wadszip

Good post, and I guess I'll clarify on the second chance Bowden is getting. Simply that this is his first Division I gig since being let go at Auburn. I didn't mean to insinuate that Bowden had any NCAA issues or was blackballed from coaching. I'm sure he could've had many other opportunities to coach at the Division I level, but this technically still is his second chance at this level. On the same token, he still is a guy who will stick his neck out and take kids with question marks (Janoris Jenkins). Some may not like that philosophy, but personally, I respect it. As for Tressel, I agree he didn't need to come to Akron for money or glory, but for right or wrong, he needed it for his legacy. Again, personally, I think he got railroaded by the NCAA, but his reputation has taken a major beating nationally. Who knows what his role will ultimately be, and due to the show cause, it won't be in an athletic capacity for at least five years. But the fact that he is on campus, he can still serve as a role model to not only athletes, but the student body in general, on how to persevere when things get tough. Basically, regardless of why either are at Akron, both can be role models, especially for a young man like Jamel Turner, because despite both achieving great success, they've also had some tougher times, which is something most people can relate to. Overall, I realize that this is a contentious topic, and some people will disagree that The University of Akron should take on risks like Jamel Turner. I will respect those people's opinions, but I will point out one of the school's success stories in Derrick Tarver. His past resembles Turner's in a lot of ways, including being a kid from a tough neighborhood who made some mistakes and was shot as a teenager. His promising career seemed derailed at 18-19, but after going to community college and refocusing, he came back to Akron and was very successful at the university, even after facing more adversity with the heart condition that forced his brother, Darren, to give up the game. Tarver's now 32 and is still making a good living playing pro basketball in Europe/Asia. I know there were a lot of people in Akron who thought Derrick would be dead or in jail by now, but after getting a second shot at UA, he has become a productive member of society.

I agree 100 percent with this. This young man deserves a second chance and be surrounded by people who will help him turn his life around. What better people than Terry Bowden and Jim Tressel, two guys who the university gave second chances to. This could be the ultimate turnaround story. Turner was reported as being dead after the second shooting. Also, he was actually a 5-star recruit and rated in the top 30 in the country before grade issues put his senior season in doubt (before either shooting incidents) and his ranking fell because of that. I remember specifically reading the reason why he dropped out of the top 30 had nothing to do with on-the-field, but simply the academic side. Obviously, he has some red flags, but the talent is there to become a great football player and student (was offered by Stanford) if he puts his priorities in order. Here is his high school video: http://scoutingohio.com/index.php/view-pro...le&user=138

I believe I alluded to this earlier in this thread (guess I'll have to go back and search) but Akron's football history is definitely not as bad as the last two years have made it seem. In fact, when compared to Ohio University (a school that is suddenly considered a MAC "power") Akron has been better for much of its DI existence. People forget how awful the Bobcats were pre-Solich, and at the same time how mediocre Akron was pre-Ianello (now we're just plain bad). However, that Ohio is suddenly some sort of up-and-coming program bodes well for Akron (leaving all the conference realignment talk out for a second) because the Zips may have very well found their version of Frank Solich in Terry Bowden. If Solich can take arguably one of the five worst Division I football programs and make it a MAC title contender, imagine what Bowden can do with Akron, a school that is in a bigger market, has a much nicer stadium and has a 10 times the local talent base. Unfortunately, we are now one of the five worst, but Akron has some advantages that Ohio didn't offer Solich at the time he took the OU job. Back to the conference realignment talk, none of the recent developments surprise me. It's been a foregone conclusion that the power conferences were/are going to eventually make a power play and the days of four power conferences are inevitable. Though I'm a little surprised that it suddenly seems like the Big 12, and not the ACC, is going to be No. 4, though that may be more a testament to how bad former Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe was. Still, none of this changes anything for Akron. The Zips aren't going to be included in the title picture in the MAC, just like they won't be included in CUSA or the Big East, and they aren't joining any of the four powers. But that doesn't mean that there won't be a TV market for those schools left behind. If anything, it will be status quo in terms of TV payouts, with the MAC still lagging behind CUSA or whatever happens to the Big East (or ACC if doomsday arrives for that league and Clemson and FSU bolt for the Big 12 ... among others scurrying into the Big 4), because none of those conferences (outside of the Big East or ACC in theory) had a shot at title to begin with, and companies (ESPN) were still paying for the rights to broadcast those games. So in short, regardless of how the national title game gets sorted out, it's still in the best interest of The University of Akron, to align itself with best league money-wise that it can. In no scenario is that the MAC, especially if you take basketball into account.

He obviously meant Syracuse. Unless you don't follow college football at all, it's pretty easy to understand. And GP1 is spot on, the ACC is going to regret taking Syracuse over West Virginia, and hiding behind academics as the reason for doing so.

This probably belongs in this thread. Here's a breakdown of revenue/expenses/subsidy of public athletic departments: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/sto...base/54955804/1 Akron is in line with the rest of the MAC, actually on the high side in revenue and expenses and in the middle in the percent of the athletic department that is subsidized through student fees. However, as it pertains to CUSA and the Big East, compare the MAC's numbers to schools in those conferences. A lot less revenue and a lot more subsidy pretty much across the board in the MAC. I realize a lot of this will change with schools shifting from one conference to another, but still this is a general look at how leagues stack up to each other. In the MAC's case, it's the second lowest revenue producing FBS league only ahead of the Sun Belt, though the Sun Belt schools for the most part are a lot less subsidized.

I agree with not being able to make the jump from MAC to Big East in theory, but that's mainly due to MAC (or any smaller conference) schools not having the facilities needed to make the leap. CUSA is a natural stepping stone for schools to get the extra money needed to potentially build facilities to be on par with other Big East schools. Akron's case is a little different because the school already has the football facility (most important), the indoor practice facility (third most important) and soccer facility (in the Big East's case probably the fourth most important) to be considered. What's missing is the basketball facility (the second most important ... though in the Big East you could argue this and football can be flip-flopped). Anyway, we all know that the university is trying to get the new basketball arena done. If that happens within the next couple of years as a member of the MAC, then there is no reason that CUSA couldn't be bypassed. All you have to do is look at which schools the Big East is bringing in to see how the league wants to define it's future. It's all about: 1. Big TV markets (even if a school can't carry that market at this time ... see Houston, Central Florida) ... Akron is in the No. 18 Cleveland-Akron market, which is now the largest in the country without a BCS football school. 2. Large schools with a lot of alumni. ... Akron has 30,000 enrollment with plans in place to grow to 40,000 within the next decade. 3. Schools with above average to very good facilities in football and basketball (having a world-class indoor practice field/track and a very good soccer field doesn't hurt). ... Akron is missing basketball. 4. Opening up new recruiting grounds. ...Akron sits right in the middle of the most fertile football recruiting area (Northeast Ohio) in the No. 4 overall football state in terms of number of NFL players. In basketball, Northeast Ohio is just as good an area in Ohio, which is a top 10 overall basketball state. 5. History of basketball success. ... Akron isn't elite, but probably as good as any school that currently fields a FBS football program not in a major conference. 6. History of football success. ... Akron is pretty bad, but not as bad as the last two years has shown. (But if this was a deal-breaker, no way Memphis gets in).

How about looking at it from another angle. If the university wasn't serious about becoming a player in enhancing its football program, the school wouldn't have admitted to the mistake that was Rob Ianello and instead would've let him ride out his contract (especially after firing Brookhart with time left on his contract) and then replaced him with an unproven and cheap "up-and-comer". But they didn't do that. They attempted to correct that mistake before it was too late and brought in a guy who won 75 percent of his games while coaching in the SEC. Unfortunately, none of that changes that the Ianello hire was an abomination, but the fact that they are trying to correct that mistake as quickly as they did and brought in guys like Terry Bowden, Chuck Amato and even Jim Tressel (despite not in an athletic capacity), shows that the higher-ups at the university are committed to making the program a winner. Of course, you hope that every hire you make is a home run, but that's never going to be the case. I'd be much more concerned about Proenza and Wistrcill if they weren't being proactive in bringing in people who can win. Tom Wistrcill has taken a lot of heat from people on this board. Bottom line, though, he has hired Brandon Padgett, has retained Caleb Porter and Keith Dambrot despite both being sought after for other more "high profile" jobs, and has brought in Terry Bowden. He's also retained Dennis Mitchell, who I'm guessing has had opportunities to move on as well. Overall, he has the athletic department moving in the right direction. For the second straight year, the Zips have won MAC titles in more than 20 percent of the sports they compete in. BTW, is it even factual to say Paul Winters turned down Akron? I don't know for sure, but I've been told he never was offered the job and that Bowden was their guy all along. Though, I'm sure somebody on here knows how it exactly went down.

Maybe somebody can pull up the Tressel thread from the archives. But from what I recall, Dave did have the Tressel scoop about him coming along in a non-coaching capacity. And credited it to the same source who I assume is giving him the information on this latest news. I still think it's a longshot if/until a new arena is built, but as I laid out in the first page of this thread, the idea of Akron to the Big East is not out of the question mainly due to the Cleveland/Akron TV market. After looking back, I speculated that Charlotte (a school that doesn't even have a football program yet) would be Akron's biggest competition in making the move. While Charlotte isn't joining the Big East, it is joining CUSA. So if Charlotte can make a leap from no football program to CUSA off the size of its TV market. Why would it be impossible for Akron (which already has a FBS program) to make the leap from MAC to Big East, when it is located in what is still an even larger TV market? It'll be interesting to see if this develops further. While the Big East is hardly stable and will probably lose its AQ status (and other members), but due to basketball, it will always be around and still be a major step up across the board from the MAC. Anybody (Dave) hear how the fundraising is going with JT? That will be the key in making this a real possibility. The JAR has to be replaced.

I'm still not seeing a valid reason for spring football other than it will be different ... which really isn't different, but rather worse. I won't speak for hockey since I'm not expert on the ins and outs of the NHL. But I will speak on baseball. The MLB draft compared to the NFL draft is apples to oranges. For one, the MLB draft is in early June when 90 percent of the college season is done. Plus, baseball has a minor league system where college guys drafted are still at least still a full minor league season (more than likely two) away from being in the MLB. With spring football, you're talking about a league that wouldn't have started until after the NFL draft has been taken place, and in a league that has no minor league system (college football is the NFL's minor league). You can say screw the NFL all you want, but what league is driving the college TV contract game? The NFL. College football wouldn't be nearly as big as it is if it wasn't for the popularity of the NFL. The NFL is by far the most popular sporting league in America. To say screw the NFL, when a large portion of people who play "big time" college football are doing so to get a shot at the NFL (even at non BCS schools like Akron), is suicide. And you can say not attracting NFL-level talent is a little thing, I beg to differ. If Tiffin University was playing in my backyard in May, I wouldn't watch. There isn't any intrigue to watching that level of competition, regardless of the time of year. I'm sure I'm not the only person who thinks that way. I'd rather watch Akron (with NFL-caliber players) play for a GoDaddy.com Bowl invite than to watch them play in some sham of a spring league to win a "national championship." Plus, I'm sure FBS schools like Youngstown State would love to see all the MAC schools start playing in the spring. Nothing changes for them outside that they would now start cleaning up on the 22 percent of NFL players (going off your 50 of 212 number) who don't play at BCS schools.

One major problem with spring football is how would it work around the NFL schedule? The combine is in February, the draft in April. You have rookie mini-camps going on right now. Then a couple more mini-camps throughout the summer before camp begins in late July/early August. I doubt the NFL is going to alter its schedule. Good luck trying to recruit any kid with pro aspirations to play in a college league that greatly prohibits him from getting a shot at the NFL. A spring league would pull in D-3 level athletes. Would networks be willing to pay for that product? Would fans buy into that product? I say no on both counts.

I'm hearing Missouri may be where Zeigler lands. The Tigers currently don't have any freshmen guards, which would create a year of separation between Zeigler (when he would be eligible) and the freshmen they have coming in this coming year. Plus, Phil Pressey (who will be a junior next year, could be a candidate to leave early for the NBA), which would create a void at the starting SG spot that Zeigler could walk into. Though it looks like he will visit Duke. He doesn't seem like a Duke-type player, but obviously there is mutual interest.

Great points. KD is definitely constructing this team as having a true PG (Abreu, maybe Betancourt) and then a bunch of 2-3 guys (which are mostly interchangable in not only the MAC, but unless you are a high, high major, in college basketball in general). It's going to be interesting to see how things work out for both Deji and Blake. Right now, both are in a log jam (though from the limited amount I've seen, Deji is more equipped of handling that). Though, just from what I know, Kretzer and McAdams, both are going to have a say in who gets minutes next year. Kretzer nearly single-handily led his team to the D2 regional finals this year while averaging close to 27 per game. That's actually an asterik to what he did on the AAU level, where he was a contributing player on the All-Ohio Red AAU teams that won a national title this past year and finished runner-up the year before. Those All-Ohio Red teams were loaded with high-major talent. McAdams didn't play at the same AAU level as Kretzer, but has led his H.S. team to the regional finals (has a shot at the state tourney today). Plus, he's is almost universally rated as the higher of the two prospects. He turned down some BCS-level offers in football to play hoops. If basketball doesn't work out for him, hopefully Terry Bowden can convince him to playing QB. Anyway, the Zips are in great position next year (even more so if Egner steps up, or Harney can develop more into a stretch 4). Overall, Ohio looks good on paper due to bringing everybody back, but if the guys Akron has (or will have) develop like they should, the Zips will be right in the mix again. Personally, I think next year is when the MAC breaks the streak of only getting one team in the dance. Both Ohio and Akron are going to be a load to handle. The best thing right now is to root for Ohio to make a long run. As much as I hate to say it, the Bobcats are representing the MAC. The better they do, the better the league (especially the East) looks. The good thing is, at least the Zips have a chance to prove they are the better program on the court, at least two times. ... Can't say the same thing if it was say Detroit (or pick your Horizon or any other mid-major team making a run).

There was nothing wrong with going for the win in the Zips' situation. 1. They were on the road. 2. It's not like it was a game they controlled. Northwestern basically lead throughout. In that situation, you go for the win. And the Zips (while it's debatable whether it was a good look) got the ball in the hands of their best player (and clutch 3-point shooter, IMO). To me, the turning point was actually when the Zips took the lead in the second half, but then proceeded to turn the ball over three times in a row. If they would've been able to take control at that point, none of this would've mattered. That three-possession sequence allowed Northwestern to seize back the momentum, and again had the Zips, for the most part, playing catch-up down the stretch. Overall, I can't complain. The Zips got beat by a rimmed-out basket on the road against a team that went 8-10 in the Big Ten (by far the strongest conference in the country this year). Plus, Northwestern is no slouch on their home court, especially with veteran players like they have. Just look at what they did there this year ... beat Michigan State by 7, lost to Ohio State by 2 (on a last second Sullinger basket), lost to Michigan in OT. They also lost by 1 against Illinois (when Illinois hadn't given up), lost by 2 against Purdue (another tourney team), and beat Penn State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa by double digits in that place. Overall, not bad company to keep. I hate the loss, but this team showed heart. I haven't checked their boards, but I imagine the Northwestern fans who have followed that team all year are giving the Zips a lot of praise for how they performed tonight. They competed as well on that court as any Big Ten team did. ... And guess what, the Zips have more coming back than any of those Big Ten teams (I'm assuming Sullinger is gone at OSU).

No, you are funny. Don't be so insecure. One person gave Chauncey a C-. I immediately agreed with you that it was too low. Then a bunch of other fans also disagreed with the original poster about the grade. But instead of reading all that, you go off on these irrational tangents. That's the definition of funny.

I never said Chauncey didn't have pro potential. Go back and read what I posted. I specifically said that he (along with some other guys on this team) could carve out a nice career in pro ball, just not the NBA. The NBA is every player's ultimate goal, but there are only so many spots available. Plus, you can make a very, very nice living outside the NBA. I know a couple guys who did just that ... banking 200,000-plus a year in Europe. Nothing wrong with that. It's obvious you know, and admire, Chauncey. But come on, don't get carried away and compare him to Wade, Kobe and Barkley. Those guys are all HOFers who all have/had very different games. If you're in his ear telling him that, you are the one being more unrealistic than anybody on this message board. Lets be real, take a guy like Bradley Beal at Florida. He was a McDonald's All-American out of high school, a consensus 5-star recruit and is a sure-fire lottery pick. He maybe has a 5 percent chance to be as good as the guys you are comparing Chauncey to. I use Beal as an example because he is similar size and game-wise to Chauncey. And Beal was 10 times more highly thought of out of high school (and currently is) than Chauncey. If you disagree with that, don't blame me. Blame every single scout and talent-evaluator in the NBA. Anyways, you'll probably say I'm hating on Chauncey (when I'm not). I'm just looking at it from an outside view. Yes, he deserved to start at the three (though Q also had a case if push came to shove). Yes, he deserved more minutes (especially at the end of the year when it was obvious McClanahan wasn't cutting it ... which would've indirectly freed up more minutes, since Chauncey and Q have as much versatility as anybody on the roster). Yes, he has a bright future. But no, he isn't as great as you think he is. That's no knock on him at all, just looking at things realistically.

Yep, the kind of schedule the Zips played was perfect for reasonably getting at-large consideration. KD didn't go all Charlie Coles and schedule everybody and their momma. At the same time, he didn't go typical KD and schedule mostly bad directional schools and HBCUs. Let's get the same type of schedule next year, but simply win a majority of those games (a lack of suspensions will help. too). If any three (and maybe two) of these games: @Valpo, @MTSU, @CSU, @Oral Roberts or vs. VCU go the Zips' way, they are in. Only the MTSU game wasn't close and that was at the height of the suspensions/injuries. And that's not even counting WVU.

Great post. I agree with almost everything. However, I will side with lumberjack that Chauncey deserves way more than a C- grade. When given minutes, he played very well. However, lumberjack, lets face it. Chauncey is a three on this team, however you want to look at it. Alex Abreu is the 1, and was the best overall player this year. Walsh is the 2, and had a hell of a season. Chauncey is kind of stuck because he is an "NBA 2" who is a natural three in the MAC. and will have to split time with Quincy for minutes. Quincy also deserves a lot of credit for taking on that 6th man role, ala Cedric Middleton. True, you can slide either Q or Chauncey to the 2 and Walsh to the 1 if Alex is out, but Alex needs to play 35 minutes per game at the 1, so that negates a lot of ability to shift roles. Plus, nobody can argue that Walsh didn't deserve the 30 he was getting, either. Basically, the minutes are a crunch. If you consider that there are only 15 available, give or take a few, when either Alex or Walsh aren't in the game at the 1 and 2, there is a log jam between Chauncey, Quincy and Harney for those remaining minutes (about 55 to be distributed between the three of them, and all three are 20-30 minute-a-game players). That jam could increase next year, considering every guy I mentioned is back plus there is a chance one of the freshmen will probably be more productive than what Nitro was. That's a good problem to have, but only if everybody is on the same page. I think Quincy Diggs deserves a ton of credit for living with that reality and still showing up every night (though he did have a rough spot offensively at the end of the regular season). If Chauncey can 100 percent buy into a similiar role as what Q had this year (albeit as a starter), the Zips will be a very dangerous team, especially if Harney is able to play more minutes at the 4, which would increase Chauncey and Qs minutes on the wing and offset some of the production lost with Serb graduating. Lets face it, there are only two guys returning on this team who can even think of potentially being NBA players ... Zeke and Treadwell ... and even Tree is a longshot at best right now. However, there are five guys who definitely can carve a living in pro ball if they can get over the fact that the NBA isn't likely going to be their calling (Walsh, Alex, Q, Chauncey and Harney) and buy into what is best for their current team. Three of those guys seem to be on that page (Walsh, Alex and Q), while it's undetermined if Chauncey and Harney will join them. Overall, though, I hope all those guys realize what they accomplished this year. They were an extremely talented but inexperienced team, but yet still nearly lived up to the lofty goal of bringing the Zips back to the tourney. They fell short, but if all are on the same page, we could be in for a special season next year.

Great interview. Chauncey appears to be a thoughtful and intelligent guy. Hopefully, his head, along with the rest of the team's heads, are in the right place. If so, the talent is there for the Zips to not only win the MAC tourney, but accomplish the bigger goal of making some noise in the big dance.

I was skeptical on the Clevelander as soon as somebody on here mentioned it was owned by an OU grad. Wilberts sounds cool, and you can't go wrong with Panini's either. What happened with the Winking Lizard? I remember in the past it was decked out with Akron stuff. I'm definitely not sold on the Clevelander. I may stop in to see what the crowd's like, but if it's not popping off with Zips fans, I'm going someplace else. I'm a little bit out of the loop since the last couple of years I've been able to score loge tickets and bypassed the bar scene. Unfortunately, this year I'm gonna be back in the "cheap seats" and will be looking for a spot to get a couple of drinks before the game. I guess I'll continue to check here to see what the consensus is. Akronnnnnnnn, All the spots that have been mentioned are within walking distance (on top of a dozen places that haven't been mentioned).

It definitely wasn't Zeke's first 3-pointer ever taken in college. While the game was likely over at the time, I remember he took a WTF 3-pointer in the tourney game last year against Notre Dame. akronzips71, I did notice the swish after the foul. Zeke has improved his stroke for sure. Still, I'd say lets work on finding him space in that 10-15 foot range for face-ups, not the 18-22 foot range.

It's way too early to even speculate about Nick. He had a rough game. He's young. Sure he's going to be down right now on himself (despite the win). Nick and Tree came in as both rough around the edges kids. They came to Akron to grow together. The good thing is that it appears Tree is developing into a real leader on this team. Yeah, Tree had his suspension, but it seems like it's clicking for him lately and he's becoming a calming force for this team (like I said in the ZTV thread following the Buffalo loss, KD brought him out to the media after what was the most crushing loss on the year for a reason). And if anybody can relate to Harney, it's Tree. With that being said, I don't think Nick will bail at a couple of signs of adversity, when after all, this is his freshman season. ... And he has bounced back from tough games already this year. Overall, it was one game, and while it may (and you can argue should) affect his minutes from here out since it's all win or go home, no matter how this year ends, his future is bright. ... this team's future is bright. Let's not forget, a guy who has to be close to Chauncey was on here a couple of days ago talking about how KD was a POS. I'm sure a lot of people were questioning Chauncey's commitment after reading those posts. What happened, though? Chauncey bounced back with one of his best games of the season. It's a strange game when you're dealing with 18-22 years olds. One night they hate everything about the program, the next night, they go out and play a great game. And I'm sure that Chauncey and Nick aren't the only two who have gone through that ... I'd bet that just about everybody on this team has questioned why they were here at some point. Thankfully, this team has enough players who want to be here on a given night to allow the Zips to be MAC regular season champs. Does that mean a tourney championship? Not sure. The fact that they, even despite a 13-3 league record, only led at the half in five of those games, makes me question if they all can get on the same page, on the same night, in time.

Appreciate the post. These two, Alex and Tree, are our biggest dogs going into what will be a dogfight in Portage County. KD brought them out for a reason.

I missed this earlier. Funny you say go with what got you to 12-1. Isn't that Walsh at the 2 and Chauncey at the 3? Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't that has been the lineup throughout the MAC season? The only difference tonight was Q at the 3. But you already said that wasn't the problem, it was Chauncey being played out of position. So what is it?

You still aren't coming out and saying it, but I now know who you are referring too ... Brian Walsh. Come on, man. Walsh has earned his starting role just as much as Chauncey. If anything, move Walsh to the 3 and Chauncey to the 2. At least Brian will go hard after a rebound. To call out Walsh as a "good old boy" is ignorant. I hope you aren't Chauncey's mouthpiece, if so, he never should have came to Akron in the first place. If he wanted to play 30-plus minutes a night and be the man, stay at Baltimore County, which has an impressive 4-25 record this year. He made the move to play against better competition and play with better teammates. One of them happens to be Brian Walsh, who stepped down in competition, to be a part of this team. Like I said earlier tonight, and earlier this season, I like Chauncey in the starting lineup ... as a 3 and Walsh as a 2. The team has hit a rough patch, but Brian vs. Chauncey is not the reason. KD is playing those guys where they should be, it's up to them to realize that and become a team. However you want to slice it, Chauncey, Brian, Q, Brett and Harney are all basically competing for the same minutes. I agree that it may have been too slanted tonight, but for the most part, all of those guys have had their opportunities to get quality minutes. Bottom line, this team's recent struggles have been more on the players than on the coach. It's a young team that has a lot of new guys, playing roles they aren't exactly used to. The sooner those guys learn their roles, the better the team will be. The talent is there 1-9.

Good point. It was two, but both by double digits on the road. ... to Ohio and Can't. However, last year, the Zips started off slow in league play and then seemingly clicked after the EMU loss and began to bury teams early, leading up to those final two games. Even the Can't game, while eventually a loss, Akron had the lead at halftime before the wheels fell off in the second half. OU, like they did this year, just ran us out of the gym from the start. This year, despite the 12-1 start, the Zips had only led at the half in five of those 13 league games. Counting the last two (both losses), they have only led at half in a grand total of 6 of 15 league games. That is not good. No team that is in position to win a league should be playing from behind that much. And, while tonight's Buffalo game was the first they've lost in league play while leading at the half (albeit by four points), this team has: One time: Led at the half and lost ... tonight against Buffalo. Three times: Led at the half but allowed the opponent to hang around until late in the second (BG, Toledo, and @Central Michigan) One time: Led at the half then buried a team in the second (NIU). One time: Buried a team from the start (Eastern Michigan). ... Nine times: have found themselves in a dog fight for at least 20 minutes and won. Even at 12-3, this team has not shown a killer instinct. The two best games were both at home against overmatched western teams ... Even NIU (one of the 15 worst D1 teams hung around for 20 minutes). While the Zips jumped on EMU early, and got up by as much as 25 or so, still allowed them to pull within 13 midway through the second before turning it back on. With that being said, somehow, though, this team still controls its regular season and postseason MAC destiny, but it's been hardly a dominating display of basketball. I'll continue to hold out hope that this group can still get both done. At the same time, I'll continue to realistically look toward next year. And it's strange that I have to feel this way. The Zips have warts, but every team who has ever played in the MAC have had as much if not more. Still, some of those teams have still been able to put together much more dominant seasons. You may even argue that last year's team was more dominant in MAC play than this year's team. That team finished 9-7, while this year's team will finish no worse than 12-4.