Captain Kangaroo

I don't subscribe to that apocalyptic belief. Buffalo shook the tree, getting rid of a solid guy in Witherspoon...and it got them to the Big Dance. It now looks like they hired a solid guy to replace Hurley. Ohio has gone through several coaches in the past decade. They seem to be vying for a MAC championship on an annual basis? Kent has seen Waters...Heath...Christian...Ford...Senderoff...and they've consistently won 20 games and competed for championships. It would be asinine to hold on to an underachieving, or mediocre coach "...because the next hire might be Coleman Crawford." If that is your standard, you shouldn't be in Division 1 college basketball. If Dambrot left for Duquesne or South Florida, Larry Williams should be able to find an equivalent-or-better replacement. If he hired "the next Coleman Crawford," our problem would be that UA hired the wrong AD, not that finding a solid basketball coach is impossible. Thankfully we don't need to worry about any basketball HC in the near future. But when the inevitable happens, it doesn't scare me. Buffalo, Ohio, Kent...they all change coaches regularly, and still win 20 games...and they still beat the Zips once or twice per season...and they still compete for MAC Championships. And none of their hires remotely resembled Coleman Crawford.

School spirit.

Kwan's play is a "wild card." I don't think an injury is? I'll speculate George is just acting like he did some investigative reporting, and Dog is fine.

Not quite...he stated the teams were uninspired. And then qualified his point with an attendance number.... a qualifier that left several of us justifiably puzzled. I remember the old GP1 signature: "You want it to be one way, but it's the other." Rings true here. Go Zips! Beat Texas Arlington Road!

The last three years... He could have eighty stars...as long as he's on crutches it doesn't matter.

Zips Senior Moment, I guess....

I agree - for the normal "lunch pail" basketball fan like most of us here, the JAR isn't that bad. But if you want to get Austin Wentworth III Akron, and Buffy Akron to come to the games, and get into their, and their corporation's pockets, it really doesn't cut it. It ain't the place to take a weekend date, and the lack of any Corporate suites costs the Zips a good chunk of change that other nicer facilities rake-in. I would pay double...maybe triple what I pay for season tix now, and move down low, if I had a comfy seat and a good view of the game. The JAR sightlines down low are really bad. And the blue plastic chairs...not so nice. Should I be careful what I wish for? Maybe. But it would be nice to see Zips hoops action in the classy facility they merit for more than the three games we annually play at The Q.

The OOC is not the end-all-be-all. Once you get the OOC, and the OOC wins, then you need to win in the NCAA. THEN you have the chance to be in the mix for an at-large bid. MTSU advancing in the past 2 tourneys puts them in the mix for an at-large in the future. Much like Wichita State has earned that right. And VCU. The OVC isn't any better than the MAC. Their coach (Kermit Davis) is a lot like Dambrot. 57 years old. Loyal guy...14 years with the same team. . But somehow, late in his tenure, he's figured out how to up the level of MTSU's play to a "high mid-major" level. I wish we could do the same.

Agreed. Why haven't the Zips responded to Illinois State's request for a quality home-home opponent? We aren't P5, but we certainly are no worse a loss than Ole Miss on a resume.And a better "win" than most on their MVC schedule. We want a quality home game? Something to replace a Bracket Buster game? Here it is. And it would be some great press too. Even if the Red Birds turned us down, they'd look bad and not the Zips.

Agreed. The Houston Chronicle article describing the crying players in the Cougar locker room after the loss lends credence to your view of the game as well.

Malique is unique

I know. I already mentioned it pretty clearly. Do you recall why we declined? Because we were injured and couldn't field a competitive team. We didn't decline, as the uninformed may believe, because we didn't want to spend money. Or that we had a full complement of players and simply didn't want to compete.

Not true. Dambrot said Akron ponied-up the money host an NIT game. But we didn't get picked. In the past, we paid to host a CBI game. Yes, we've had players that mailed-it-in, and didn't care that they were in a sub-Big Dance tourney. A couple times. But the Zips still competed in the tournaments. If a MAC program only wants to participate in the NCAA or NIT tourneys, they are going to skip the post season 95% of the time.

I was low - it was 1,928 Amazing the Coogs...a team that can't beat a MAC program at home, and can't get 2k fans for an NIT game... are getting a 60 million dollar arena upgrade. Tough situation for the NIT. The "marquee" name teams won't participate unless they get a home game. But if they give the mid-majors the higher seeds and home court, they'll get more money. TV mandates they give the P5 schools the home court. There's no 30-for-30 to run for the Zips prior to our games. Too bad...I'd take the Phi Sigs Strawberry Bash* over Phi Slamma Jamma anytime. * UA old-timer reference alert

My opinion - I don't. I respect the Zips for turning one down a couple years ago when we were decimated by injuries. There was nothing left in the tank. But if you had a 20-win season, were healthy, and had the chance to win a tourney, why not play? The year we got dicked by the NIT, guys like Travis and Joyce would have killed for the opportunity to compete in any post-season tourney. I wouldn't want to be a fan of Programs whose athletic department is either too poorly funded to play in the post-season, or whose players feel they're "too good' to play in a "lesser" tourney,

If Illinois State couldn't get an at-large bid this year, the MAC will never again get one.

AWESOME job Zips! Big time performances from Dog, Noah and Josh!!! BYU on deck?

Never seen clock issues like tonight...

Whoops.

Foul someone Big Dog!!! Make them think before they drive the paint!

Is this team tough, like the Dials-era Zips, or not. Please let me be reading positive, impressed posts in 90 minutes, and not "...cramped down our leg again" posts. Dog playing D like he has 4 fouls.

I'll estimate the "crowd" at 1,531.

If we're going to keep missing shots from 2.6 feet, we might as well shoot from 26 feet.

I think Big Dog's chances of a turnover increase by 10% each second he dribbles.

Reid Gettys dwarfs the other announcer.