Zip Watcher

Fair point.The Zips forced 25 TO's against NC St. Their high for the year. Followed by Wyoming with 21 (pressing / trapping team).URI forced 19 vs. PC, 21 vs. VCU, and 10 against OSU. In fact, their TO's forced is trending downward from the beginning of the year. Northeastern, Fairfield & Drexel .. all teams that would fit with the Zips current schedule, each turned it over less than 15 times against URI.The Zips need to defend well and run their offense from the inside out.Early Vegas line is URI -1.5Go Zips!

Thanks ZFF .. had forgotten about that.Do we know what the staff pool was the last couple of years under JD?

Good observations, QZ .. and that was a different McNees back then.I'm thinking that Roberts & McNees are going to need to be bringing the ball up .. and we may see some more Ronnie than usual. But if the press is so effective for URI .. and it appears from everything I read to be a big part of what they do .. why are the Zips forcing more TO's than URI? Something isn't adding up to me here .. One of the teams playing Tuesday at the JAR has the 242nd ranked scoring defense and the 296th ranked FG % defense. The other has the 52nd ranked scoring defense and the 74th ranked FG% defense.

Ianello must have gotten some concessions from the AD on the assistants pool. Powlus is going from position coach at ND to position coach @ UA. The OC has been a coordinator @ BCS & ND levels before.Used to be a guy was a position coach somewhere and came the UA to be a coordinator (or HC). Something this time seems different to me.Go Zips!

And our friendly local neighborhood AP voter says he's waiting to see what URI does vs. UA before bringing them into the top 25.Elton willing to wait and see on the Rams.

This just in. Despite the declaration from the EndZone Grass Hill GnomeTM, the Rhode Island Rams will NOT come to the JAR ranked in the top-25 tomorrow. Bummer.Per the Worldwide Leader: #32 AP & #40 Coaches

46th toughest schedule vs 311th toughest schedule is more than " a little tougher"I dont doubt the depth of your bench, but fact is you wont be able to keep up for a full 40 minutes if you let URI dictate the tempo.http://www.realtimerpi.com/rpi_Men.htmlYou meant to say that you hope that to be the case .. there's nothing factual about your comment. My big question is (and I mean this honestly): If URI likes to dictate the tempo so much, then why are they only averaging 60 shots per game? 60 is pretty good (49th in NCAA D-1) .. but UA isn't far from that, and the Zips aren't a track meet kind of team. They push when it's there and pound it in when it's not. Providence is averaging almost 70. Looking at possessions, URI averages 71.1 possessions per 40 minutes, while the Zips average 67.9. Again .. not a huge difference. 3 extra possessions per game.Where does the tempo come into play if it doesn't result in more scoring opportunities for the Rams? Conditioning of the Zips and their ability to deal with an up tempo game isn't a concern of mine (detailed above). So if player conditioning isn't a huge factor, or is covered adequately by depth .. what big advantage does the tempo give to URI? The statistics would say it's not in extra shots.I'm certain the Zips will work to dictate the tempo and push the ball inside .. I've seen enough of them to agree with you there. But the Zips aren't afraid of pushing the ball up the court when opportunities present themselves. You're not going to see a Charlie Coles slow-down fest here.As for the schedule, If we swapped the schedules .. I'm pretty comfortable saying the Zips would probably be something like 8-4 or so .. not much difference from what they are now. URI likely still only 1 loss with the Zips schedule. The URI schedule IS a tougher schedule .. but not light years tougher .. and 30 different RPI sites aren't going to convince me otherwise. URI played 4 top 100 teams, and 2 were top 50. The Zips played 3 and one was in the top 50. 2 BCS games vs. 3 for URI. Like I said, it's a tougher schedule for the Rams .. but I don't think it's a guantlet by any stretch of the imagination. I think Providence and OSU are at-large worthy wins. But the tour of Northeast teams doesn't excite me any more than the Zips schedule.Regardless .. I'm looking forward to seeing the Rams in the JAR tomorrow. B) B) Go Zips!

Thanks for stopping in and sharing your thoughts. We appreciate it.I don't have much to add on most of your post, but the last statement reflects an unfamiliarity with the Zips on your part. Can't blame you though, if my team were in the A10 .. I wouldn't bother myself a whole lot with knowing the MAC.The LAST thing that will happen in this game is Akron wearing out at the end. The Zips will go 10 maybe 11 deep in this game, and no one is logging 30 minutes per game .. the breakdown is quite similar to URI in that respect. The Zips last game took them to Laramie Wyoming with all the altitude .. blah blah blah .. against a running team, and when that game ended, the Cowboys were the ones holding their shorts and sucking wind .. not the Zips.This is going to be a great test for the Zips, and will be a nice win if they can get it. But by the same token, it will tell some things about the Rams. Namely, can they handle the physicality that the Zips will bring in the half court, on both ends? Can they bang? That will be interesting.I agree that the game will hinge on tempo .. but think tempo might just affect URI more than UA.Some stats I'll be watching that I think may prove to be the difference:#1: URI is averaging 60.75 shots per game and shooting 48%. UA's defense is only giving up 50.69 shots per game, and they're allowing 40.2 % .. there's a big disparity in these numbers and something will have to give. If the Zips give up an additional 10 shots over their average but keep the % low, we're looking at 8 points over their average points allowed .. same for holding the shots down, but allowing a higher percentage. If UA can keep those numbers close to their average, then URI won't approach their average of 80 ppg (Zips are currently allowing 61.7).#2: Looking at it on the other end of the court, UA is averaging 57.15 shots per game, and shooting 45.2%. URI is allowing 58.1 shots per game and 46.5% shooting. This would appear to indicate the Zips may get their points. UA is averaging 71.4 ppg and URI is allowing 71.7 ppg. Seems to me that the Zips may get their 70 in this one .. URI will need to improve upon their shots allowed and percentages to hold UA under 70.#3: We're all hearing about the defense of URI .. the speed, the trapping & pressing. We know the Zips struggle a little against longer back court players .. some of the guys they beat @ Wyoming by 11 gave them fits. But the statistics tell a slightly different story. URI is forcing 15.7 turnovers per game, and turning it over themselves only 12.8. The Zips are averaging 14.2 and forcing 16.2 TO / game. So here again, there's opportunity to see extra possessions which you'd expect being told how much of a trapping & pressing team the Rams are .. but it's not borne out in the numbers. They're only forcing 15.7 TO/game, which is LESS than the 16.2 the Zips force. #4: Neither team has played a gauntlet schedule. URI's a little tougher, but all of their games with the exception of Drexel and VCU were within an hour or so of Kingston. So while going to Conte Forum and winning is certainly nice .. there was opportunity to have Rams fans there and the team wasn't road weary. In some respects, this game will be closer to the VCU game than any of the others the Rams have played (I admit not being up on Drexel this season). #5: The game could hinge on the FT line .. and that's the worst omen I find in the statistics for the Zips. The Rams make their free throws, and don't put their opponents on the line nearly as much as the Zips do. A clear disadvantage for the Zips here.Finally, as it often happened with Linhart & Conyers last year .. and this year with Conyers .. the game might just come down to how well Jimmy can take one of the Rams' top forwards (James or Ulmer) out of the game. Prior to this season, if you go back and look at the best games Jimmy's played for the Zips, you'll find that 2 of his better games were against favored A10 opponents coming into the JAR. Against Temple 2 years ago, he and Nate held TU's top 2 scorers something like 15 points under their combined average. And against Dayton, Jimmy had a similar effect on his charge in that game. Jimmy's been rebounding like a monster this season, and scoring in bunches .. but for the Zips to win this game, we'll need a great defensive effort from him on James or Ulmer.Looking forward to this next litmus test. I think the Zips are a little ahead of where they were last season at this time. Hope I'm right.Go Zips! B) B)

Where's PG Stevie Taylor from Gahanna Lincoln on your list?

Another endzone grass gnome prediction?

Gary Waters didn't even need to pull back the curtain at the convo last week. Attendance: 5105

:thumb: B) Great work Jimmy!Go Zips!

According to Scout, his only offer is from Hawaii

I'm pretty sure we've beaten ranked opponents on a couple of occasions .. all conference foes .. but ranked none the less. Wasn't Toledo Undefeated and ranked in one of the polls back in 98 or so when they came to the JAR and lost?

I don't think you could find a quote of mine saying we need to stop improvements. We need to improve what we have and do so within our means. Let's pay for what we have before we grow ourselves into too much debt.As far as knowing our place. I know what we are. We are a MAC school and that's it. Let's be the best MAC school possible.I sort of agree with GP1 here, but don't think it means we're choosing permanent membership in the MAC. The objectives ought to be the dominant team in the MAC. You can only win championships in the conference in which you play. You can seek to improve in all sports and make your facilities the best the school can offer. That, combined with good coaching decisions and some talent, hard work and luck may lead to ascendence in the conference pecking order.If doing so causes some gentlemen from another conference office to come calling inquiring about Akron moving conferences .. then so be it. Then, and only then .. is there a decision to be made.Go Zips!!

I've attended from the early 80's to today. And while the 3 you listed are great Zips .. for some of the same reasons you mention, I made that statement with those guys in mind.IMHO, Brown was far and away the best D-1 ballplayer we've had. Wood was the best post player. Linhart the biggest winner.I know that Win! is going to come in here and crap something down his leg that says Andrick was a better player than Wood .. but he's making us all wait.

Also, I think it's important to remember that in conference, the Zips should be able to dictate play inside. They're more physical and have more bodies than most any team in the league as far as post play goes. That can help make sure our shooters are open, committing like they did last night to punching it in.

Biggest WINNER the Zips have ever had. Played in, and WON the most games in Zips history. Leader .. WINNER .. Great Zip.

Basketball centric post:Nate Linhart, Jeremiah Wood and Rashon Brown. The three best D-1 players to wear a UA uniform to date.Go Zips! B)

Yes, with a 3-7 record they would fit into the MAC West quite nicely. I know they're 3-7 .. but that team would cruise to the West title the last few years. This was a pretty good win for the Zips. The Flames would do quite well in the MAC .. They did dust NIU by 20 .. their matchups would cause a lot of problems, and their perimeter strength would win them some games. Just not at the JAR.Go Zips!

Frye to start against Anderson .. old foes in practice battle in the big time.Go Zips!

Do you have ulcers Zach?

This is foolishness. These guys played their hearts out for Zips Fans, including you. And you begrudge them the opportunity to realize a dream of being paid to play the game they love?I don't get it.Go Zips! B)

You're a Ken Dorsey fan?As I played hookey this afternoon and got some backyard football in with a 5 year old wearing a Browns #9 jersey .. I wondered the same thing.

Good posts here .. and I'm pretty much in line with CK on the schedule. I think it's close .. could be tweaked a tick upward, but it has a nice mix of schools on it.If I had a magic wand, I think the same teams in a slightly different order might have made this schedule make people more interested. Maybe open with some of the teams we've had in the last week or so, and then roll in Niagara, URI, APSU, the Daytona tourney & A&M .. then they'd have eaten up the dogs earlier on and been more prepared to face NC St & A&M. As it is, they played solidly at A&M .. but they weren't really ready for NC St. I suspect if they played them today rather than a month ago, it might be a different game.Generally, no big complaints from me. I do agree that the current conference makes it hard to schedule for an at-large .. but I also think they are going to win a ton of games this season. The Defense is looking pretty good, as are the ball rotations .. and with the good spacing and rotations, these guys are going to hit a lot of shots.SFU may not have been upper MAC level, but if the Zips play that game against anyone in the MAC at home, they win by 20 every time. B) Go Zips!