w00t

I missed the part where he said we should go with Irons.

I'd lead a campaign to bring him back... we could really use him next year too. A re-dedicated, older and wiser, second chance Abreu (with something to prove) at the point, with the old guard 3/4 of Harney and Tree, plus a supporting cast with plenty of experience in Forsythe, McAdams, and Kretzer... not to mention potential super-sophs in Johnson and Cheatham. Evans could be the backup that I think he should be at this level, and Betancourt could transfer to Baldwin-Wallace where he's better suited. I think it's MAC Champs in a walk. Is it really lost on everyone that if Alex did right now in Colorado or Washington what he did in Ohio ten months ago, you'd call him "entrepreneur" as opposed to "criminal"? I'm skeptical that he could return, but if it's possible it can't happen soon enough.

It won't be the last match Campbell plays against the USA... let's just hope the team remembers this incident next time around and that Joel learns what a real foul is.

Quality event with ESPN exposure against a quality opponent... great way to start the season! Edit: Just saw the start time was 3AM, not midnight... well, still a quality opponent even if no one but the faithful will be watching at that hour.

The Michigan bench picked up Burke's slack tonight... 34 min, 7-9 FG, 4-5 3P, 3-6 FT, 6 REB, 2 AST, 21 PTS between the four of them. A big part of that was former OU commit Caris LaVert (a freshman)... http://www.ohiobobcats.com/sports/m-baskbl.../110911aaa.html.

Yeah, no kidding. Sports, and bad losses in particular, have a tendency to bring out people's more "passionate" side. I don't even know how to address someone calling coach Smart a d-bag and implying that it was the refs that gave us a beating on Thursday and not the Rams, so I'll just add a +1 to Buckzip's "wow". I've never cared about running up the score. There's an easy way to prevent it... play better. I suppose everyone whining about the "classless" (a word that's overused to the point of abuse, and only ever uttered by the classiest of sports fans I'm sure) decisions of Coach Smart will be petitioning the NCAA to institute a little-league style mercy rule immediately, right? It was a great season and we had a great team, we just drew an opponent who clearly demonstrated just how much certain factors and matchups can impact a game. If we have our point guard, if the refs were more whistle happy, etc., etc.... we know we're capable of playing competitively with them, it was done a year ago. Then as someone else mentioned, the same thing happened to VCU in the second round. Michigan was able to overcome their greatest strength with effort to spare and it turned them into an entirely different team where they had to compete from a position of weakness. I honestly don't think we'd have lost to Michigan by 25 if the matchup had been switched yesterday afternoon. Them's the breaks. I'm disappointed, but I fully EXPECT to return to the tournament next year... so that's what I'm focused on.

+1!

Wow, I would have picked just about anyone else for this matchup... not because I think it's unfavorable necessarily, but because VCU is a team I cheer for when they aren't playing UA. VCU being an overachieving "mid-major" with family ties to UA... what's not to like? I also think it's great that they have a classy fan who posts here often and genuinely hopes for the good fortune of the Zips when they aren't playing his team (Districtballer). We couldn't have gotten Wisconsin, UNLV, or a rematch with Okie St.? Ugh. Obviously we're not favored to win, but I don't quite understand all of the doom and gloom. We're well coached, fearless, and familiar with our opponent. We counter the strength of their pressure defense with superior size and our athleticism should be roughly on par with theirs. If we manage to keep them in a half court game (no small task of course) it shifts into our favor... our half court defense is capable of shutting any team down and we should enjoy a significant rebounding margin. Plus how great it is that we got sent to Auburn Hills and not San Jose! Anyone who wants to can get up and back in a day... hopefully we make the drive twice!

Seriously, we will be fine this week!

I'll trade my predicted 20-point win from last week for tonight's performance. God love ya Alex, I truly believe that not being a part of tonight was as much punishment (or more) than you deserve.

I wanted to add a "can I buy some pot from you?" joke in the Animal House thread last week but it was just too soon... Is it safe now LOL?

Dambrot said it last night... Some teams are just winners. Well, some coaches are winners too. Brilliant defensive game plan and flawless execution tonight. The MAC POY earned one point tonight... 1. He never saw a defender who outsized him by any less than six inches and it rendered him useless. Hats off to Tree, Harney, Zeke, and Walsh who turned in a defensive performance for the ages on DJ. Betancourt played within himself and gave the team his best 25 minutes of the year. Chauncey rose to the occasion.... His three was the biggest bucket of the night. The twin towers owned the paint on both ends of the floor. No one played poorly, that game defined team effort. Please bring that defense to the court next week. There's not a team in the country that could beat it. "Where is Cooper?" * clap clap clap clap clap* He's in the NIT... This performance belonged to UA.

Between learning this and beating Can't despite 17 turnovers and 16 bricks at the line, it's been a good night.

I happily took notice of that midway through the second half. Everyone should be in good enough shape to shorten the bench now. Can't believe that it's turned out to be Harney as the best option at the point... He's not perfect, but he creates matchup problems and I think it's helped him get his confidence back after struggling in the last few games. Hopefully he starts tomorrow night, we can't afford to stumble out of the gate. Hate to say it, but I remain extremely underwhelmed by Betancourt, to put it charitably... hopefully his minutes are trimmed to 10-15 tomorrow. I don't know what was worse tonight, the foul shooting or the ill-timed turnovers (which Can't converted into points really well until the home stretch). Protect the ball and make free throws and that was a 20-point win. 20. We would have to be considered the underdog tomorrow but anything can happen. We need to play our game and ride those big horses down low, Tree and Zeke can carry this team on their backs if they get enough touches. Avoid turnovers, feed the post, make free throws, and play the defense that we're capable of playing and we dance... there's little room for failure in any of those four areas.

Does anyone know what the odds are that Treadwell and/or Harney are granted a 5th year of eligibility?