Zips Win!

Not only a great pic of Humpty, but also of the awesome fans in the background.

While I am a believer that anything can happen in the tournament, winning a close game sure hasn't been one of them thus far. 1.) With 34 seconds left in regulation at MU, we take a two point lead. Still winning with 24 seconds left, we lose in OT.2.) We take a two-point lead with 2:51 left in regulation vs. Buffalo. Still winning with 1:27 left, we go scoreless the last 2:51 and lose by 2.3.)With 2:57 left in OT, we take a 4-point lead vs. OU and have the ball. Still winning with 1:58, we lose by 5 scoring 3 points in the last 2:57.4.)Tied at 75 with 1:42 left in regulation at NIU, we get outscored 8-4 in the last 1:42 and lose by 4.5.)With 3:44 left in regulation we take a 1-point lead vs. BG. Still winning with 1:25 left, we go scoreless the last 3:44 and lose by 4.6.)We take a 5-point lead at Can't with 5:22 left in regulation. Still winning with 1:07 left in the game, we lose by 4 scoring a grand total of 5 points in the last 5:22.Yet, in the 10 conference wins, the closest outcome was a 5 point win over Buffalo.I sure as hell hope we can get some leads, increase those leads and have a comfortable margin down the stretch or it may be "wait until next year" .....again.

Like last Sunday, the Can't games tips off at 12 noon.Please also remember that it's time change this weekend.

At this point, I will be elated if we just get a damn bye at the MAC tournament.

For once we actually watched the same game as I agree with your game analysis. However, to say it was one bad game is just not accurate. While Sunday's game was really bad, there have been several others throughout the season. Losing a 5th game in one season where you have the lead in the last couple minutes of the game is downright depressing...and a very bad omen.Calling out the McKnight's may not have been the prudent thing to do and I was surprised that KD did. But maybe, just maybe everyone who played on Sunday should have been called out. They all need to wake up and realize what's at stake. No more excuses-youth, inexperience, one senior, wait until Zeke-The MAC is available for the taking this year. Just do it.Sunday was yet another example in a long list of UA athletics meltdowns (football included) where destiny was in our control and we crapped down our leg. A nice crowd on a Sunday afternoon, a first place finish in the MAC in sight, a number 1 seed in the MAC tournament, an automatic NIT bid to fall back on, and we found a way to lose. Nothing like crying in my beer at BW's afterwards...how many times have I done that?The next coach, administrator, fan or poster that questions why our crowds are pathetic, can look no further than to Sunday's outcome. Win one of these and they may come(back).

It was moved for TV. The game is on Fox Sports Ohio.

Here we go again...Nothing like bashing Mike Waddell..Not for a second do I believe that Mike would bad-mouth UA. Was he unhappy that he didn't get a real look at the AD job? Yes. Does he exchange christmas cards with Mack? Probably not...But this doesn't make him a bad guy.While Mike has not been able to secure his own AD gig, so what. I'm sure those jobs are hard to come by in the good ol' boy network that exists.Mike will and should hold a special place in the hearts of the die hard UA fans. All 200 of us...He was the first AD-type to give a damn about what the "fan" wanted and thought. This in and of itself was huge. His vision to start the AK-Rowdies will pay dividends for years to come...When I hear the Rowdies start the "I believe that we have won" chant, I will always thank Mike for starting this group. Hell, he even drove up to Cleveland for the MAC hoops tournament last year....There were numerous other small contributions that happened with Mike....the parties and surrounding functions at the MCB were FIRST CLASS. And Mike put these together...I could go on..... I could stop by and ask him anything about the program and he always took the time to talk.Will be ever end up at UA? Who knows...As previously mentioned, I want a UA guy....But I also believe Mike could do the job if and when Mack leaves...

Good luck to Mack.If it's not Rutgers, in time it will be someone else. UA is and will always be a revolving door when it comes to AD's (coaches too) using UA as a stepping stone.Until we get a UA guy in the hot seat who wants to stay for the long haul, this cycle will continue. That said, KD is not the answer. He needs to coach, period.

I know you're being realistic, but would it kill you to have an ounce of optimism? It is January, after all. Or do you just really enjoy p*ssing on everyone's parade? Did you really expect anything different from a buckeye fan?

I beg to differ on this comment. You can trade me your not-so-talented team for mine anyday.

That was the year Akron outplayed scUM and still lost somehow. What a game it was.SNIPThanks for helping me out....If games were 33 minutes long, then maybe we did out play them. Unfortunately, it was a 40 minute game. Marcel B. (favorite playa) always brings back great memories and that team will always be my favorite. Boyce, Roberts, McLaughlin, Schutz, Dowdell, Holmes, etc. What a fun team!

Who's complaining about the new stadium?

Thanks for the exception. Charlie Cheeseburger has lots to do with that.Why don't you go find me the last NC, or even top 20 team that was made of all 1-2*?You can probably find 1 exception there too.Buckzip, the number of stars a player has is a reflection of who offered them, not of their athletic ability. Just look at scout's page for Akron recruiting: they made every single one of our recruits a 2-star guy today, where there used to be quite a few 1-star guys. They did that because MAC recruits are automatically 2-stars unless they have a significant amount of offers from BCS schools.That is not entirely true. Patrick Nicely is a 3 star knocking on 4 star and he doesn't have one BCS offer. There is a reason for the most part that MAC schools have their players rated as 2 stars. For goodness sakes watch the games. Most of the MAC players are just not as talented. Like anything else, there are a few guys that fall through the ratings crack like a Domenik Hixon, James Harrison, Ben Roethlisburger, Greg Jennings, etc... All those 4 and 5 star guys that USC, Miami, Florida, Texas, OSU, Oklahoma, etc.. gets every year sure seem to make a difference, don't they? Those teams recruit the cream of the crop BASED ON ATHLETIC ABILITY. The scouting services obviously see a kid not getting offers from bigger schools and most of the time correctly grade them out at a lower star level. I have no idea why some people on here think there is a conspiracy to downgrade MAC recruits star levels. Go to Rivals and click on the Akron verbals. Half of them show Akron as their ONLY OFFER! Go to any BCS conference and click on their players. Even the 2 and 3 star guys have multiple BCS offers. These programs have been doing this for decades. They know what they are doing.Thanks genius! Now get off this board and go find a buckeye board to get off on.

NJIT Breaks Through with 61-51 Win Over BryantJheryl Wilson (26 points) leads the way as Highlanders halt losing streak NEWARK, NJ—Sophomore guard Jheryl Wilson scored 26 points, including 20 in the first half, for NJIT, as the Highlanders defeated visiting Bryant, 61-51, Wednesday night to halt a 51-game losing streak.The Highlanders, who last won on February 19, 2007 (78-74 at Longwood), never trailed by more than three points and took the lead for good when Wilson hit a jump shot to make it 12-10 for NJIT with 13:02 left in the first half of Wednesday’s game against fellow Division I Independent Bryant.In addition to Wilson’s career-best 26 points, the Highlanders got 14 points from freshman guard Isaiah Wilkerson and a double-double from junior captain Gary Garris, who notched 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.The visiting Bulldogs got 21 points from senior guard Peter Lambert, who took all of his shots from three-point distance, making 6-of-10, plus 3-for-3 on free throws. Junior Cecil Gresham was the only other double-figure scorer for Bryant, finishing with 10 points—eight from the foul line. He added seven rebounds, while junior Chris Burrell was Bryant’s top rebounder, with eight. Wilson, whose previous career scoring high was 16, which he had done three times, including twice this season, was the key player in the first half. He scored 20 points, shooting 7-for-9 from the field, including 4-for-5 on three-pointers, plus 2-for-2 at the foul line. With Wilson leading the way, the Highlanders forged a 31-15 halftime lead, as Bryant managed just six field goals in the half, shooting 6-for-23.Lambert opened the second half with a three-pointer for the visitors, but NJIT kept its lead in double figures until Bryant’s Gresham made a pair of free throws at the 5:05 mark that trimmed the Highlanders’ advantage to 46-37.Gresham made two more free throws to draw the Bulldogs to within seven, 50-43, with 2:37 left, but NJIT’s Wilkerson scored on a driving layup just nine seconds later and then hit a pair of free throws with 1:40 left to put the Highlanders back up by 11, 54-43.Lambert later made another three-pointer to get Bryant back to within seven points again, with 38 seconds left. But the Bulldogs got no closer, as Teddy Schickel hit a couple of free throws and then made a steal and passed ahead to Wilkerson, who dunked to put an exclamation point on the NJIT win.The Highlanders will visit Longwood in Farmville, VA, on Saturday in a 2 pm start.NJIT’s streak had covered parts of three seasons—the last four games of the 2006-07 season; all 29 games in 2007-08; and, the first 18 games this season.

That's an easy one! OU was far more impressive. Honestly, I was stunned that a player with over 100 games played would have 2 turnovers, a freshman-like foul and a air-ball-three-pointer down the stretch. Good grief!I also find it impressive that we have nice stretches of great defense and even better defensive rebounding and then in a flush, we can't grab a defensive rebound to save our life. We did this at BG and then again yesterday at OU.We've enjoyed four consecutive double-digit win regular seasons in the MAC over the last for years, yet couldn't finish the deal in the MAC tournament. Here's hoping that this team with a lesser record will improve down the stretch and find a way to play it's best ball and find a way to win their games on March 10th, 12th, 13th and 14th.

A nice win indeed! It was even nicer to see in person. Kudos to the Zip faithful who showed up, especially to those who put together the bus trip. Our crowd made more noise down the stretch than I hear from most home crowds.Agree all the way on McClanahan..Burn that redshirt if he can score. But I hope we are committed to at least 10 minutes a game to make it worthwhile. I really liked his agressiveness on defense and on the boards. Let's see what he can do.We got 12 points from the Bardo/Cvetinovic combination last night. Now if we can get this on a consistent basis, we have a shot. Nice games from Chris and Humpty...When will Brett's shots start falling? All were nice looks...Seems to be a lesser reliance on the number of threes taken...11 v. Buffalo and 21 yesterday. Down from the 27 taken vs. St Francis.. Holding BG to 21 second half points and 5 made buckets was awesome. I did question some of the ticky tack fouls that put them at the line..luckily they missed 5 from the line to help the cause. Holding to 28% FG and no threes in the second half was crucial...Finally, I'm glad it was shown (and pointed out) about our bench's enthusiasm. Every big shot, defensive rebound, etc down the stretch, our bench did indeed jump up and support the guys on the floor. This was very cool indeed.

Anyone heading out to BG this afternoon?If you wish to meet up prior to the game, we plan on going to BW3's for some wings and an adult beverage or two.

I remember several big plays to the TE in the MACC in '05And unfortunately Kris Kasparek never really lived up to the promise he showed in that game, although a lot of it might go back to Dr Z's point about the spread not really emphasizing the TE position.Good discussion on the TE position. My opinion of that position is this. It is both one of the most important positions on the field and also one of the most overrated. Never game plan to pass to the TE unless it presents itself.Every team needs a TE that can catch a pass for a first down, but that about exhausts their use as a receiver. It is more critical to have WRs that can catch passes down field for big plays and TDs than first downs.Any team that has the TE as the primary receiver is asking to lose games. The Dallas Cowboys have that very problem. They have a tremendous amount of talent and they throw to the TE too much and they don't win big games. Mark my words, getting rid of T. Owens will do nothing to solve that problem.Where is John Clayton when you need him? Witten is the least of their problems..and there are many... Although not the primary receiver, Jay Novacek was used similiar to Witten and he won three Suoer Bowls. So, I'm not buying....John Clayton is sniffing the butt of some general manager right now...........Are you saying that the Cowboys do not have a QB that can win big games? That is also a huge part of the problem. Some guys win, some guys don't. It is just that simple.Yes I am.

I remember several big plays to the TE in the MACC in '05And unfortunately Kris Kasparek never really lived up to the promise he showed in that game, although a lot of it might go back to Dr Z's point about the spread not really emphasizing the TE position.Good discussion on the TE position. My opinion of that position is this. It is both one of the most important positions on the field and also one of the most overrated. Never game plan to pass to the TE unless it presents itself.Every team needs a TE that can catch a pass for a first down, but that about exhausts their use as a receiver. It is more critical to have WRs that can catch passes down field for big plays and TDs than first downs.Any team that has the TE as the primary receiver is asking to lose games. The Dallas Cowboys have that very problem. They have a tremendous amount of talent and they throw to the TE too much and they don't win big games. Mark my words, getting rid of T. Owens will do nothing to solve that problem.Where is John Clayton when you need him? Witten is the least of their problems..and there are many... Although not the primary receiver, Jay Novacek was used similiar to Witten and he won three Suoer Bowls. So, I'm not buying....

The first round of games at the Q is on Tuesday this year. The winners have off Wednesday and play the teams with the bye's on THursday.You will not have to win on four consecutive days this year to win the championship.

It's interesting that you bring up the McKnight three in OT. I can honestly say it was the first time that I can ever remember where I became irate over a made bucket by a Zips player. Sure, with the pressure off and the game pretty much over (I have to agree with Frenchy here) McKnight drains the three. Where was that shot at the end of regulation? Where was that shot the first 40 minutes of regulation? Just make one more free throw or one more point blank bunny...and we WIN.I know all the hyper-sensitive Zips hoops fans will take exception, but low scoring or not, Miami's crappy style or not, we were staring down another victory, only to find a way to lose. It's never easy being a Zips fan...

While I would agree that a playoff wouldn't do much positive for the the Non-BCS schools, Div 1 college football should have a playoff. Yes, the NFL does have the greatest playoffs, so why wouldn't college football copy it. While you mention that college football doesn't need a playoff, you seem to agree with Todd Blackledge's plus one version..which is a playoff.I have always been of the opinion that there should be NCAA football committee (like basketball) and pick the best 6 teams..create an NFL like set-up, teams 1 and 2 get first round byes, teams 3 and 4 host round 1 games, teams 1 and 2 host round 2 games with the championship played on a neutral site. Call it the Super Six....This type of set-up would not hurt the regular season at all. In fact, it would encouage teams to schedule better teams in the regular season because strength of schedule would mean something and I think we would see a bunch of better non-conference match-ups. (Teams with strength of schedules around the 38th, 55th or 45th ranking could almost be eliminated). While I agree that the importance of the regular season is diminished in the other divisions of football and college hoops, this is mostly because so many teams make those playoffs. Again, a 2, 4 or 6 team playoff wouldn't hurt college football and you can still have the other bowl games...although at a much smaller payout.

Sure of that? Really? I'm not. Why do you stand at the railing every game then if you don't believe it's possible? Hemorrhoids? This is a telling quote. It tells me that you've no faith in KD. All I said was that he was on pace to blow away Huggy's win total for the first 5 years @ UA. Nothing more. Huggins did great things @ UA, no arguments here. But KD has done some things Huggins NEVER was able to do .. twice (save your replies .. I know Huggins won a title .. works both ways). So by pointing out that KD is ahead of Huggins in a few areas .. now I'm dragging Huggins down? Not so, my friend.What did KD ever do to you? It's a program build. It's a PROCESS .. and we're 1/4 of the way through the 5th season .. with 100 wins and 2 postseason wins behind us. The inertia is up .. not down.My New Year's wish for everyone is a little faith & optimism. Our guys can use the support.Go Zips!This is really much to do about nothng. I responded to the original post about a comment that Waters was the best coach in NE Ohio and I agreed. Nothing more. It like saying Phil Jackson is a better coach than Pat Riley. Does this mean that Pat Riley isn't a great coach as well? I don't think so.I have said it numerous times on this board that I love KD as a coach. Finally we have a really good coach, a UA guy who wants to be here. Let's keep him.I also stand by my response to this post however.

Be cautious of what you wish for. Waters is the best college coach in NE Ohio and he can recruit better players at CSU because of their laughable academic standards.....and when I say laughable, I mean side splitting laughter or even liquid shooting out of your nose laughter. We may want to duck them while he is there. After all, we are "building" a program here (for how long now? will we beat the completion of the bridge to China?) through beating teams we should easily beat and losing to good teams. I'm not sure how all of that works, but I read on the board we are "building" it. Now that CSU is good, we may not want to break that formula. Keep the cupcakes coming....I guess. For those of you who have season tickets, I'll say it for you...... Let's see some results from all of this "building".....this year.Congratulations. A garbage post from one of ZN.O's top contributors.KD is every bit the coach Waters is. No one in their right mind would swap rosters with CSU right now. It is WATERS who's running scared here. KD would play every year. CSU ended this. Not UA.Building for "how long" now? This is year 5 of KD's tenure. He's won nearly 100 games (WAY ahead of the pace set by Huggins over the same period). He's won 2 postseason games .. that's more than Waters @ CSU. The Zips have been in the title game the last 2 years. Averaging 22 wins / season and improving every year.If you can't see progress here .. you're not watching the Zips .. oh I forgot .. you don't watch them.You can do better than that .. you usually do.Go Zips!There's nothing garbage about the post...GP1 and CK are right on the money on this one. Waters is indeed the premiere DI hoops coach in NE OH. And this is no discrespect to any of the other coaches.What he did at Can't will probably never be matched. And now you are also bringing down Huggins in this thread. Good grief....The next time I walk into the JAR and see a MAC championship banner hanging, then we can talk. Until then, there is no argument.

If this is really true, lord help us all. There's nothing I look forward to more than sleeping through a UA v. MU game. Bring your pillow in a hotly contested 43-42 final. Yawn!!!P.S. Can we change the shot clock rule to 20 seconds when we play Miami?