dunk by Chauncey and then WMU beats them back down the court for an easy layup. Net of 0. Nice start by Zeke, though.

Mollaut already does the work for us. He pretty much updates it after every set of games. He occasionally posts here on this board when we play Miami. He also does something interesting called the golf standings, where a birdie means you got a win on the road, pars are wins at home or losses on the road, and bogeys are home losses. It really gives you a better feel for the real standings and how teams are playing in lieu of the league standings. This is where he has things this week: EAST 1. Akron -4 2. Buffalo -2 -- Can't -2 4. Ohio -1 5. BGSU E 6. Miami +3 WEST 1. BSU -1 -- EMU -1 3. WMU +1 -- Toledo +1 5. CMU +2 6. NIU +4

Actually, seeds 5-12 would have to win five games. 8 teams play in the first round, then the winners of those four games play and the two survivors of that face two rested teams in the "quarterfinals". That's why being a five seed really sucks.

I also saw this on Miami's board. State Farm is having a sweepstakes with a really nice grand prize for the MAC basketball tournament. I would have entered but it is ony open to residents of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Seeing as how only one of those states has any MAC schools in it kind of screws the rest of the league over. At least it might give an Akron fan a better shot. Here is the prize list: •Three (3) nights hotel accommodations at downtown Cleveland hotel (March 14-16, 2013) •Three (3) $50 gift certificates at downtown Cleveland restaurants •Two (2) complimentary tickets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum •Two (2) VIP Suite MAC Tournament tickets for all 14 Men's & Women's Tournament 2013 games •MAC merchandise package (championship gear, game program, etc.) •Merchandise package (t-shirt, hat, etc.) from MAC school of choice •On-court ceremony recognizing winner with State Farm representative(s) at halftime •$500 pre-paid gift card for use during stay in Cleveland •Two (2) 2012-13 basketball season tickets at MAC school of choice

I was just checking out the MAC West pretenders. Bold prediction. Not one of them finishes the crossover season with a winning record. EMU finishes with Akron, Can't and OU, WMU finishes with Can't, Akron and Buffalo and Ball State has the "easiest" with Miami, BG and Can't. They'd have to win 2 of those three to get above .500 and I say they don't do it. That would almost eliminate the MAC West champ from one of the top four seeds. Thank god they changed the tournament format or some combination of at least three of Akron, Can't, OU and Buffalo would be one one side (and I'll tell you I wouldn't be fond of facing BG either). So odds are looking like two of that group will make the automatic quarters and two the automatic semis. It really sucks to be a 5th seed this year. This would be an excellent year to be the 1 seed. Stolen from Mollaut of the Redhawks board here is what the tournament would look like today (he does a really great job with this): First Round (Campus Sites): Monday, March 5, 2012 GM 1: 12. NIU (1-7) @ 5. Can't (5-3)$ - TBA GM 2: 9. CMU (2-6)# @ 8. WMU (4-4)% - TBA GM 3: 10. Toledo (2-6)# @ 7. BSU (4-4)% - TBA GM 4: 11. Miami (2-6)# @ 6. BGSU (4-4)% - TBA Second Round (Cleveland): Wednesday, March 7, 2012 GM 5: Winner GM 1 v. Winner GM 2 - TBA (STO) GM 6: Winner GM 3 v. Winner GM 4 - TBA (STO) Quarterfinals (Cleveland): Thursday, March 8, 2012 GM 7: Winner GM 5 v. 4. EMU (5-3)$ - TBA (STO) GM 8: Winner GM 6 v. 3. Buffalo (6-2)* - TBA (STO) Semifinals (Cleveland): Friday, March 9, 2012 GM 9: Winner GM 7 v. 1. Akron (7-1) - TBA (STO) GM 10: Winner GM 8 v. 2. Ohio (6-2)* - TBA (STO) Finals (Cleveland): Saturday, March 10, 2012 GM 5: Winner GM 9 v. Winner GM 10 - 8pm (ESPN2) NOTE: Under new format, division champions no longer earned top 2 seeds (like format in 1998 and 1999). TIEBREAKER EXPLANATIONS: * Ohio beat Buffalo head-2-head.. $ EMU beats Can't as having the best winning % versus the highest ranked team -> #6, Bowling Green (by the way, the only other East vs. West losses both belong to Miami) % Among 4-4 teams, head-2-head, BGSU is 1-0; BSU is 1-1; and WMU is 0-1. # Among 2-6 teams, head-2-head, CMU is 1-0; Toledo is 1-1; and Miami is 0-1.

Kind of cool next to the Super Bowl story. And it actually says Akron instead of just saying Tressel took a non-athletics position.

Hold it. Did you and Dave just switch roles temporarily?