Captain Kangaroo

Potato...poe-tah-toe...

ECU gives UCF the game. If you didn't see the final 2 minutes, you should. Wow...

Sticking with outdated uniforms for the sake of matching historical Pantone numbers is lame. I thought the 2014 uni's were really nice. The players did too. That's enough for me.

Who's in CUSA? Conference USA enjoys a far-reaching fan base with its 14 members: Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, UTEP, UTSA and WKU. Looks like an awesome basketball conference. And a step up in football too. Can Wistercill mastermind the deal to get us in?

Not much of a non-conference schedule... William & Mary waxed 'em pretty good.

You are off by a massive factor. Whomever told you it is 5k, or 2.5k, or whatever "k" is completely clueless.

And Betancourt too.

I'm just glad the speculation regarding our chances at an at-large bid lasted 2 games longer than usual.

It would be if you lost. But if you won and beat a Top 5 conference team, it is not alarming whatsoever. I'm glad someone has uncovered something to be negatively alarmed about after beating South Carolina. Personally, I couldn't do it.

You're like a really pessimistic version of Dave in Green.

After all the years of getting overly excited about Zips hoops, this was one preseason where I tempered my enthusiasm. Now, after 4 games, the Zips have suckered me in again. Bastards. USC proved the don't completely suck, as they finished the tournament respectably. And we absolutely whupped 'em. Going into the state of South Carolina and beating the Gamecocks? Beating them essentially wire-to-wire? Watching them choke-away free throws and be forced into late-game turnovers? Awesome. Dr. Z is correct. Best ball movement I've ever seen from a Zips team. Robotham is a legit threat the drain a 3, or dribble-penetrate. So was Abreu, but his paella-addled belly prevented in from playing any defense. Noah plays great D too...I've wondered for years who'd be The Next Eric McLaughlin?" and I think he's finally arrived. Forscythe was an absolute force. And that's without any Tree to share the load. I never saw that coming. I never saw Cheatham's contributions coming so soon either. Every game he seems to be taking big strides forward. Especially in the post. Deji seems to have grown from liability (year #1 and #2) to a high-percentage 3-point shooting guard and defensive specialist (year #3) to a confident kid who, on top of everything else, is now finishing at the rim, hitting his FT's. I can't get too down on Gladden. He looked like a manic trainwreck for most of his game minutes. But he has the game and athleticism to contribute good Freshman minutes once his pulse slows down a bit. Antino had some good learning moments this past weekend. He's a baller. He just needs minutes under his belt to improve his game. Big Dog? He's gotta give Forscythe a breather. I know his hand was injured, but OMG was his "plus/minus" scary. And man was he slow to get up-and-down. There should be a great deal of confidence and swagger on display as the Zips take the floor against Penn State. They're on a roll. Win this one, and people will start talkin'! And as a final note - I hope this Tree situation comes to a quick conclusion. I'm already tired of seeing his face on the TV screen and hearing the story. He has his right to a fair and speedy resolution. It isn't fair to anyone that he twists in the wind for weeks-on-end.

Some bombastic a-holes cross the line regularly, and embarrassingly. There's is nothing worse than seeing some one in Akron gear become a complete embarrassment in the stands. To the point where a referee needs to address it. It's embarrassing to players, parents, fans...basically anyone who's not said a-holes buddy.

Congrats to the Zips on a dominating win over a marquee-name opponent. Keep it rolling.

I have a great guess who it was.

Yeah...the MAC is soooooo very fan-conscious. They would NEVER play a game on a day where they might only get a few hundred fans in attendance. Fan attendance is the driving force behind all the MAC front-office game day decisions.

The Zips "best ball" with Tree would be much better than its best ball without Tree. We don't have anyone to replace his projected 17ppg / 8 rpg. And his physical presence in the post. I'll support this Zips team as much as I ever have, but there's no sugar-coating what Tree's loss would me to our chances of winning the MAC.

Three key 2015 recruits who had their official visit on a frigid Tuesday night included: Chris Bivins Link 1 Link 2 Link 3 Rodrick Archer Link 1 Link 2 Jaquavis Dixon - already committed Hope the effect of a Zips win offset the non-Floridian weather?

One thing I've leaned from observing college football in 2015 - It is no longer about filling a stadium. It is about getting on Television. Most of the non-major bowls will be played in front of minimal crowds. But the sponsors will get their 3.5 hour commercial. And their numerous mentions on ESPN prior to the game. And everyone's bowl office pool will give the casual fan a reason to watch Akron play Troy on a Wednesday night, and the people in Vegas will have some football to bet on. Hey...if the Zips basketball team can put up a banner for a CIT loss, then what can't the football team get excited for a berth in the "Mexico Organ Harvester Bowl™"?

The best baseball players only hit .300, so I have to be content with .500. Happy for the Zips' seniors. Those inglorious bastards deserved to win on Senior Day. If they can close the deal @ K.e.n.t., they can look back at their careers and be pretty satisfied with 'em. Booker T Washington once said..."Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached, as by the obstacles which he has overcome." By that definition, these Zips seniors have been highly successful. Hope to see you all in Lot 9 next year.

Tree's susepension blows. He is the one Big we have that's been through the wars. He's played in the Big Dance. He matches up physically with high-major centers and power forwards. He will be sorely missed in Charleston. There is absolutely no way to sugar-coat the loss of a Senior who was the odds-on favorite to win the MAC POTY. It b-l-o-w-s. Maybe it's only for a week or two..but it sounds bad right now...like it could be longer... Somehow, between Forsythe, Cheatum and Johnson, we're going to need to use our 15 available fouls per game next week. Are there some positives to come from the loss? Not really. If Cheatum can hit for a decent percentage from 3 (35+%), then maybe he can draw the opposing center out to the perimeter. MAYBE that opens things up for our guards and wings. We finally seem to have a few slashers who can finish. Johnson is a serviceable big. But if he gets 6.9ppg & 5 rpg in '14 - '15, I'll be ecstatic. Pat is pat. The early Dambrot years saw a heavy dose of local talent. Four-year kids who were often small, but scrappy and talented. I don't mind the attempt to take the program to "the next step" and bring in some high-risk/high reward kids. But it didn't pan-out. Now we'll see how "Dials/Roberts/Joyce - Part 2" grows. Missing your center in the MAC is slightly better than missing your point guard, so there's some hope.

I defy the apologists to top this one.

Then you need to agree wholeheartedly! Just frustrating to see this team take such a nosedive into the crapper. Hope somehow they perform some corrective action for these final two games. 50 soft floaters per game has proven to get us nowhere fast.

Those teams DO suck. Who else in NCAA D1 could these teams have beaten besides themselves or Akron? Our Tuesday game just got pulled from ESPNU? How tragic a commentary is that?

Capi was CSU, but Brown is a 100% Freshman Zips recruit. To your OSU point, Pittman was the OSU transfer, and he has had too many moments where he's lost his cool. I know Bowden sifts through transfers as well as he can. There was a transfer kid from Penn State that was penciled-in to start for the Zips as of mid-summer, then UA backed away from offering after a more-detailed background investigation. Thanks to Brookhart (off the books after this season) and Ianello, we need transfers. There's no other way to get back the "lost" Junior and Senior classes. I get that it's frustrating to watch your offense go 3-and-out all day long. But these guys can't freaking quit. They are playing the bottom-rung of the MAC programs. If you keep fighting, you'll have a chance at game's end. The only way you lose to these dregs is if you quit, or lose your attention to detail. The Zips of the past few weeks are simply going-through-the-motions. Chisholm's and William's energy we saw at Buffalo shouldn't have stood-out so much. You should see that kind of effort as commonplace. But it stood out because, inexplicably, during a bowl run, we lost our heart. This team needs to regain its early-season swagger. Ending on a 2-game win streak would be huge. And UMass and Can't suck. But at this time I really question if we could beat Howard again, let alone sucky MAC teams.

He was the one guy that looked like he wanted to win the game. I wish Capi or Brown had his heart, instead of quitting in the second half (when the game was still well in reach). It reminded me of a quote from Lee Owens years ago regarding his lethargic defense - "I might put Charlie Frye out there (on D)...at least he'd try to make a play!" I am tired of Pohl's touch-passes too. Everything out of his hand is a floater. Even his short passes look like someone trying to throw a dart at a dart board rocking back and forth trying to float one into the bulls-eye. The only decent half of offensive football I've seen in a month was from Woodson at Ball State. When he came in at game's end @ Buffalo, he played with a purpose and a tempo that at least made the Buffalo defense think (instead of easily reading everything and teeing-off). Play Woodson against UMass. Post-concussion Pohl is like the old gray mare...he ain't what he yousta' be.