Quickzips

First game I've been to since BG at home. Awesome game tonight. Awesome atmosphere and a great way to send out the seniors. Buffalo is a tough team anywhere you get them, and I know KD just has to hate the though of Javon McCrea hanging around for 3 more years. But the Zips overcame all of it (including some of the most puzzling calls I've seen since, well...sadly since the last MAC game) and took home a nice victory. Seven in a row. Never thought I'd see that after EMU. Let's make it about 12 or 13 in a row.

There is so much parrity in the MAC (particularly in the East) it is just too hard to decide on these kinds of things right now. I will say this, I think Nikola deserves to be up there in the conversation for all-conference honors. I could see McClanahan MAYBE getting an honorable mention, Abreu getting a look on the all-freshman team and McKnight POSSIBLY getting some 6th man of the year consideration. I think the idea that Zeke has had a season worthy of all-MAC consideration is a little bit homerish. If we're being honest with ourselves, Zeke hasn't had a great year. There has been some improvement, and hopefully some glimpses of things to come, but outside of some good shot-blocking numbers, he isn't providing near what you would expect out of a 7 footer night in and night out.

In conference play, we were third in free throw % before Wednesday, we've now dropped to fifth. Overall though, we are second in the conference in free throw shooting (counting every game this season). To be honest, our free throw shooting has been pretty good this year, much better than in year's past with the likes of Joyce, Travis, and Wood who shot about the same from the field as they did from the charity stripe. I couldn't even begin to count how many games we lost because of that. A lot of the improved free throw shooting is contributed to Nik's improvment from the line. Those that remember last year he was absolutely terrible. This year he has been in the low to mid 70% range all year, which is acceptable for a PF. Considering that he shoots significantly more free throws than anyone on the team, the big improvement from Nik at the line correlates to a big improvement for the team as a whole.

I know others are going to disagree with me, but the NIT, CBI, CBA, etc., etc., etc. just don't do it for me. We've been there, we've done that. The games are kind of interesting, and it is nice to have at least some post-season action, but the final 4 of the NIT doesn't have the excitement factor of even a play-in game in the big-dance. NCAA's or bust for me. I've had enough of the consilation prizes.

Right now I'm not entirely sure it matters who the Zips play or when they play them as far as tournament time. This team is playing so well right now that opponent just doesn't seem to matter. Of course, a lot can change in the next two weeks.

Six in a row baby! Let's keep the good times rollin. As much as anything I think the big key to the Zips success has to do with our newfound ability to switch up defenses. For those who want to complain about KD's lack of adaptability he has gone outside of his comfort zone of "all man to man defense all the time" and has really mixed up his defenses with some 2-3 zone, some 1-3-1 zone and the traditional man to man. The constant switching has bewildered teams the last couple weeks and it really got the best of Miami tonight. They just could not figure out the zone looks that we kept throwing at them. Bring on the Canadians!

I love what Nik brings to our team, but the idea of him getting to the NBA one day is almost laughable. D-league? Possibly. But not the NBA. He possess some nice tools to be able to make a big impact at this level, but his game doesn't translate to the NBA at all. His lack of vertical leaping ability would make it difficult for him to finish shots and grab a lot of rebounds at that level. He doesn't have much of a mid-range game, let alone 3-point shooting ability. He is a pretty good interior passer and he has good footwork, but that won't be enough to make it at the NBA level. Even in a bench role. As much as I hate to see him go after this year, Europe probably is the best fit for him in the long run.

We're going to need somebody to step up at the 4-spot. My guess would be: PG: Abreu SG: Gilliam, Walsh, Justice, Peterson, Ibitayo SF: McClanahan, Diggs, Treadwell, Harney, Green PF: Egner, Euton, Oldham, C: Marshall I think I have everybody. But that's with all the players playing their ideal positions. Obviously one or two of the SGs will have to put in time at PG and some of the PFs will have to fill in at C. We don't really play strict roles with our positions and in the middle you could switch around the Forwards and SGs as the situation warrants. It's good to be really deep at the 2s 3s and 4s. Few small issues on my end. As Dave already mentioned, the rumor that has gone around is that Walsh will see a good deal of the backup PG minutes. I think you will see him some at SG as well, but I expect to see him manning the point at times too. Gilliam is listed on the roster as a forward and I expect to see him play a lot of minutes there. I think you will see Nitro make a move back to SG. Just a hunch of mine, but with Diggs and Gilliam in the fold, and only one returning guard for our rotation, I think Nitro would be better served playing SG. I've seen both Treadwell and Harney listed alternatively as SFs and as PFs. With Nikola and McKnight leaving the program I think you will see at least one if not both of them playing minutes at PF. Call it a hunch, but I think you will see a fair bit of minutes for both Egner and Euton backing up Zeke at C. Especially if Zeke continues to struggle to stay out of foul trouble.

I would love to see Nik back for one more season, particularly with the way he has been playing in the second half of this season. I can certainly understand the motivation for him to go back across the pond though. Particularly if he leads us to another MAC title (and hopefully even an NCAA win). The good news is that I don't think the cupboard will be quite as bare as some think. Yes, we will be losing a lot of experience, but we seem to be gaining a lot of talent. We still have Zeke, Abreu and Diggs who look like they will be significant players over the next 2-3 seasons. We bring in two talented transfers in Walsh and Gilliam. We still have Egner and Euton sitting over there on the bench. Plus you have the two non-qualifiers who, if you believe the hype, are supposed to be better than any player currently on our roster. Finally you have a couple of interesting freshman two guards coming into the fold with Ibitayo who is supposed to be an incredible athlete who can do a little bit of everything and Justice who is a flat out scorer and excellent shooter. It may take some time for the pieces to fit together, but I don't think we will see as significant a drop-off as many expect. We've been through this kind of turnover before and come out pretty well. In fact, didn't we win the conference tournament the year after losing Nick Dials, Cedrick Middleton and Jeremiah Wood?

Most impressive stat of the night for me is the fact that the Zips took only 9 shots from 3. I know many on here have questioned whether or not we can continue winning games if the 3's aren't falling they way they did against BG. Well tonight you got your answer. The Zips beat a quality opponent tonight while taking only 15% of their field goal attempts from 3 point range. I doubt we will see a lot of nights like this down the stretch. KD loves guys who can shoot from long distance, and our guys are usually happy to oblige. But this one needs to be filed in the back of the memory bank. If we get up to the Q and we get a night where the 3 ball isn't falling early, we don't have to just continue firing away. If we have the horses to put up enough points from inside the three point arch to beat a quality opponent like Creighton, we can do it against anyone in the MAC.

Five in a row and a pretty good win over a pretty solid MVC team. Dare I say that the Zips have found their mojo at just the right point in the season? Two big ones for the MAC race coming up this week with Miami and Buffalo coming into the JAR. Let's keep the momentum going.

The current rotation is working. Steve starts the game at PG, Alex comes off the bench. We went to this a few games back and the rotation is working for us. Until further notice, that is the platoon. Stop over-analyzing it and enjoy the results.

I feel all dirty and disgusting rooting for OU. I need to go take a shower.

Seemed to roll his ankle late in the second half when the game was well in hand already.

C.J. Oldham sighting with 4:30 left. I think the Falcons are ready to start their comeback.

I'm not even sure I believe what I'm listening to right now. I feel like in a couple minutes my alarm clock is going to go off and I'm going to wake up from this dream and have to go to work. The Zips are up 40? Crazy season. Crazy.

Under 10 to go and the Zips have doubled up BG at 72-36.

Nik limping off with a 33 point lead. How long until we see the bench cleared in this one?

You think Alex Abreu might jump out of an aiplane with a bunch of money and never be heard from again? That's one wild-assed prediction. Think everybody is in a good mood tonight. Could the dream of another 20 win season and five straight MACC still be alive? The way the Zips are playing tonight that should be at LEAST the goal.

Only negative, the Zips are apparently playing 8 on 5 the rest of the game as the refs are blowing everything against Akron right now. Zeke, Nikola, Bardo and McKnight all with 3 fouls right now. Only problem is that at this point it isn't going to matter because by the time our guys start fouling out it will be time for KD to clear the benchs anyways.

Anyone feel like they have slipped into an alternate universe? This doesn't even seem like the same team we were all watching a month ago.

I always hear about how big guys like Zeke are supposed to make their biggest leap between years two and three in the program. I only hope that is the case for the big guy. He's shown he can do it. We saw it against Can't, and we've seen glimpses of it elsewhere. There is a lot that needs to be corrected about his game. Some of it is on KD and the staff to teach Zeke. Most of it is on Zeke to implement it on the floor. I don't think you are going to see it this year, at least not consistently. The kind of leap Zeke needs to take is the kind of thing that happens over a lot of work during the extended down-time of an offseason. It isn't something that is usually going to come in the middle of a season. For now Zips fans are probably going to have to accept sophomore-Zeke for who sophomore-Zeke is and hope that junior-Zeke can bring the kind of game he did against Can't on a consistent basis.

For one thing I didn't see the game last night, was listening to it on the way home in the car, so I didn't catch the 3 point foul by Nitro. I'll take your word on it. It's a lot easier to catch stuff like that when you are watching the game (either live or via internet feed) than when you are listening to French on the radio and trying to drive down I-77. Second of all, my comments about McNees were by no means meant to be a cheap shot at him. I'm as happy as a pig in you know what to see him finding a way to contribute on offense. But the facts are the facts with Steve. The kind of games he has had the last two contests are virtually unprecedented for him in his time at UA. He's been a 3 point marksman (and a darn good one at that) in his time here, and has never been known for his ability to get the ball to the rim and finish the way he has the last couple of games. If you want to argue with me about that point then there is nothing I can do as you CLEARLY have not paid any attention to the last four years of Zips basketball. Now this year has been an abysml year behind the arch for McNees (again, if you want to argue that point I'm out, the numbers speak for themselves). I've been waiting, along with pretty much everyone on here, for Steve to either break out of his slump or to find another way to contribute something positive on the offensive end. Well, Steve finally seems to have done it, and I'm happy. If my sarcasm went a little over the top, I apologize, but I personally never thought (based off of three and a half years of watching McNees) I would see the day where Steve would be breaking teams down off the dribble and finishing at the rim the way he has the last couple of games. I hope he keeps it up. We are going to need it.

Very nice to see a Zips team more or less man-handle a quality (relative to the MAC at least) opponent. Just hoping that this is a sign of bigger things to come for this Zips squad. There are a lot of things to be encouraged by over the last couple games. First off, you have to love what Nikola is bringing to the table right now. We've all known that he's had this kind of game in him, but to finally see it on a little more consistent basis is a sight for sore eyes. He is bringing tons of energy, leadership and everything that goes with it, but most importantly he is under control out there (save for an embarrasing blown dunk/layup/something attempt). Things run so much smoother when the guys have a strong floor leader to fall in line behind. Let's hope Nik can keep up that role for another month or two. Second, Steve McNees, after four and two thirds years in the program, finally figures out that there is more to offensive basketball that quick-trigger threes. Dude had at least three layups last night. Layups and Steve McNees, who would have thunk it. If only it didn't take three and a half months for Steve to figure out that when the three ball isn't falling you have to find other ways to contribute. Third, Brett McKnight is heating up again. Who knows how long this can last, but I certainly have no issue with leaning on him a little more for the next few games. Fourth, as others have said, Mike Bardo is playing some of the most inspired ball of his career. He still isn't providing much on the offensive end, but the team seems to have figured out how to work around that and maintain a good offensive rythm. Fifth, Alex Abreu is starting to get over that freshman wall that he hit around the first run through the East. Coming off the bench seems to have helped him quite a bit. He was in Randy Davis' head all night last night. I'm sure Davis had nightmares on the bus-ride back to Muncie of #11 hounding him. Sixth, the Zips seem to have finally figured out how to defend the three point line. Western and Ball State combined to go 3 for 22 from beyond the arch in the last two matchups. With the way the Zips were getting lit up from downtown earlier in the season this is a welcome sight. Hopefully this is a sign of the Zips figuring things out and not just a poor set of shooting performances from our opponents. If it is, the sky is the limit for this team. Save for MAYBE Can't State there isn't a team in this league that can win consistently when the 3 ball isn't dropping. If the Zips can shut down the 3 point line, they can win a lot of games down the stretch here. Bring on the Falcons. KD lead Zips teams have NEVER lost in Anderson Arena. This week is our last game there. Let's keep that streak alive.

I expect nothing less than the MAC championship game if this team's seven footer learns how to stay out of foul trouble. Fixed that for ya. It isn't that I think KD is doing a spectacular job utilizing Zeke, but lets look at this from the coach's perspective. You've got a 7 footer inside who is a mis-match problem for every team in the league. You want to run everything through him because he opens so many things up. So you draw up your game plan around feeding him the ball in the post early and often. Oops, it's six minutes into the game, and that big guy just picked up his second foul on a silly move trying to show on a guard 35 feet from the hoop. Gotta sit him down now for significant time now and we have to scrap the gameplan and go to plan B. Until Zeke shows that he can be trusted to stay out of foul trouble and on the floor on a consistent basis KD doesn't have much of a choice. He simply cannot game plan to utilize a guys strengths when that guy isn't going to be on the floor. Some of it is going to be on KD to teach Zeke how to utilize his talents without drawing stupid fouls, but a lot of it is on Zeke to start playing smarter and not committing so many stupid fouls.