Let'sGoZips94

The thing about this discussion is winning the MAC tournament ends it. Win and you're in, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. And I like our chances (not to put the cart before the horse). Another aspect of this conversation that hasn't really been touched is the SoS debate. I know it has been beaten like a dead horse in other threads throughout the existence of ZipsNation, but if an RPI of around 30 or less doesn't get us an At-Large bid because of our SoS, would that possibly force KD's hand a bit more to give in and schedule tougher road games? Again, all speculation but it's interesting to discuss and I do enjoy being in a position to discuss it. Go Zips!

Not that it helps much with our RPI, but Villanova is the new #1 in the AP poll. It's nice to have them on our schedule. The ultimate goal is to win the MAC. I don't want to play 2nd fiddle to anyone in the MAC, but regardless of winning the MAC or not, if we get into the tournament I want as high a seed as possible. EDIT: Correction. According to Real Time RPI, Villanova is #1 in RPI, too. So that does affect us.

Are you reading their forum? Do you have a link for their forum?

1-0 Akron at the half.

GOOOOOAAAAALLLL!!!!! PK! P.S. These announcers blow.

Saw this the other day and enjoyed it. Not a huge fan of Tosh at times, but this is an instant classic. ESPN is receiving a lot of hate lately, and I believe it to be well warranted. The Columbus Blue Jackets took a subtle shot at ESPN on twitter. http://nextimpulsesports.com/2014/11/11/blue-jackets-troll-espn-solid-burn-twitter/ If Fox Sports had a SportsCenter-like show, I think they would overtake ESPN as the #1 "Worldwide Leader in Sports", and relatively quickly, too.

https://capitalonemascots.com/mascots/mascot/zippy Voting is now open, with our first victim being Wilma T. Wildcat from the other UofA, University of Arizona. This is COMPLETELY different from last time. There is a "VOTE NOW" button which is worth 1 point, and can be clicked 50 times per day. There is a "SHARE" button, which is 50 points and can be done via Facebook or Twitter (include the hashtag #CapitalOneZippy). - It looks like there is a weekly question that goes along with this. This week: If your mascot is manning the tailgate grill this week, what’s he/she grilling? The big 100 point option is "UPLOAD" where you upload a picture, to Facebook/Twitter/Instagram, with you personally doing whatever the question is that week. - This week's question: Upload a photo/video of you grilling while wearing your school’s gear. This is going to take some serious dedication. Go Zips! Edit: ZachTheZip beat me to it.

2013 Highlights.

NOAH ROBOTHAM IS A ZIP! WELCOME ABOARD! https://twitter.com/NoahRobotham14

Big Dog has the court vision of a point guard. Man can he pass. Great dish to the cutting Tree for a layup.

Not only is this a lost to Can't State, but all of the memory of Penno came rushing back into my mind.

(Insert foot-in-mouth emoji) Well, I guess my size advantage statement was false. Rebounding is all about desire and effort, as exemplified by Tree and pretty much the entire Cyclones team. Iowa State is good. VERY good. They are much better than I thought. I had fun watching them last year, especially when I was rooting for them to take down Ohio State in the Big Dance. I had no idea how they would do this year without Chris Babb, who seemed to be one of, if not their top player last season. I will say that I am very glad DeAndre Kane is no longer with Marshall, or I would be more worried about the Marshall game coming up. Go Zips!

Their 6'8" and 6'9" guys don't even play 10 minutes a game. Their tallest player with significant playing time is 6'7" (Tree's height).

Ohio also plays Heidelberg as their 5th game of the season on November 23rd.

Coming home from college with a friend just to watch this game. Needless to say I'm excited! Let's Go Zips!

That is the only video I could find on YouTube.

Aaron Jackson was on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays today, coming in at #7. Pretty cool to watch. They even mentioned The University of Akron.

Does anyone know how successful VCU's offense is against a zone? A Pat/Zeke/Tree 2-3 zone (all 3 in the paint) or 3-2 (Zeke and Pat on the blocks with Tree at the top of the key) would be something very new and different, since we are discussing Pat, Zeke, and Tree all on the floor at the same time.

My dad and I just bought 3 tickets from TicketMaster. Session 2-only tix can be had here.

What session number?

At first, I was just pumped to see Akron as a 12 seed playing against VCU. Then the quick thoughts of our guards vs. Havoc popped into my mind; I hated the match-up. After digesting all aspects of this game, I love it. We are a 12 seed which means no matter who we play, statistically, they will be better than us. If you only take what you hear about their Havoc defense, then compare it to our guard situation, you would think we have no chance. However, I have watched several VCU games this season. During the most recent Butler/VCU game, in which VCU blew out Butler by 32 points, the commentators said that the Havoc defense is most effective when VCU makes their shots. If they don't, they are 168th in rebounds, they don't get second chance opportunities, and they can't get in the Havoc press formation. Offensively, of the teams we are familiar with and have played, I compare the Rams to OU. According to ESPN.com, the VCU/OU comparison looks like this: PPG - 78 (11th in nation)/72.9 (53rd in nation) RPG - 34.8 (168th in nation)/31.1 (310th in nation) APG - 15 (33rd in nation)/17.7 (1st in nation) FG% - .452 (79th in nation)/.467 (32nd in nation) 3P% - .356/.348 The other similarity between the two is their roster. OU fields a team full of 6'+ guards (minus Taylor), some 6'5"-6'7" forwards, and two 6'9" "centers." VCU has some tall guards with 6'2" being their shortest guard who plays and 6'5" being their tallest (Treveon Graham is 6'5" and averages 15.4 PPG, their leading scorer), and a 6'8" forward (Jarred Guest, who averages 10.3 minutes per game, 2.2 PPG, and 2.4 RPG) and a 6'9" forward (Juvonte Reddic, their tallest player, averaging 28.1 minutes per game, 14.4 PPG, and 8.3 RPG; seems to me like he is our Tree). Both VCU and OU are guard-ran teams, the only difference being Reddic over Keely (stats wise) and VCU's Havoc-press defense. Akron just took care of OU, beating them by 19 points, without Abreu. A little more food for thought: - VCU beat Akron last season, in Akron, by 1, in OT, with Akron committing 20 turnovers. Akron, in my opinion, is much improved from last season and MUCH bigger. From what I remember, VCU won that game in the paint, not from beyond the arc. Zeke and Tree are completely different players from that game, with Zeke's offensive game much improved and Tree's overall ability and affect on the game much improved. - Shaka's Rams have beaten the Zips in the last two meetings. I believe Dambrot and Akron will be VERY hungry to beat VCU. All of this considered, I like this match-up. I have faith in Dambrot to put together a solid gameplan and have his team ready for whatever Shaka will throw at them. IF the Zips can win the battle in the paint, limit the turnovers and get the ball up the court, and guard the perimeter well, I have no doubts they can win (unless of course we shoot 1-20 from 3-point-range; WHERE WAS COOPER?! WHERE WAS COOPER?!). Go Zips, Can't State sucks, OU sucks, and let's go beat Ram Nation in the first round of the NCAA TOURNAMENT!

I couldn't believe it was a 19 point victory. With about 4-5 minutes left, the Zips were up by 12-16 at times, yet I found myself STILL holding my breath, bracing myself for "Cooper Heroics." As soon as we went up by 21 with minutes to go, and Cooper continued to miss shot after shot after shot, I exhaled and started to go crazy. This team is special, VERY special. What a way for Zeke, Chauncey, and Walsh to finish their MAC careers, PUMMELING the Bobkittens in the MAC Championship Game. I am very excited to see what this team can do in the tourney. All year, I've been telling my friends/family/other people, "They can win some games, trust me." Well now I, along with all of ZipsNation, will get a chance to see what this team can really do. Congrats to Akron. The Lady Zips made it to their first ever MAC Women's Championship Game and made an impressive showing. Then the Men follow that great showing up with winning the MAC Men's Championship Game by 19 points over OU. I am incredibly proud to be a Zip. GO ZIPS! I BELIEVE WE ARE MAC CHAMPS!

I absolutely LOATHE that chant. If we could get the entire Zips fan base to hijack the chant and make it Z-I-P-S, I would love it and OU wouldn't know what to do. Let's get it going ZipsNation!

I liked the lineups tonight against Can't. However, I think Dambrot needs to consider something a little bit different that I don't think has been mentioned in this thread yet. I would like to see this: C - Zeke (guarding their tallest player, preferably Keely over Baltic) PF - Forsythe (guarding their other big which will probably be Baltic) SF - Tree (guarding either Smith, Johnson, Hall, or even Offutt) SG - Walsh/Kretzer/McAdams/Gilliam (guarding Kellogg, Offutt, or Taylor) PG - Harney (guarding Cooper if he is on the floor) or Melo (guarding either Taylor or Kellogg) I would like to see how Forsythe does with Zeke and Tree in the paint with him. Plus, I wonder if that amount of height in the game would give OU problems. Their guards are what make them go, and if you throw guys that are a couple inches taller on them, would it shut OU's offense down? I don't know. Just a thought I had that would be something different to throw at OU because I think it is going to take everything we have to beat them this time around.

- 19 game winning streak (longest by any team all season, and the longest by any team since Kentucky's 24 game winning streak last season) - NATIONAL exposure/spotlight - First MAC team to ever go 13-0 in the MAC - #24 ranking in the Coaches Poll, along with a program record for number of votes received in the AP Poll - Beating OU twice, especially down in Athens - Some of the best, consistent crowds ever at the JAR Historic season. 4 games to go until the Dance. More history to come. Be Loud. Be Proud. Go Zips.