ZachTheZip

here you go

With that news, I don't expect to gain any ground at all this week. Bummer. We really, really need to beat NDSU on Friday on national TV.

Not on Brian Howell's ballot, or even his top 25 radar at this point. I think the next two games are the major key. We have the stage to ourselves on Friday, and of course the game in Athens is the biggest game of the season by far.

BBState's State of College Basketball poll has Akron at #19

Or maybe they go by name recognition. The AP has so many oters because they each have their own methodology. Some only vote for schools they have already heard of. Some spend all week researching D-I from top to bottom and rank every team. Some throw a dart at a piece of paper with names written on it. In theory it all balances out.

Not in the CBSSports Top 26

No Akron on David Borges' AP Ballot. Still waiting on others to submit. Brian Howell has submitted, but has not posted who he voted for. Kevin Brockway only tweeted his top 5.

We have played a significantly tougher schedule than Drexel did.

With respect, that game against Northwestern was NOT our best effort, not by a long shot. The team was shell-shocked and lethargic, save for our seniors.

Here we go. On Seth Davis's (ESPN) ballot, Akron is #21. The five teams ahead of us are NC State (1-0), Kentucky (0-2), Oklahoma State (2-0), Georgetown (2-0), and Butler (1-1). I think we move up at least one spot here, thanks to Kentucky. That puts us at #20, which is worth 6 votes. We're #24 on Mark Berman's (Roanoke Times) ballot. The five teams ahead of us are Indiana State (0-2), Notre Dame (1-1), Kansas (2-0), Oklahoma State (2-0), and Colorado State (2-0). We're definitely jumping Indiana State and maybe Notre Dame, but I wouldn't count on that one. I'll say we move to #23, which is worth 3 votes. John Feinstein (NPR) has us at #25. The five teams ahead of us are Louisiana Tech (2-0), Notre Dame (1-1), Virginia (1-1), St Mary's (1-1), and Ohio State (1-1). Four teams lost, but the one directly ahead of us did not. I'll take a conservative guess and put us at #24 for two votes. Kevin McNamara (Providence Journal) has Akron at #25 with VCU (2-0), Colorado State (2-0), Memphis (2-0), Marquette (1-1), and Kentucky (0-2) ahead of us. I don't really see us moving up on this ballot. One vote. Lamond Pope (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette) has us at #25 with VCU (2-0), Cincinnati (1-1), Memphis (2-0), Marquette (1-1), and Notre Dame (1-1) ahead of us. We should move up a spot to #24 for two votes. Ryan Thorburn (Boulder Daily Camera) has us at #25. The five teams ahead of us are Notre Dame (1-1), Georgetown (2-0), VCU (2-0), Memphis (2-0), and Colorado State (2-0). We should jump Notre Dame to get to #24 and two votes. Steve DeShazo (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star) has us at #25 with New Mexico (2-0), Memphis (2-0), Missouri (1-1), Louisiana Tech (2-0), and Kentucky (0-2) ahead of us. We should move up a spot to #24 and two votes. So, a conservative estimate puts us at 18 votes tomorrow, up from 12. It takes about 100 votes to get ranked.

The Ohio State-Wisconsin game won't affect us too much. What we really need is the ballots of the voters that already have us ranked, and which teams they had immediately ahead of us that have lost. The best way to pick up points is to make inroads on those ballots. Appearing on other people's ballots will happen eventually, but is less predictable. With our current voters, we can readily see where we should end up and how many votes that should get us. Anything else is a bonus.

I agree that he looked good out there last night. I think he needs to get into condition now. It's hard to stay fit when you're recovering from knee surgery. Getting back into shape is a part of recovery, and arguably the most difficult part of it.

It's been clear that his recovery is taking more time than we had hoped. However, the schedule right now is the perfect opportunity for him to heal up, with six days off before playing NDSU, and then another five days until Ohio. Get well Chauncey. We need you out there making plays.

No.

A legit D-I player has enough endurance to play more than 15 minutes before he starts sucking wind. Holmes has a long way to go before he gets to that point.

That settles it. We would win in a blowout.

Average attendance for Akron's OOC home games: 2,810 Average attendance for Akron's MAC home games: 4,058 Imagine it's the same case for most MAC schools that the conference games draw much better. If you look, Toledo only had three OOC home games, while Akron had seven. No MAC school really draws home games against a school with enough name cache to bring in a major crowd. So it stands that Akron's attendance numbers would be higher if we didn't have so many home games against no-name cupcakes. CSU, MTSU, and Princeton were great, but nobody cares about Coppin State or Texas Southern. If we're going to play those kinds of teams, do it on the road and don't ask for two or three return games. I don't want a two-for-one game where we get two years of uninteresting home games in exchange for an easy road victory.

I think they bundle the men's and women's season tickets, so they count as paid attendance for both, even if somebody only follows one of the teams.

From left to right, I see stylized versions of the Chase tower, Quaker Square, FirstMerit tower, PNC Center, and the Goodyear Polymer Center (or possibly EJ Thomas Hall).

http://www.cleveland.com/osu/

The students are showing up this year.

True, but it is the reason the Big Ten will not go to a 10-game schedule.

The biggest issue would be a cutback in the number of home games, each of which generate millions of dollars in revenue.

The moniker extends beyond their basketball team.

Or how long it takes them to realize that we beat the crap out of MTSU.