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GJGood

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Everything posted by GJGood

  1. I see BG as one of those strange teams that seems to play better on the road than at home. It may not always show up in wins and losses but I think they perform as well, or better, when the crowd is against them as they do when it is behind them. The Zips certainly cannot take this one lightly at all and coming off of three out of four losses I don't think they will.
  2. Just win tonight! .... (and root for Buffalo and BG as well)
  3. What would everybody's ideal Saturday kickoff time be? Personally I like the late afternoon and early evening games but I have to drive at least two hours each way to get there.
  4. I agree that in most cases I'd rather face a 5 seed than a 1 thru 4. The NCAA has stated that it tries to "protect" top 4 seeds in the tourney. This is why we played Gonzaga in Portland and Notre Dame in Chicago in the past. Playing a 5 seed, however, means they probably will have no geographic advantage and neutral crowds generally pull for the underdog. I don't worry too much about any differences between 13, 14, and even 15 seeds. At that point it is more about how you match up style-wise with your opponent than it is about how good each possible opponent might be. They are all going to be pretty darn good. For what its worth, I still think the best draw Akron ever got in its NCAA tournament appearances was Notre Dame and that was a 2 vs.15 matchup.
  5. I agree, and I thought last year hurt a little more than most because we then found out that we would turn down any other postseason invite that came our way. While I badly want the NCAA tourney berth and it, of course, is the primary goal if something goes wrong with that plan then I at least want to see some postseason wins somewhere. As far as I know this program has never had multiple postseason tournament wins in the same season since joining D-1. I'd love to see this team in the Big Dance more than anything and I think this team can get there and cause some people problems, but unlike some fans for me its not just NCAA or bust.
  6. The Zips will have trouble. In ANY game where two of the three 'bigs' are in foul trouble and the third is unavailable to play at all. That truly makes us not only a live or die by the three team but a live or die by the contested three team. Kwan picked up foul number 4 last night with the score tied 61-61. I don't think it is a coincidence that from that point on with our big guys having to play tentative that the opponent went on a run to finish the game. When Reggie and Antino are not hitting and Big Dog is on the bench we need a spark from somebody. I thought at one point last night that Josh Williams was starting to really heat up then he seemed to disappear. For what it's worth I thought Jake played well last night and I hope we see more of that Jake (without the fouls) the rest of the season.
  7. If anybody emerges next year as a 20ppg guy, and I don't necessarily think it will happen, I would not be surprised if it was Josh Williams. He has definitely started to adjust to the college game already and you hear all the time that the period of most improvement is between your freshman and sophomore years.
  8. I wouldn't mind them scheduling one money grab game like this per season. I'd prefer it be against somebody the Zips would match up well with in terms of style of play though. Going somewhere and getting blown out by 37 points could do more harm than good from both a national perception and team confidence perspective. I think playing Arkansas and Villanova were big this year and would be enough for us to be much more in the conversation had the home slate in the non-conference been better. To me the key is getting a couple of home-and-homes with teams in other MAC-like mid-major conferences or even more well thought of leagues like the A-10 or MVC. I've never understood why we can't get this with someone as close by as Duquesne or Indiana State. I'd love to get another shot at a school like IPFW after the postseason debacle a couple of years ago. I know Duquesne, ISU, and IPFW are not marquee names but how much better would the RPI and SOS numbers be if they replaced Lipscomb, SC State, and UAPB-like teams on the schedule? Also, if we are going to pay MEAC or Atlantic Sun schools to come in and play us, at least make it teams from those leagues that will finish near the top of those conferences and not the teams with RPIs of 300 or worse. To me it just makes sense that at minimum if we play teams that will finish in the second half of their league they should come from good leagues and if we play teams from bad leagues they should be teams that usually win in those leagues. We need to avoid the teams at the bottom of the bottom.
  9. I know the NCAA is what we all want but lets take it one step at a time. Winning the MAC regular season title guarantees us of at least an NIT berth. That is a lot better than the CBI, CiT, or sitting at home. Those options will be where we will find most of our MAC brethren in the postseason.
  10. 2007 championship game had a lot more to do with what was on the line and problems with the clock as well. This one was due directly to calls on the floor. You have to expect home teams to get some calls but this one seemed to take that a bit too far and not just at the end of the game but throughout. Time for the team, and really all of us, to put it behind us. I have seen things like this start losing streaks and start winning streaks. We, the fans, need to do all we can to make the latter a reality.
  11. DeSales would also be a good high school program to have a good recruiting relationship with. Even though he is four years removed from being a Stallion hopefully it can still foster a good recruiting relationship.
  12. Agreed. Is there any way the MAC and a couple other MAC-like conferences can form there own mini-Bracketbusters type event? I know that the Big XII and SEC had a "challenge' in the middle of their conference seasons. Why couldn't the MAC join forces with leagues like the CAA, Summit, and MAAC to create something like the old Bracketbusters? It may not get on the big ESPN networks but there are many basketball viewing outlets now.
  13. I agree with what you're saying but my comment was meant to be more about assumption and perception. My point was that a MAC school that leads the conference by 3 or 4 games is generally considered a pretty good team nationally (a solid sleeper pick at least) but if that same team had the same record with the same schedule but was only tied for the lead they wouldn't be viewed as favorably even though they did the exact same thing in both circumstances.
  14. I would like to see the MAC get two teams in again sometime in the near future. I just don't want it to be this year because that means the Zips didn't win the conference tourney. The MAC needs a year where two, or possibly three, teams clearly distinguish themselves as well above the rest of the conference. I always find it ironic that when a P5 conference has a bunch of teams close together in the standings the "experts" say its because of how strong the teams in the league are and that they are all deserving but when it happens in the MAC it is because no one was good enough to distinguish themselves. It is a double standard. As far as Akron's chances for an at-large this year, for years I heard for a MAC school to get an at-large they had to separate themselves from the rest of the league and then just miss barely miss out in the MAC tourney. Is Akron in position to separate themselves from the rest of the conference? In that respect, I think this could be the year. Still, just win the whole thing in Cleveland and it doesn't matter.
  15. Agreed. I really wish Justin March wouldn't have been injured this year. It seems like the Chiefs are pretty high on his potential. Hopefully he can make an impact this fall.
  16. Where will they be keeping the trophy when it is not being brought out for basketball games? Will it be in a display case somewhere? I had actually hoped to see the Tater Trophy when I was in town and attended the South Carolina State game.
  17. The third team was San Jose State of the Mountain West. They went too first year and yet unproven Cure Bowl in Orlando. The Mountain West ended up with many more teams than slots if you consider 5-7 SJSU getting an at-large as well as two MWC schools playing each other in a bowl. The PAC-12 also had ten teams playing in bowls which exceeds their bow tie-ins as well. The Big Ten got 10 of their 14 in bowls I believe. Again though my issue is not so much WHO got in as WHERE they went. The three 5-7 teams should have gone to the three lowest payout bowls with vacancies left open in my opinion, preferably with the one third in APR going to the least payout bowl vacancy and the best 5-7 APR going to the third lowest payout bowl vacancy. Instead they had Minnesota and Nebraska going to the same bowls they would have if they were 6-6. This left the Mountain West playing a conference game in a bowl.
  18. I agree. You can put some stock in bowl results but be wary of putting too much stock in them. Bowl games are very hard to figure. Teams have a different amount of time to prepare for one particular opponent. Some teams party more than others in bowl season. A lot of teams are in the midst of coaching changes or rumors of change are swirling around their program. Some teams are simply happy to be where they are while others are not nearly as excited. Seniors are emotional about it being their last game which can be either a positive or negative. There are just so many factors that make bowl game scenarios different than the games that take place during the rest of the season.
  19. I just realized I didn't give my own opinion on the 5-7 teams selection process for bowls. If we are going to have 40 or more bowls we are going to have to have a provision allowing for losing record teams in place as there will be many season where it is needed. I actually like what they did in going with APR as the factor determining which 5-7 teams were eligible this year. I think basing it on academic performance is a good way to do it although I do wish they could do it based on this year's team somehow instead of using the APR from a previous school year. My issue with the bowls this year was not with who was declared eligible but with how they were then selected. To me it seems that teams who are granted eligibility simply because of a vacancy of normally qualifying teams should have to go to the lowest payout bowls regardless of conference tie-ins to bowls. I have not done the research but my guess is that normally ineligible 5-7 teams Nebraska and Minnesota are receiving larger bowl payouts than many 6-6. 7-5, or even 8-4 eligibility standard reaching teams are getting. Shouldn't the teams that qualify via the established rules be granted preference over those who got lucky in the fact that there weren't enough eligible teams?
  20. This year with 80 FBS bowl teams needed to fill 40 games we saw three 'ineligible' 5-7 teams granted eligibility based on their APR. Two of the three teams (Minnesota and Nebraska) granted this special eligibility were then able to go to bowl games based on the games' conference tie-ins. Assuming that due to $$$ the number of bowl games will not decrease how would like to see the situation of not having enough eligible teams handled in the future? I think being an up and coming MAC school fanbase that Zipsnation may have some interesting opinions on how bowl teams are selected. Also with the way things shook out we have a bowl game that pits Colorado State against Nevada. Both of these teams are members of the Mountain West Conference but they did not meet in the regular season. How do you feel about this? How would you feel if Akron had a bowl game against a MAC West school that wasn't on the regular season schedule? Speaking for myself I wouldn't like a situation like this and I feel like the MWC and the bowls should have been able to negotiaite with each other to avoid this type of matchup we are seeing this year.
  21. ...and the Zips are the only MAC East team to win a bowl game.
  22. I have always felt that the MAC does not get the respect it deserves but that it also is not among the very least respected conferences either. Therefore, I don't think any MAC squad with three or four in conference losses will get at-large consideration unless they had a strong OOC with some big wins. I do think that a MAC team that goes 17-1 and then loses in Cleveland could be in the NCAA at-large mix. There really hasn't been a team in recent years that could test my theory though.
  23. I think if it is left up to him that there may be a good chance he would finish up here, although if a Power 5 came calling I think he may listen. I just don't think that many schools of their stature would be looking to hire a guy at his age unless there is some previous connection between he and the school. I really think if Florida State or especially his own alma mater of West Virginia came calling that he may not be able to pass up those opportunities.
  24. I didn't realize how emotional this day would be. Started following the Zips in 1993, the year before I enrolled, and always wanted to see this day happen. I knew it would eventually happen. I certainly didn't think it would be 23 years but seeing the teams I have seen in that time (including four separate one win teams) only makes this day more special. Now let's make this much more commonplace.
  25. it is for me. I get about 20 seconds then it freezes and I have to hit the play button again. Truly annoying.
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