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I think recent losses prior to a matchup are a clear indicator of how a team is playing. You feel differently. So be it. Enjoy the game.

I feel that he will be our first 20 ppg scorer since Keith took over. Just my estimation, based what I have seen and how he has developed offensively. It's not a stretch when you see the way someone is scoring on post defenders in this league, and how much more he'll be relied upon as a primary scorer next season.

They've beaten us when THEY were playing poorly. I didn't say anything about how Akron was playing. Read what you quoted from me. In 2014 they beat us at their place when we were 6-1 and they were 2-5 in conference play. In 2015 they beat us at their place after they had just lost to an awful Miami team and lost to Buffalo at home.

I don't think that "fire power from the block" is my concern for next year. We're losing 2 senior wing players who have been playing big roles on this team for 4 years, with often some major scoring contributions, and plenty of intangibles. We're going to have a 20 ppg scorer in the paint next year, for the first time in the KD era. I think Kwan's defense around the basket will therefore be far more valuable than what he can score down there.

I hate the number of times recently that Ken+ teams that were struggling still found a way to beat us at their place. I sure hope this time is different. Once again, we're going there as the much better team. It doesn't help that we're going there banged up with only 2 off days between games.

We shouldn't load our OOC with giants. But, the ones that have more risk have much more reward. We don't have any reason to be afraid of anyone at this point. We got blown out by Villanova. Do you think anyone, nationally, thinks any less of Akron because of that loss? Do you think the psyche of our players was damaged by that loss? Heck No. But, imagine what it would have been like had we won a game like that.

I've been saying this for at least a decade. I probably have 100 posts on here already, with something similar to this same line. If we're going to ever get big wins, we have to schedule more of those 'OPPORTUNITIES' Meanwhile, I hear people on here talk about "getting to the tournament" is the answer. But when you only get one chance every few years to score a tournament win, but end up losing, it's a long wait until that next, single opportunity. And the years keep rolling along. That's not good enough. Not nearly good enough. Way too many chances to get those opportunities exist in the OOC part of our schedule every year, and we don't take them.

Our 3 conference losses to those teams that are 7-6 is not helping our RPI either. But, we're still in the low 40s, even with the loss on Saturday.

Are we sure we were all at a basketball game last night, and not a massage parlor?

I've hammered on Pat a little bit this year, and think he has really underperformed. But, he would have made a big difference in this game. His presence in the paint defensively, the handful of rebounds he would have pulled down, and the 5-10 points he would have scored.

I hope you aren't basing this solely on what you saw last night, since he was basically playing Pat's position for most of his time on the floor. But, I would agree with you if you are basing it on what we've been seeing in several recent games.

This one's pretty easy right now. Win 4 out of the last 5 and we're overall MAC Champs. Win 3 out of the last 5 and either OU, Ken+ or Ball State have to win ALL of their remaining games to force a tie. We WIN the tiebreaker against Ball State by being 1-0 against them this year, and no games remaining between us. The only way OU can catch us is to beat us at home (to go 1-1 against us this year), win all of their other games, and hope we lose one other remaining game to force a secondary tiebreaker. The tiebreaker against Ken+ is still up in the air since we still play them twice. But, Ken+ would still have to beat us twice, and win all of their other remaining games. Moral of the Story.....It's going to be very difficult for us to lose the Overall MAC Regular Season Title right now.

I've said this many time, but I will repeat that I believe that is a record that will NEVER be broken.

About This Game: 1) When we were down 13, I really thought we were in trouble. Didn't think we would lose, but really thought it was going to take a long, lone time to catch up. 2) Very frustrating to see Buffalo, WITHOUT BEARDEN, driving nearly effortlessly to the hoop. Then, when Kwan gets in foul trouble, they take our best defender off the floor, and made everyone else afraid to foul inside. 3) Buffalo knocking people around like pin balls to get to rebounds is just ridiculous. If a rebounder has an established position on the floor awaiting a rebound, you cannot jump on his back (the most obvious call), but you ALSO cannot crash into that person from the side, or the front. That's a foul at every level of basketball. 4) I'm really beginning to think that the officials we are getting for our home games are afraid to call a travel. 5) If we play these guys again, there are a number of guys (especially Cheatham) who have to be much more wary of the quickness of Buffalo's guards to cut in front of passing lanes.

No Smokescreen on Johnson. He was in a boot and crutches 2 days before the NIU game. And coach told me "questionable". I'd go with great training staff, quick recovery, and some flat-out guts to explain his performance.

I've seen this, and I thought it was awesome. That could be an incredible recruiting tool !!

The weather was fantastic last year, and the crowd was great. I think someone stated somewhere that it was a record for a Spring game for the Zips. It gave me a good reason to laugh afterwards at a couple of friends who are Suckeye Honks who said that Akron made a big mistake, and that nobody would go to Akron's game because they'd all be driving down south for their Spring game.

Exactly. Once again, an article that's based on the data that is on the surface, without digging any further into the facts. Great journalism. Shameful coming from our HOMETOWN paper, which should be paying attention to how that season transpired.

When making a comparison to someone as great as Ray Lewis, who was 6'-1", I'm just going to guess that NFL talent scouts see a big difference between 6'-1" and 5'-11" If they didn't, Jatavis is easily a First Round draft pick. Unfortunately, that height difference is just going to make him have to prove his playing ability in a camp.

Interesting. With Canada missing about the only player that can really hurt us by getting to the basket, this should look to be a total mismatch on paper. I wonder if these "predictors" even account for something like that? I look for the Bulls to just bomb 3 pointers all night. But with their inability to attack the basket, those long jumpers are going to be heavily contested.

This is a short-lived, overnight snowstorm. It's supposed to be out of here looooong before gametime.

Again, it is when you have to consider that the competitor is a step up too. Essentially, you're matching a team that's as many as 4 spots higher (one seed level) with a team 4 spots lower. That's the point. You can call it insignificant, if you like. For that matter, you could also say that #68 and #1 isn't a significant difference because there's another 300 teams that were worse.

But you're forgetting to factor in that the 12/5 games were SUPPOSED to be much bigger mismatches than the 11/6 game. You're talking about teams that were separated by 5 spots in the seeding process, and teams that were separated by 7 spots. Big difference. So, the fact that they are nearly equal in upsets seems to validate why so many people talk about those 12/5 games, and the reasons why they are a matchup where so many upsets occur.

There's actually been A LOT of 12 vs. 5 upsets over the years. In fact, many people have said that these games usually see a good mid-major conference tournament champ playing against a team that finished a few rungs down in the standings in a major conference. It's been a spot that's been ripe for upsets many times over the years. You would think that the committee would maybe take this as a message that more of those high achievers in the "less recognized" conferences were possibly deserving of more tournament bids? Not a chance.

I actually appreciate the Bulls young fans making the trip. The banter back and forth with the Rowdies is pretty entertaining. And I always commend them for being such loyal fans to their "mid major" school. They could all just not give a damn, and all become Syracuse fans, right? Too bad the snowstorm tonight will keep them at home. Prediction: Ball State's un-watered-down version - 89 Canada - 62 It's time for a resounding bounce back at home.