Quickzips

Just reported during Mich/SD State that 3 Zips were at the hospital until 7 am. One is Deji with back problems. Other two are unknown, but battling flu like symptoms. Just what we needed.

Buffalo has the likely preseason player of the year and a roster of young talent. If they put a good coach in place they will be a threat. Toledo has to start to be in the conversation in the next couple of years. Can't and Ohio will have to replace some key pieces, but so will we (Zeke being the biggest).

I think we have to be considered one of, if not the favorite to repeat in the MAC next year even without Q. With Q I think we are definitely the favorite. With Q and Alex I'm not sure who else would even be in the conversation. Of course that last scenario seems pretty improbable at this point. Great to hear that Q wants to return and is working towards it. Let's hope he's learned something from his domestic incident and that the University gestapo, student board see's the error in their ways.

After thinking about it for a day or so here, I think these are some of the things we need to do to beat VCU. Advance the ball with the pass, not the dribble. I would set up Zeke in the center of the court on every inbounds as a safety valve for getting the ball across mid-court. I don't want Harney having to dribble 70 or 80 feet on his own. If we can get 4-5+ long-bombs over the top for easy buckets it will go a long way to a Zips win. VCU fast break points vs. Akron second chance points will be the key stat. If Akron can equal or exceed the Rams fast-break points with their own second chance points this game becomes a whole lot more winnable. Second chance points means you are getting offensive rebounds which keeps VCU from getting out on the break. Tree and Zeke are two of the better offensive rebounders around. They should be able to exploit their size advantage and get quite a few easy buckets off of rebounds. Limit VCU to one shot. We have a size advantage on these guys. They shouldn't get a second chance at the rim. A second chance for them means another opportunity to score, which means another opportunity to set up havoc. Grab the board, make the outlet pass and lets get into the half-court. Protect Zeke and Tree early. Any type of foul trouble for those two is going to spell disaster for the Zips. If we can get both of them to the half with less than 2 fouls and the game is still within reach (or we are ahead) I like our chances. Hit your free throws. Probably the toughest task for this particular group. VCU isn't going to worry too much about fouling Harney, Tree, Melo or even Zeke and putting them at the charity stripe. The numbers say it is a good strategy. This will just make them even more intense with the havoc D, particularly late in the game. Have to make them pay any time they send us to the stripe.

They don't really go by positions for all tournament team. The rest of the team was Chris Evans, Reggie Kelley, Tree and Zeke. That is a SF, two PFs and a C. They could have easily made a case for Harney. Maybe Walt Offutt. Randall Holt had two pretty good games.

I don't think I ever saw him compared unfavorably to Ivo Baltic. That is hilarious if they really did that. Baltic is absolutely horrible. Possibly the worst big man in the conference. He had ZERO points in three games against us this year. For the entire season, he only took a GRAND TOTAL of 13 free throws. How pathetic is that for a big guy? There is a reason I call him marshmallow fluff. He's quite possibly the softest big man the NCAA has seen in 20 years. As much as OU will miss Cooper, they won't miss Baltic at all. Addition by subtraction.

The height of their starting 5 isn't the story. Their pressure defense is the story, and it isn't a good one for Akron. It is tough to take advantage of your size when you are struggling to get the ball up the court. VCU is going to make life miserable Melo and Harney all game. Our best chance is to throw it deep in to our bigs and try to go over the top on them. We're also going to need to crash the boards hard at every opportunity if we want to score against these guys.

Couldn't have been a worse draw for the Zips. No Abreu and we have to go up against a long athletic team that is going to pressure 94 feet all game. Melo and Harney better be on their A++ games Thursday. Happy to get a 12 seed, but against VCU.....

If Q or Abreu comes back we need one of our current scholarship players to transfer out. Most likely candidate is Blake Justice who saw no playing time this year (if you watched him walk up to the table to receive his trophy last night you saw a player who looked like he was on his way out). If by some extreme stroke of luck BOTH Q and Abreu make it back we need two to transfer out. I'm not sure who would leave in that scenario. Maybe Deji? I suppose it is also possible that one or both of those two guys pays their own way to try to make up for their past transgressions? My best guess on next years roster (complete shot in the dark, no inside information here): Seniors: SG - Quincy Diggs Juniors: PG - Nyles Evans SG - Deji Ibitayo SF/PF - Nick Harney PF - Demetrius Treadwell Sophomores: PG - Carmelo Betancourt SG - Reggie McAdams SF - Jake Kretzer C - Pat Forsythe Freshmen: SG - Aaron Jackson SF - B.J. Gladden PF - Kwan Cheatham C - Isaiah Johnson

Both fan bases showed up pretty well. I would have liked to have seen 2-3K more to force the Q to open up more of the upper deck, but can't complain too much. It was pretty close to 50/50 Akron/OU fans. Probably a little advantage for the Akron fans, but it's difficult to tell unless EVERYONE in both sections wears the exact same color (which I admit OU does a better job of sticking together on their choice of attire).

I've got no sympathy for Cooper, Offutt, Keely, Marshmallow Fluff or the Chin. Their guys had no sympathy for us a year ago, and they wouldn't have had any sympathy for us last night if we had lost. I doubt you would hear very many Ohio fans talking about how bad they felt for us. I'm sure you would have heard plenty about how Akron was over-rated, they were never going to beat OU three times in a season, Abreu was our entire team, Zeke is terrible and our University sucks. Come to think of it, you are already hearing some of those things from the Bobcat fans. This is sports in the 21st century. Like it or hate it, this is the way it is going to be. If you don't like it stay off of the internet message boards.

I actually kind of like Lunardi's current bracket. He has us as a 13 in Salt Lake City against Michigan. Michigan is a team a lot like OU in that they rely heavily on their guards and their 3 point shooting. Plus they have been on a bit of a down swing down the stretch. Get through Michigan and we would have Arizona, LaSalle or Middle Tennessee. We've already beaten MTSU. LaSalle would certainly be a winnable matchup and the little I've seen of Arizona hasn't impressed me. Could give us a chance to make a run.

All valid points, but we really don't have a better option as the backup PG right now. Melo can't play 40 minutes without cramping, so we need someone coming off the bench to spell him. We tried a week ago with Deji and it was a huge disaster. We tried this weekend with Harney and won two games against arguably the two hottest teams in the conference going into the weekend. I suspect KD will run with a similar lineup in the big-dance.

Without Abreu, KD really only has five "veterans" in Walsh, Gilliam, Harney, Tree and Zeke. Maybe he could have played them all 20 minutes in the second half, but that is asking a lot. KD had to go with at least one or two of the younger guys, and I think he picked right. You had to go with 'Melo for ball-handling purposes, and he played well enough in the first half that I'm sure KD trusted him running out in the second. Kretzer vs. McAdams was a tough call, but you could tell all year that, even though KD likes them both, he prefers/trusts Jake a little bit more. Jake is a little tougher physically and plays a little better defense at this point, which was what the second half was all about for us. Either way, last night wasn't really about Jake, 'Melo, Reggie or Pat. It was all about Zeke, Tree, Chauncey, Nick and Walsh. You look back at all the big moments last night it was pretty much those five guys who were getting it done. Like I said, the youngsters will get their opportunities in the coming years. Last night was all about the veterans.

Don't want to see: Syracuse (zones have given us fits at times this year) UNLV (don't want to face anything resembling a pressure defense without Abreu) Wouldn't mind seeing: Wisconsin (I think we can beat them at their slow-down grind it out game) Notre Dame (revenge game for two years ago) Butler (chance to take on one of the goliaths of the mid-majors) Would love to see: Arizona or UCLA (the PAC12 isn't a very good conference, both teams have looked over-rated to me) Pitt (history of choke jobs in the big dance, Big East isn't as good this year as in past years) Marquette (another Big East team that is going to get a higher seed than they really deserve) Everyone else I'm luke warm about

You know that is just a prediction right?

I was waiting for Cooper to go into hero-ball mode all second half and it just never really happened. Like you said, he couldn't even get a clean look from 30 feet like he sometimes likes to do. It was a great defensive performance all around by the Zips in that second half. The idea that Cooper was an NBA prospect was always a little far-fetched, but the coffin is clearly shut on that now. He may get an invite to summer league, but most likely he'll have to go to Europe to get a pay-check as a professional basketball player.

It was pretty obvious early in the second that Forsythe wasn't going to see the court (unless Zeke got into foul trouble) and Reggie probably wasn't either. 7 man rotation down the stretch with Melo, Walsh, Gilliam, Harney, Tree, Kretzer and Zeke and those guys had enough gas in the tank to get it done. Those other guys will have their chances in the coming years, but when this game was on the line we needed our veterans in there and KD knew it.

Way too early to start speculating about next year. I have my thoughts on next years MAC, but we have bigger fish to fry right now.

The one thing I don't want to see Tree do is fall into the trap that so many Akron bigs before have fallen into and try to develop himself into a 3 point shooter late in his career. He can be an absolutely dominant player from 15 feet in the next two years if he just focuses on continuing to improve. We don't need him floating around the 3 point line trying to be a stretch 4. Beyond that, he has to work on his free throw shooting obviously, and his 12-15 foot jumper still needs a little bit of work. Ceiling? I would say that he could get a shot at the next level if he continues to work on his game and play with the energy that he has displayed his first two years. I don't think you will ever see a 20+ point per game guy out of a Dambrot coached team, but he could be a 15-18 point per night guy with 10+ rebounds if he continues on the current trajectory.

The key to defeating Cooper isn't doubling him out front. It is throwing a wave of long, athletic defenders at him throughout the game. Cooper was completely stagnant all night. He just couldn't get any space to operate with Harney, Tree, Kretzer and Zeke defending him most of the game. Too bad it took the Zips until this year to figure it out. Could have maybe had another title last year. Not that I'm complaining too much after the amazing night we had tonight.

Never been happier for a coach, a team or a program. To go through what these guys have been through the last 2-3 weeks, and to come out the other side like this is truly something special. I'm so happy for our seniors. Zeke showed a lot of mental toughness the last two nights that, quite frankly, he didn't have a year or two ago. Walsh came back from a couple of sub-par performances and had a nice night. Most of all, Chauncey who has had such a tough season came out tonight and put up quite possibly his best overall game as a Zip. Let's not stop here. Let's see how far this team really can go. It's time to make a big run in the real dance. What a Cinderella story it would be.

Zips won't double Cooper. They haven't doubled much of anyone all year. The big differences between Akron and Western are length and athleticism. Western has to double to make up for the fact that they are smaller and less athletic. Akron will throw out a bunch of big, long, athletic defenders and try to play Cooper straight up. As in every other OU/Akron matchup this year it really is as simple as OU's perimeter game against Akron's bigs. If OU gets rolling from beyond the arch they will likely win. If Akron can feed the post and get Zeke, Tree and possibly Harney into 12-15+ points they will likely win.

Average regular season coach. Poor tournament record. He's had some good teams over the last 5 or 6 years but has never been able to get it done. I don't think he is as bad a recruiter as he gets a rep for. It isn't easy to get talented 17 and 18 year olds to agree to go spend four years in Buffalo. He's managed to get some pretty good kids to go play there, and they almost always get better from season to season. This reminds me a bit of when Toledo fired Stan Jopling who also couldn't seem to get over the hump. You wonder if you made the right decision by parting ways and looking for that coach that can get you to the next level. Turned into a disaster for Toledo that they are still trying to recover from. We'll see how it works out for the Bulls.

Only comment on the game. Have to improve the free throw shooting. We're a bad FT shooting team. I get it. But you can't shoot sub-40% from the line and expect to beat OU tomorrow night. Not happening. If the Zips shoot even a reasonable percent from the line tonight they win by double digits. Wouldn't be March without Dambrot patrolling the sidelines of the Q on a Saturday night with an NCAA tourney bid on the line. Go Zips!