Let'sGoZips94

Left halfway through halftime. Had to stay and pay my respects to the military tribute. A few thoughts... - Whatever Woodson's problem is, we need to figure it out, and fix it. I highly doubt it's his shoulder. - Injuries are killing my football teams (Browns and Zips). - There's a reason we beat NC State. The Chest is having a brutal defensive season. Now I understand he's dealing with injuries, and a relatively young crop of players, but there are still the fundamentals that we lack. - Milwee has to go. There is no creativity on offense, especially with Chapman in there. Everything is so predictable. - Chapman blows. Put Hoyer in. Or just run the wildcat all game and never let Chapman throw. Pick ourselves up, dust off, and go get 'em next week. Thank goodness O-Who laid an egg today, too. P.S. Thank you to the University of Akron for showing the Indians game on some of the TVs on the concourse, and for giving updates throughout the game. By the crowd's reaction, I think that was much appreciated. Roll Tribe! Beat Canada!

Yes, to me it would be SMART, because it's another way to engage with the fans/NEO. During the Cavaliers' playoff run, the Indians showed the Cavs games on their bar TVs in the RF district and behind home plate. Now, to your point, lots of fans were watching the Cavs game, but at least they were at the game. And I'm not saying show the game on the big screen. Just on some of the TVs in the concourse by the concession stands. Part of the draw to the Suckeyes for fans, is the unity, the "All In" feeling between the Suckeyes/Cavs/Browns/Indians. Akron is WAY closer to Cleveland than Ohio State, and has more of a connection with the Rubberducks/LeBron. They need to try and jump on "All In" bandwagon to help grab support for the University.

2 things about this... 1) We play OSUcks tough, relatively speaking. 2) That Michigan game in 2013 should have been a win. On another note, the Indians game is most definitely going to affect attendance, but I don't blame people for wanting to watch the Indians. I'm not sure what restrictions the University has when it comes to viewing rights, but if they are smart, they're going to be giving Indians updates throughout the game, and even show the game on some of their smaller TVs around the concourses. Again, not sure what restrictions they have, but that would be very wise. The Most Overrated Band In The Land gave the Tribe a tribute at halftime last week. The least we can do is show the game at the stadium, if possible.

2 words. Andre Jones Let's whoop some Bronco butt! I don't care who is hurt, who is playing, or who isn't. Excuses are for Can't State and OU. Let's take care of business and show the MAC and the nation that Dadgum Zips Football is BACK!

This win is up there with the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl win as most important for Bowden Ball. Keeping the momentum next week is going to be key. As stated, App St. will come to win (as they did, what, 9 or so years ago against Michigan?). Win, then bring on Can't State and their AU (symbol for "gold", the color they claim to have, or in this case Awful Uniforms).

All 4 make sense. Depending on how many teams they want to add, I could see all 4 being added. Also, I wonder if any Big 12 teams will opt to leave (may an SEC or Big Ten poach job), creating even more movement.

The Big 12 will be seeking expansion. Some of the teams mentioned would open up some desirable spots for the Zips. And no, I'm not saying the Zips should be in the Big 12. Just saying that more movement means conferences like AAC, CUSA, etc. will have some spots open up.

I attended these camps for several consecutive years in my middle school days. Always had fun developing friendships with the players/coaches, especially Dru Joyce and guys like that. The highlight of all of the camps for me: Winning the 3-on-3 tournament with Larry Nance Jr. and some other kid. Speaking of Larry Nance Jr. and these camps... I'll never forget watching Larry go on a fastbreak, dribble towards half court where two defenders awaited him, half-jump while bringing the ball between his legs from behind, splitting the defenders, and scoring easily with a layup.

Now THIS is what I'm talking about. Well done Dambrot and staff for being persistent and getting The Ville on the schedule! With UTEP/Creighton/Louisville on the schedule, you have to beat one or two of them to make it truly count, but getting them on the schedule is a start! Go Zips! Z.I... P.S. GoZips is exactly right that Louisville has some issues that might have factored into accepting us onto their "prestigious" schedule. Nothing should be held against him for his earlier post. I believe it was an accurate one at the time.

Very nice get. As the article mentions, it's a shame he won't be able to play this year with Big Dog and Kwan. However, beggers can't be choosers. Welcome aboard, JB! Z.I... P.S. Even though Bess hasn't stepped foot on the court as a Zip yet, give me him over OU's MSU transfer in Kaminsky.

I'd take him in a heartbeat (if he's good enough for Izzo, he's good enough for me, unless you have character problems like Kaminsky), but where is there scholarship room on this team? His sister plays for Can't State, and with Aaron Jackson being a high school teammate, I wonder if Akron has a leg up on the Billikens?

And unfortunately, I think they missed one of their biggest chances when they chose Scarborough over Tressel. If they would have made Tressel the president, I think our athletics would instantly become more attractive because of the media buzz. That being said, I completely agree with GoZips that we need to get out of the MAC. That has been an obvious MUST for several years. The two biggest things that have held us back: our football program and our basketball arena. Football is now on the definite up-and-up with a Bowl win last year and a win over Pitt a couple years back. The last missing piece of the puzzle is the stupid basketball arena. LeBron... And that's all I'm going to say about that. Otherwise, I would say we are just as attractive, if not more so than an ECU/USF. ECU is the "Giant Killer" in football, which is what garners them so much respect. Their basketball program is average at best, and I don't know much about their soccer program, which means it probably isn't much better than average. USF has pretty decent soccer (Diego Rastrepo still haunts us), but average at best basketball and decent football (sometimes as putrid as Akron's has been). Akron has an up-and-coming football program, an above-average basketball program, and an All-American soccer program. NEO is a great sports market, and we have several very nice facilities (indoor practice field/rec center, InfoCision Stadium, Student Union, First-Energy Stadium, etc.). The AAC is what I want to get into. The teams are intriguing and I believe it is the next stepping stone to get to a P5 conference. One question I have: Would the CUSA be a lateral move, or would that be viewed as an in-between stepping stone from the MAC to the AAC? They have some solid basketball programs, some pretty good football programs, and their soccer can't be worse than the MAC.

Misunderstood that. Sorry for that. I completely agree that you can't win them if you don't play them. But I guess my biggest gripe is even when we do play them, we don't win them. Our postseason success, or lack thereof, proves just that. And postseason success is a better indicator of where a program is rather than early-season OOC marquee wins.

There's a difference between having an OOC schedule like Monmouth's, and ACCOMPLISHING what Monmouth did in their OOC schedule. The Miami (OH) schedules under the late and great Charlie Coles were just as good, if not better than Monmouth's OOC schedule this past season. However, Miami (OH) usually lost those tough OOC games. Did it prepare the Redhawks for the MAC/NCAA Tourney? Yes (Coles' Redhawks were always scrappy and fun to watch, yet a pain to play against). But did losing those games help their "At-Large" resume? No. Win those games, and we'll be in business.

Yeah, and DeAngelo Williams graduated from Akron.

Put me down as someone who thinks the scheduling problem might start with KD, and potential lack of respect for him from other teams. Shame on these "big" schools for turning us down. BUT, there are 351 DI teams in Men's College Basketball. Akron consistently finishes in the Top 100, yet some of these "big" schools won't even return our calls in a timely matter, if at all? Something doesn't add up, and I think it goes beyond "we're poisonous." $60,000 SHOULD cover the expenses of ONE trip. I'd be interested in knowing the projected expense totals for such road trip. Besides, and I've said it before, the Pay Day is gaining exposure by BEATING some of these teams. After all, isn't the school somewhat hurting for money? I'd be SHOCKED if hosting Lipscomb or Bethune-Cookman reaps that much more of an income for the program/University than a $60,000 Pay Game. I am sick and tired of hanging our hats on this 21-win streak we have going on. How much does it matter? You had a chance to shrink the group by 1. All you had to do was make a few FTs or one more shot in regulation, and you didn't. You lost to an OSU team that had no business winning 21 games this season. End of discussion.

What is the University/Athletic Department doing to differentiate themselves from every other Mid-Major that's looking to get to the next level? Why aren't we at the forefront of an All-Ohio tournament? Better yet, why don't we start some sort of MAC vs. A10, Big East, CUSA, or AAC tournament? Using the regular season results, take the top 4 MAC teams from the year before, take take the top 4 teams from an aforementioned conference, create a bracket style tournament with the Championship game being played at the Q or another rotating neutral site (i.e. FedEx Forum if playing against the AAC or CUSA) while every other game is played at the higher seeds' arena. The regular season conference champions would be the #1 seeds on each side of the bracket, guaranteeing at least one home game for each. You could even shrink the "tournament" to feature just 2 teams from each conference (the Conference Tournament Champion and the Regular Season Champion; in event of each champion being the same team, go to the second place finishing team from the regular season). I am sick and tired of hearing about our scheduling revolving around "money" games. 10 straight 21+ win seasons, 3 NCAA Tournament appearances in that stretch, a national ranking at one point, and we act like we are still a small mid-major. If you want to hang your hat on your mediocre (by national standards), quit hiding behind excuses. Stick your neck out there, take the bull by the horns, and control your own destiny. Edit: I want to add that I completely understand the difficulties of scheduling. So many schools nowadays are looking for the easy win instead of earning everything. It's sad and pathetic that nobody wants to play Akron. The point of my post was to merely express some frustration with what appears to be a misdirected scheduling search in my opinion. Just seems like we are dropping the ball when it comes to which teams to target. (Edit cont.) I like the idea of playing at Creighton. That is a solid name and a winnable game. Ty Dalton as a walk-on is an interesting development. I wonder what made him decide to come here to walk-on instead of staying closer to home? I'm excited for next year! Go Zips!

Any chance we can play in the women's bracket and at least play the Auburn/WVU names? The really sad part is the only team in the field that has an NCAA tournament win is Mercer (2014 against Duke). Win the stupid thing, bring home the trophy, and let it collect dust in the trophy case. This UTEP tournament field better be incredible, along with the rest of our OOC schedule.

The NCAA realizes this. An interesting statistic/comparison to look into would be the TV ratings after mid-majors (Cinderellas) are knocked out vs. ticket sales/attendance at games featuring two P5 teams. I would think the drop in interest is not nearly as great as the increase in attendance, hence the way the NCAA shapes the bracket each year. March Madness has the same effect on college basketball as Fantasy Football does on the NFL. The bracket is the moneymaker; it drives the interest for the average college basketball fan. I think the story each year is someone's bracket being busted because of the mid-major, not that the mid-major won. The NFL and NCAA (basketball wise) have a very similar problem. The common fan's interest isn't necessarily in their product, but in their side product. Focusing on the NCAA, they have an identity crisis. Why? Too many one-and-done's, not enough continuity for people to familiarize themselves with. It's ironic because Kentucky is essentially the NCAA's Golden Child, whilst also being the main source of their identity problem. Outside of Ulis, I can't name another Wildcat. Duke? I know Grayson Allen because he's a punk, and Marshall Plumlee because his mom belongs in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Now let's look at the opposite end of the spectrum. Wichita State has been one of the nation's most beloved schools over the past 4 years because of continuity. Van Fleet and Baker are their stars, and they stayed all 4 years. Not only did they make noise on the national stage with big win after big win, but by staying for 4 years, they gave people the chance to follow them/grow with them. Despite all of the fantastic games, I've lost more and more interest in the tournament this year. Partly because of the Zips disappointing season, but mostly because it seems more obvious than ever that the tournament is about making the NCAA money instead of honoring the great student-athletes across the nation. The snubs, seeding, and officiating have each been nothing less than nauseating. While listening to ESPN Cleveland 850 WKNR a week or so ago, I heard a caller propose an interesting solution. Re-allow high schoolers to make the jump to the NBA. I think the gap between high school and the NBA has grown since Kobe and LeBron did it; more and more players will realize they are going to need the college level to bridge the gap. The NCAA should then adopt something similar to their football rule, where once you choose to go to college, you must stay for a minimum of 3 years. This will not only create roster continuity, but it will also spread the recruits out. Instead of schools like Kansas/Duke/Kentucky getting the 5 best players in the country year in and year out, those players might choose other schools because they won't want to sit behind players for 2-3 years; they'll want to make a name for themselves now. Overtime, the P5 landscape becomes pretty full, and some of these higher caliber players will start to consider more mid-major schools as an opportunity to make a name for themselves quickly. I think possibilites of the idea are very interesting, and I would be a big supporter of it.

Could've played OSU and UF in back-to-back games at the JAR. Even with the seeding screw job, we still had the opportunity to guarantee Florida coming to the JAR. This is all salt on the wound in my opinion.

Not sure if this is in reference to the team thinking that or us as fans, but I want to add I wonder if Dambrot isn't as good as he thinks he is, at least not yet. And that's not a slam on Dambrot, as I completely respect his loyalty to the program and what he has accomplished. But I do think he has a lot of areas where even he can still improve. His offense showed flashes of improvement this year with movement on and off the ball. But as we talk about the team needing to play tougher opponents OOC to toughen the players up, I think the same applies to Dambrot. The difference is instead of toughening up, Dambrot would have his eyes opened to new strategies, styles of play, players, etc. I think he takes bits and pieces here and there from other teams already, but he lacks the experience against them. When Shaka Smart had VCU on top, it was because of their guard play/HAVOC. Dambrot tried to adopt a bit of HAVOC, but it largely failed because of our lack of guard play/guards in general. I think that's why we now have 3 great, young guards and I'm sure more are on the way. But I don't know if he realized how far away he was from the real HAVOC until we got our butts handed to us in Auburn Hills by VCU. Just some food for thought as we discuss playing tougher, different competition.

This was the worst game I've ever experienced in my 21 years of Zips fandom. Unbelievable how bad we were. Yeah we shot poorly, but I'm talking about coaching. This was the worst game Dambrot has ever coached. You had the ball with 30 seconds left in regulation and a tie game with 2 timeouts, and you don't use one. Instead, you let a sophomore PG try to make things happen in a stagnant offense. Awful. Just awful. Our coaching staff needs to shake things up. What the Hell happened to this great ball movement "ZGen" offense? This past week, our offense looked like crap. Stagnant and slow. OSU looked a step ahead of us the entire night, and that's saying something because they blow. Thad Matta is an atrocious coach. 3 keys to future success: -Tougher OOC schedule. I'm done with the Lipscombs of the world. It's time we start scheduling like a real high mid-major. -Free Throws. -Ball movement. Our offense was fantastic and then it just went to crap. 4700 announced attendance is embarrassing. The NCAA should be ashamed of themselves. Absolutely ridiculous. Boring crowd and zero atmosphere. Akron got robbed, then shot themselves in the foot. Until next year... Go Zips.

I really hope I get to see his face turn as red as a tomato tonight. That would be a good sign.

For possible wins: Wichita State, UNI, Illinois, Belmont, SDSU, NC State, Cincy, Memphis, Temple, Saint Joe's, Butler, VCU, Dayton, Pitt, Wake Forest. For experience: WVU, OSU, Indiana, Michigan, Syracuse, Texas, Virginia. Every game is win-able, but there are some teams we are less likely to beat that you play to see what it takes to be the best. Also, that first group I deem more likely to do a home and home with us.

Only reason I think the NCAA is more corrupt than FIFA is because of their ultimate purpose. The NCAA is supposed to provide a platform for STUDENT-athletes to grow as young adults; the main goal is NOT to make money. FIFA's goal is to make money.