Captain Kangaroo

To me, this game shows what the Zips are capable of doing when getting even mediocre PG play. Betancourt had a serviceable game, and the Zips were dominant against a solid team, on the road. Kudos to KD for riding his horses, and straying from his script. I miss Zeke whipping Riley's butt. Riley still sucks. Can't wait to see if Betancourt can back up this performance.

Like how to smoke a turkey?

Really? I would like to see him next to the orange Igloo cooler.

Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you.

The Zips have played a lot of their "worst games" in recent losses. Going back to the VCU games, our L's have been abject butt-whuppin's. We've been highly non-competitive. We will live and die by Kretzer and McAdams this season. If they can hit big shots, the middle will open up and we can make some hay. We can even overcome our PG play, which typically nets more turnovers than assists....and points...combined. I wonder how much PT Betancourt, Ibitayo and Evans would see on Toledo's team? Or any D1 team. If Kretzer and McAdams aren't hitting their shots, we're completely screwed. I hope they get hot in Cleveland.

Bill Livingston says it may happen??!! Another interesting tidbit: Didn't know that? Wonder who got that scholarship?

IMO - He wants to cover a big time conference, and he's stuck with the MAC and Horizon. So he's bitter, old and cranky. If the Zips, or any other MAC program really turned into the "Gonzaga of the East," he'd be all over it. He's also old enough to remember when Ball State, Miami, K.e.n.t. etc were legit Top 25 teams. He Thinks Bigger, and is bitter that the MAC ain't what it used to be. So my diagnosis is: "Bittercrankyelderitis." The only cure is a Zips run in the NCAA's.

The Zips' advantages: The Zips know how to win. The Zips are at home. Big crowd. Toledo's defense isn't anything special. The Zips outside shooting percentage is very high when they don't have a hand in their face. "Harney 20 Rule" is in effect. Forsythe continues to play with energy. No one at the mid-major level has been able to counteract Tree. Toledo's Advantages: They have a star that can pile up a ton of points. The Zips historically let opposing big-time scorers do what they want. Anyone's press ruins the Zips and creates buckets of turnovers. Toledo's will do the same. When Betancourt or Evans are on the court, it is 6-on-4 in Toledo's favor. The Zips will struggle in a close game due to the well-discussed FT shooting and turnovers. Winning in double OT at OU is no fluke. If Diggs can slow Pearson down, the Zips should win.

If that were true, there'd be a lot of fines handed out on St Patrick's Day.

And, Joe Dunn would have reported it by now.

Tressel to be a Lion. Proenza to be a Cryin'.

USA Today

More understandable than losing him to a bale of weed. If they lose two more PG's, I think the Zips should ask for a re-rematch.

Hey, they did whip fellow cup cake BGSU by 3 points this year.

Every school schedules cupcakes

@1981grad, some players perform better and contribute more to the team as starters and some coming off the bench. Coaches experiment with different lineups to see how each player responds under different conditions and how team performance is affected. Carmelo Betancourt has a long track record of producing his best results when starting, as demonstrated by his MAC Sixteenth Man of the Year Award. The winning formula with CB has been to sit him on the bench about 3-4 minutes into the game, after he’s made more turnovers than anyone in town except Hostess. I don't think that Coach Dambrot is going to mess with this proven formula this deep into the season, but I've been surprised by coaching decisions before.

11 am start = Pajamas

The Zips advantage in the MAC seems to be - "They know how to win, and expect to win." The other suddenly-competitive MAC programs have improved talent, but are still trying to figure out how to consistently win. I wonder which of them will mimic the Zips football team and ascend from preseason laughingstock, to contender at mid-season?

Coincidentally, since he's returned to the mainland, he's 9-11 from the free throw line? Get out the butter 'cause Pat's on a roll!

I will probably arrive 5 game-minutes late, so I'll miss our starting 5. I don't think it is a big loss. In fact, it'll probably help my blood pressure to miss it.

An epic decision. That's not a Charlie Frye "Superman T" is it?

+2

Certainly one of the best non-tourney wins of the Keith Dambrot era. The back-to-back MAC Champ Zips get everyone's best shot, so pulling off a double OT win in Athens is about as good as it gets. The win certainly reinforces what we saw in Cleveland last March - the the Zips can beat anyone in the MAC, even without Abreu. That said - For the "Think Bigger" crowd, I think our performances against upper-tier mid-majors and BCS-tier opposition since Abreu's departure shows we aren't exactly ready for an ACC invite either. "Performing Bigger" (beating noteworthy teams outside the MAC) is probably on the back-burner until Abreu is adequately replaced. Back on topic - when Tree, Harney and Q are on their game, we can overcome a lot of shortcomings against MAC competition. When Kretzer and McAdams are hot too, the Zips can be unbeatable. I like that Harney and Forsythe stepped up. I hope it is a trend. Harney has always played his best when he starts. I think Forsythe enjoyed not facing a "BCS big" like he has so many times this year. Diggs makes his share of mistakes, but continues to offset them with clutch plays and hustle. Evans (who was that guy we saw vs. Oregon State?) and Betancourt make more mistakes, and are not offsetting them with any good ones. After CB's 2nd reach in foul within about 20 seconds, Frenchie yells "YOU CAN'T KEEP DOING THAT!!" into the mike. Glad we're not the only ones getting frustrated. Again - great win by the Zips. It really showed the potential for a supremely successful MAC season. Perhaps it even showed the benefit of playing such a tough non-conference schedule...I don't know that we'd have the grit and confidence necessary to pull off such a big road win if we'd have played our traditional early OOC cup cakes. Beat Miami. And then send a message to the MAC with a throttling of Toledo on Saturday. And on a completely unrelated note - Many of us were surprised when Elton Alexander had BG in his "Top 5 in Ohio." His buddy Louis Orr hasn't won squat in his way-too-long tenure at the Stroh's Light Center. Elton also didn't have the Zips rated in his Top 10, let alone Top 5. Where's BG? Where are the Zips?

The affected parents are coaching their kid's basketball games on Saturday morning. For those without kids, I can pass along that Saturday mornings are usually full of kid's games, music/dance lessons, etc. Football and basketball games in the morning are not family-friendly. Ask me in 5 years, when my son is off to college, and I won't be grousing. But at his point in my life, missing an all-too-rare non-cupcake opponent at the JAR due to an 11am tip-off kinda sucks. You guys from the south are way too sensitive. Have some sweet tea, some pork cracklin's, scratch on a washboard and relax.

I see we've got an 11am start time so we can be on the coveted ESPNU? Sucks to be me. My basketball team takes the floor at noon. I hope there are other families out there who don't get to attend due to their kid's Saturday morning activities. It'll make me feel better.