Ozcat

Hell of a win for you guys. If you're knocking the crowd, please. Your team would kill for half that kind of support on a Saturday, let alone a rainy Wednesday evening. And your team deserves it. They are legit. Best atmosphere I have seen in the Convo to date. If Zeke wins MAC PoY, it's an absolute travesty . . . . . . Because Treadwell deserves it WAY more. Cleveland will be fun, again. Time to set an attendance record. See you in 2 1/2 weeks.

Good stuff, WZ. Much better discussion than throwing out some anti-Bobcat inspired post. I thought this thread was about a hypothetical OSU matchup? Anyway, I agree that Amir isn't consistently solid yet. But, he's shown flashes of brilliance of late (especially in Ann Arbor) and I don't think the gap is that big between him and Zeke. We'll agree to disagree. Many people keep mentioning depth. Akron plays 9-10 guys. Ok? That's great for a tourney run, but means little in a one game matchup. Plus, Matta rarely rolls out more than 6-7 guys ever, and it seems to have worked quite well. Last thing. Yes, they've lost most of their tough games. But outside of Illinois and Wisconsin, they've been very close and competitive games. Still losses, but voters take notice, which is why they'll still be Top 25 tonight despite 7 losses. Oh, to not play in the MAC . . . Fun stuff. Good assessment. It's easy to tell you watch a lot of college ball, which I enjoy. That's why I'm hear enjoying this conversation with you fine folks, because IMO, college bball is hands down the best sport we have.

That 'scrub' Williams you mention was a McDonalds All-American. He is still developing, to be sure, but he'd hold his own against Zeke. Tree is a great MAC player, but would be nowhere near as dominant against Big Ten talent. If you have a favorable matchup though, it is Tree, though Thomas would likely guard him and is no pushover on D. Brian Walsh over Sam or Lenzelle? I hope that's a joke. Brian would be lucky to get a shot off against Sam, who is a great defender and could probably jump over Brian. And while Craft isn't a offensive machine, it's admitted in this forum that Abreu is a sieve in defense. Craft would net some buckets. Please direct me to where I said anything about the Sweet 16 or UNC. I only cited only the Michigan matchup, and my original post remains true. I was unaware that one player guards an entire team. Wisconsin also runs a system that doesn't rely on a PG at all, and played their best game of the season today. Would it have been fair to judge your Akron squad last season based on your performance in Athens? Of course not. We are engaging in a hypothetical argument. One doesn't know what the outcome would be. The only thing we have to use as basis in discussion are games played and our view of them. Some of you see a team you could beat and matchup well against. I see a team who has 7 losses coming against #2 Duke in Cameron Indoor, #9 Kansas, #11 Illiinois in Champaign, #18 Michigan State in the Breslin Center, #3 Michigan in Ann Arbor, #1 Indiana, and #20 Wisconsin in Madison. There is not a single loss there that any team should be disappointed in. I maintain that OSU is the superior team and would handle Akron. I realize most of you won't agree, and I don't expect to sway your opinion. Just offering my take on a fun and enjoyable discussion.

Did you pay attention at all to anything last March? Multiple "experts" (I use this term lightly) had Ohio pulling the upset. They were a trendy upset pick amongst the talking heads. Akron would matchup well against many teams. I do not believe OSU is one them. When a team can disrupt your PG, it can wreak havoc on your offensive flow. (See: Ohio vs Akron - Round 1) Craft would drive Abreu nuts. And I don't think you have an answer defensively for Thomas.

Please don't use the common opponent metric. Akron struggled in the JAR with CMU and Buffalo before dispatching them both. Ohio handled both with relative ease. In no way does this infer that Ohio is better than Akron. Everyone knows the transitive property does not work in sports. Like any team, the Bucks have good and bad games. They nearly handled Duke in the toughest gym in the country, took a quality UM team to OT in Ann Arbor (and beat them in Colimbus) and were within 3 in East Lansing. I can assure you they wouldn't be "terrified" to matchup against the Zips. They'd also be the best team Akron has seen all year. This talk is hilarious on another level. IF Akron reaches the Dance, which is not guaranteed, they'll likely be a 12 or 13 seed. OSU has more than a handful of tough games remaining and could find themselves as a #6. The chances of this matchup becoming reality are slim to none.

Fair enough. I vaguely remember watching that game and expected the regular season MAC Champ to handle Northwestern. I was a bit surprised and disappointed they couldn't pull it off.

I'll play along, respectfully. 1) Akron owns the nation's longest winning streak, and has 4 losses. Yet, you're fighting for national recognition (rightfully so - the season you're putting together is solid) while OSU has 7 losses, and will still be sitting right around #20 in the polls. There's a reason for that. They don't have a single "bad" loss. 2) Look at Wisconsin's record in the Kohl Center. They rarely lose on their floor, ever. They're likely 3 weeks from playing themselves into a #2 seed and top 10 ranking. Losing by 20+ is a beatdown, no doubt. How much should be read into it? You tell me. I remember a 20+ point massacre in Athens last season that you seemed to recover quite well from. 3) If Akron played in the Big Ten, how well do you think you'd be doing? Despite your best effort, you couldn't even knock off the 8th best team in Northwestern last season. Best case scenario, .500 AT BEST. I love the MAC, but don't kid yourselves. 8-8 or 9-7 in the Big Ten this season is more impressive than 15-1 or 14-2 in the MAC. Sucks sometimes, but perception is reality. I hope Akron wins every game except in Athens the rest of the year, and sets up an epic matchup in Cleveland. The Zips and Bobcats are NCAA worthy squads. But we all know how life in the MAC works. One night in Cleveland - winner take all. I love the optisim on this board. But before you start dreaming of Elite Eight runs and Buckeye domination, it'd be nice to see you take care if business when it counts and win an actual NCAA Tourney game. Best of luck. Keep rolling and representing the MAC well.

I've watched every game. Much like Zeke's early years, they count on Amir to do two things: play defense and rebound. Much like Zeke, he's very capable of doing both. He could score zero points, and they'd still win. Craft/Scott would completely dominate Abreu, but at least you recognize the issue on that front. I think Tree is your best player. He's very good, but would have to likely go head to head with Thomas. Yeah, I'll take the guy who leads the nation's toughest conference in scoring and is likely a 1st or 2nd team All-American. Sam Thompson is more athletic than anyone on your team. He's a great defender and would be able to guard anyone you threw on the court at the 2 or 3. Laquinton Ross could score handily on any of your defenders, though he's a minor defensive liability. Smith Jr. is a hard nosed defender and about the only guy who doesn't pose a matchup issue for you on their squad. They'd open as double-digit favorites. They'd cover . . . easily. But please, feel free to tell me how I'm wrong based on your storied success in the Big Dance.

I'm sure they'd be terrified of playing the Zips . . . OSU matches up well at every single position.

Good work Pedro. Now forward it to RootForRoo and tell him you found an article with actual sources.

I like your rational view on this. I'm not going to say that he will stay, but for some guy to 'write' stories hinting to his departure based on 'sources' is irresponsible journalism. Granted, in this world of Twitter and blogs I probably shouldn't expect much, but I found it hilarious that RootForRoo went around to the other MAC boards posting his story yet didn't post it on BobcatAttack. He knows it's just internet fodder. I hope Coop stays, but I'm sure he has some reasons for considering leaving. But as someone else posted already, it'd be stupid for him to transfer. Why would he want to sit a year out? The NBA is not realistic at this point, and why forego your senior year to play in Europe? He has a pretty solid foundation in his life (exactly the opposite of Bassett) and one would think he understands that if he finishes his career next year in the green & white and graduates that he'll see #5 in the rafters in the future. And I'm selfish. Another year of Coop and Abreu going at it makes for great basketball.

There are a few sane people over here! You hit the nail on the head '82. It's pretty clear that RootForRoo is just throwing around blasphemy on his horse$hit blog hoping to garner a few more hits from fans of the other MAC boards. His stories are full of speculation and other BS, and the only 'source' he has to cite is a 21 year old's Twitter feed. Thankfully a few of you actually get it.

I didn't quote you. I quoted the guy pretending to be a journalist who wrote the article. It's understandable why most on this board (you do have a few rational ones) want Coop to leave. He's 5-3 in his career against the Zips, including 2-0 when it really matters, and he's never lost to Akron by any more than 5 but has led Ohio to a few routs against Zippy. Next year should feature some absolute wars. Looking forward to it, and hopefully 2 MAC teams into the big dance.

Yes. He's been extremely unhappy with the direction of the program as it headed right into the Sweet Sixteen and nearly the Elite Eight . . . #worstreportingever #keepgettingyourhopesup

Chris McKnight: TOTAL CLASS ACT After the game, they announced the all tourney team. McKnight and Conyers were both selected. Chris came out and accepted the award in front of the remaining crowd which was 99% OU fans. I thought this was excellent. I'm sure he was extremely disappointed, but he came out with class anyway. What a great kid. I will miss watching him compete.