johnnyzip84

1) We can't afford for Tree to get many technicals. Hopefully, this won't happen again. 2) That grad student (#12) balled against anyone who guarded him. 3) The "old" Zips would very likely have lost a game like this. 4) Even though it was a bit of a letdown in terms of national reputation, Nick Harney and Alex Abreu helped to mitigate the damage by making the ESPN top 10 plays

In the interest of providing a welcome environment for our future foes, let's make sure to call them by their correct sports nickname. It's the Bison.. After all, the ESPNU dude just called us the Zags (although, that's not all bad if you think about it ) Anyway, welcome to ZnO, Bison fans The Zips are tall, deep, and seem to be hitting their stride of late. UA rotates 10 or 11 players although the starting 5, Treadwell, Abreu, Harney, and Marshall in particular, have been getting more minutes in recent games. Harney is a gifted athlete who has been improving his defense and rebounding of late. Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell has an NBA body, rebounds with a fury, and has developed a nice touch from 10-15 feet. Always a gamechanger on defense, Zeke has blossomed into a force on both ends this year. In my opinion, the most important player in PG Alex Abreu. He's smart, tough, competetive and sneaky quick. He also hit big shots. The 2 guard spot has a lot of depth and often the hot player (Walsh, McAdams, Gilliam) is contributing there. We also have a high quality backup center in 6'11" Pat Forythe, a transfer from WVU. Looking forward to the matchup with a quality foe!

PD coverage from EA I have no complaints whatsoever with this matchup. NDSU has quality athletic teams in several sports. I've been saying for a while that they should be on the radar for MAC expansion, if the Bison ever wanted to go FBS.

And what is your "optimistic" view telling you?

Zac Jackson chimes in.

I'd be interested in a MVC road game, but I agree with Rowdyzip that the logistics of this change will not allow it to happen. Just keep winning, baby! Let the rest take care of itself. Go Zips!!!

I think they'll get at least another vote this week. Media polls are obviously all about perception. The twitter coup, the leveling of OU on the U, and taking over the nation's longest winning streak all serve to put the Zips in the minds of the voters. It's this very momentum that also keeps me believing there is still a chance for an at-large bid, assuming the Zips can somehow win out and stumble in the MAC championship (although I agree with Quicksips that losing in the MACC is looking less and less likely). I think, in that scenario, the Zips RPI would not be the end all criterion for whether they would get in or not. I think the huge, late-season winning streak would put them over in the minds of the selection committee. The obvious caution in all of this talk is health. For instance, AA simply needs to stay healthy all year for the team to reach it's potential.

Not much to add than what's already been said. Just got back from the BW3 afterparty Keener aluded to and I'l just add this: Even the most discriminating Zip's fans thoroughly savored today's masterpiece. I really think there was far more pressure on UA today, and perhaps that partially explains the slow start. But after that it was lights out for OU. Kudos to much-maligned Carmelo Betancourt for righting the ship when we needed it. I know the game ultimately isn't as important as the one in Cleveland, but it showed to the Zips' players themselves that this is no longer a dreaded matchup to enter with trepidation. The Wizard of Athens has been exposed. Long live the Zips!!!!!

You are correct, and it's one of the reasons I've always preferred college ball to the NBA.

Absolutely! If it's OK for teams to hack, hold, push, shove Zeke all game long, a few timely chucks on DJ should be more than fair game. I keep wondering if the back-up PG battle will materialize, even only for a few minutes. I want Melo to post up Stephanie Taylor

Solid review, wadzip! To take the point about taking care of the ball further, there is one Zip player who has done a Vinny Testeverde impression with 2 or 3 passes each of the last few games. THAT can't happen tomorrow. Honestly, I don't have a good feel for what I expect for a result. I think a lot of people are like that and it's why the matchup is so intriguing. No outcome would really surprise me. I do think if we minimize (no more than 10) turnovers, we'll win.

OK, I think I have this all figured out, 'Meister. We all know Dan Dakich coached BG for a number of years. He left BG briefly (I think it may have been 22 hours, 17 minutes and 4 seconds) to take the head coaching job at WVU, but changed his mind and went back to BG (super career move, Dan). Since Forsythe transferred to UA from WVU, naturally his points follow the old trail from Morgantown to Bowling Green blazed by Coach Dakich. I'm sure I'm not telling you something you didn't already know.

What he said! Go Zips!!!!

GoZips sighting!

Local (Naples, Fla) article on Manny. He sure had a fantastic HS career in the hotbed of Flo-Rida.

I didn't realize BG played so much man-to-man defense. The Zips are having some troubles getting off good shots at this point.

Sounds like he has a lot of potential with his combination of size and speed

Coach Faust used to like to tout that idea, if I recall correctly. I remember thinking, at the time, the perfect name for the modified facility would have been....... The CondomE

Been working a lot lately, so I was really glad to come home and enjoy one of these today. The hopheads will enjoy it, but it's just a good all-around beer.

My memories of the WAC will always be centered on the league (now mostly in the MWC) that during the 1970's became the 1st conference outside of the traditional power conferences of the time (SWC, SEC, Big 10, Pac 8, Big 8, ACC) to make waves on the national scene. One of my favorite bowl games ever was the 1979 Holiday Bowl where BYU came back from being down 20 points or so to nip SMU (and the pony express) 46-45 on a last second Jim McMahon to Clay Brown TD pass. Lavell Edwards knew that the forward pass was the big equalizer, and he took full advantage of NCAA rules allowing for LDS missionaries to postpone their athletic careers for their 2 year mission. The Cougar offensive lines were usually filled with 22, 23, and 24 year old men playing against 20 and 21 year old boys as a result. The culmination of this was the national championship of 1984, regardless of whether the Cougars were the consensus choice that year or not. The old WAC played an exciting brand of football, that's for sure. Let's not forget that Arizona and Arizona St also played for a while in the WAC. Frank Kush's Sun Devil squads were legendary.

I thought McCrea was fouled in the last 30 seconds, BUT I think overall the "mistakes" were about even. The extended 1-3-1 was maybe the best tactical move I've ever seen at the JAR. I'm still hyped from the game, the crowd and the awesome comeback. I don't care how UB has struggled early on. They were unconcious to start the game, and many decent teams would have been out of it at that point. I'll second the notion that Melo played a pretty good game. In fact, I think those were his most important minutes as a Zip in the 1st half when Alex was struggling a bit. Melo wasn't spectacular, but he played well enough for a stretch to allow Alex to get to the bench and regroup. If Melo plays like that every night, I'm fine with him backing up the point. It would be even better if this is a turnaound moment for him. Let's hope so. Go Zips!!!

I thought I saw something like that also, and frankly I was glad to see it. It must be incredibly frustrating to get hacked, held, shoved etc on half of your shot attempts. The dude was hanging all over him on the dunk.

Just throwing this out there - maybe with Walsh back to near 100%, it's time to let him have a go at the point, just for perhaps 5 minutes or so. You could tell KD wanted Melo to be able to work through some of his difficulties tonight, but it just never clicked. Brian brought it up against pressure a few times tonight, and he easily looks as comfortable as Melo or Deji right now. With Reggie McAdams appearing to gain more and more confidence each game, he and Chauncey could take up Walsh's minutes at the 2.

The same three who were key against K.E.N.T. played huge roles again tonight: Tree, Zeke, and Chauncey. Has Jonas ever seen any road action? Chauncey's very important role --> The Stopper. He ends the opponent's runs like a great pitcher stops a losing streak in baseball.

Thanks Let's hope it sticks.