Dr Z

Zeke Marshall was already at mid-court at Quicken Loans Arena to receive the trinkets that went along with the University of Akron's Mid-American Conference Tournament championship Saturday night. But when he heard the announcer call his name as the most valuable player, the 7-foot center staggered in his tracks. An unassuming sophomore from McKeesport, Pa., Marshall scored only 32 points in the Zips' four games. He downplayed his MAC Tournament single-game record of nine blocked shots in the final and his domination of Can't State's Justin Greene, the league's player of the year. So as Marshall cradled the wood and glass MVP trophy, it was clear it meant more to him than it might have to some other young men. It served as a reminder of his game-changing potential, a validation of two years of hard work and a confirmation of his decision to take a chance on a school like Akron where he would be given time to flourish. ''I can't even begin to describe how I did this,'' Marshall said. ''I was in foul trouble. My whole thing was winning this tournament. I just thank God for this. I thank God for what happened.'' For Akron (23-12) to have any chance on Friday in an NCAA Southwest Regional game against second-seeded Notre Dame (26-6) at the United Center in Chicago, it needs to happen again. Before the season began, Akron coach Keith Dambrot said, ''We are going to be as good as the big boy is,'' and he's been uttering something along those lines ever since. Dambrot knows that for Akron to take the next step as a basketball program, he has to land players like Marshall, ranked 43rd in the nation in his recruiting class. Winning 20 games for the sixth consecutive season and reaching the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years is one thing. Acquiring the talent to win in the Big Dance is another. Continue Reading Here Zeke Swats Flash Fans Hopes Away

Take 5 minutes and read through these. You will be an expert in no time.

Ken+ can't be the NIT champion without winning the first round.

I like using this site for researching such a conundrum.

Great site, I am bookmarking this one. Plus as a bonus I learned from that site that Matthew Barnaby is dating Michelle Beadle. Go Pens!

Twice. I was rooting for Ken+ to win last night, but I have to admit, I wouldn't have shed a tear if they lost.

ZTV will be unable to film since CBS and TBS own the rights to film the game and press conference's.. Interesting. I'll have to keep an eye out to see if any other school breaks the rules and gets some footage of a press conference.

CBS Presents Who Has The EDGE Frontcourt: ND has Moderate edge -- Akron has the size to match Notre Dame, with seven-footer Zeke Marshall blocking shots at the defensive end, and forwards Nikola Cvetinovic and Brett McKnight providing double-figure scoring. It will be interesting to see if Nash can draw Marshall out of the paint, opening up driving lanes for the guards. Backcourt: ND has Significant edge -- Hansbrough was the Big East Player of the Year, carrying the Fighting Irish to a No. 2 seed. Abromaitis took a back seat to Hansbrough this season, but he is unstoppable when he gets hot from deep. Akron has two capable playmakers in Steve McNees and Alex Abreu, while Brett McClanahan is the team's best perimeter scorer. Coaching: ND has Significant edge -- There is a severe disparity in NCAA tournament experience on the sidelines. Notre Dame's Mike Brey has reached the Big Dance four of the last five seasons, and has appeared in nine NCAA tournaments overall. Interestingly, the Fighting Irish have won only one NCAA game since 2003. Intangibles: ND has Moderate edge -- With the game being played at the United Center, Notre Dame will have a heavy home-crowd advantage against Akron. Ultimate Edge: ND has Significant edge -- The key battles in this game will take place in the frontcourt. Tyrone Nash is too versatile for Zeke Marshall, but Marshall could be a factor inside on the offensive end. Nash's ability to drag Marshall to the perimeter will be imperative. Meanwhile, Carleton Scott is too quick for either of the Akron forwards, and his inside-outside ability will be a major factor. On the perimeter, Akron defends the 3-point line effectively, but the Zips have not faced a team who can blitz a man-to-man defense like Notre Dame can. They will need to guard Ben Hansbrough and Tim Abromaitis closely. The Fighting Irish have too much inside and outside, and will also have the crowd on their side.

From ESPN. Short ad before.

Okruch to coach defensive tackles, Cosgrove to coach defensive ends!?!? Per Tom Gafney.

I'll start with one from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette WPIAL Standouts Help Akron "Everything happens for a reason," McNees said. "Initially, I wanted to be as close to home as I could be and play in Pittsburgh. I would've enjoyed that. But I've had unbelievable success at Akron and really enjoyed things. I'm happy it turned out this way." "Quite honestly, I think I could be a lot better," Marshall said. "I'm still a work in progress. That's how I look at it. It can be a slow process. I have to get better offensively and clean up more things on the defensive end. I just have to get more polished." Marshall has two more seasons of eligibility, and the Zips will have another WPIAL player next year. Former Moon standout guard Brian Walsh is sitting out this season after transferring from Xavier.

This works on the iPod Touch also, I loaded it last night. Looks pretty awesome. I'll test it with tonight's games.

Elton in the Youngstown Vindicator. Zips May Surprise ND What makes Notre Dame different is it is a throwback team with a lot of cutting, screening and passing. “They run a lot of motion offense,” Dambrot said. “You want to know something? We haven’t seen a motion team all year, which is strange. They may be the most skilled team in the country. They’re an eyelash from being a No. 1 seed. But we can get ready for it. We’ve got enough days.”

My fav

Will Ztv?

You want to impress us, do something about our football team on September 3rd.

1:40 pm edt Friday on TBS. On Demand App iPad & iPhone cbssports.com streamed all games for free last year, I'm not sure if this will be the same?

When I went to the NCAA tournament in Cleveland in 2005, I got a shirt that has all eight teams that played in Cleveland that year. I hope they have something like that in Chicago. Link for shirt.

Did he say "the Zips are awesome baby"?

Abeu & Diggs will bring more to the table next year. I would guess most Zips fans can see that potential. Another year for Zeke to mature also, he should become a force in Mac play. I would expect his stats to get more consistent. I'm not ready to write in detail yet about next year until this year is over.

I was thinking the same. It seems to me in Zeke's young career, the bigger the game, the more attitude he brings. I remember coach McFadden after the first Ken+ game this year saying something like "we need to get Zeke to play like this every game." There has been no bigger game that Zeke has played in...bring it Z!

The line is 12.5, which means the money line will fall around 6:1. That gives us about a 17% chance of winning. For you numbers guys.