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Lee....everyone on here can voice their opinion. That's what this board is for. But, it's just a lame argument to say that the Suckeyes "take it easy on us so that we continue to schedule them", when you see that they are tagging big-time blowouts on the other MAC-level teams that they've played in the last couple of years.

gozips19....I agree with you.Actually, C. McKnight's rebounding was an overlooked factor in this game. Without that, we probably could not have weathered such a bad shooting night. It's a credit to our defensive effort that you can shoot 28%, and still take the game to the wire.

Captian...a couple of interesting points that I want to comment on, although they might be more appropriate for another thread.1) Can't State is indeed in pretty darn good position for an at-large bid. 2) Everyone I was sitting with at the game predicted that Quade would throw the ball out of bounds. We've seen it before. Once, at the end of the MAC Championship game last year. And one other game this year (I can't remember which one). 3) I wasn't quite as impressed with Maynor. Some of his drives to the basket are impressive, but he turned the ball over 7 TIMES. Actually, the most impressive play of the game for him might have been when he stepped in front of Ced on a drive to the basket and picked the ball away from him. That's not the easiest play in the world to make. You have to have some pretty darn quick feet to make such a play. 4) The no-call on the Wood layup in the lane, and the no-call on the goaltend were game-deciding no-calls.5) I was also wondering where the stats were at. We kept guessing all game about who had what. 6) We certainly could have helped our cause by hitting a few more shots. 7) Remember, when calculating our attendance, the lower sections ALWAYS count as attendance. But if you look at the upper sections, they change dramatically based on the opponent.

Mr. Natty...I read some of what you said in another thread, and here's a response, just to clear things up.1) We are not basing our argument over the officiating based on the number of free throws both teams shot. That's never the case in a basketball game. There were obvious No Calls on one end, on things that would be a foul in any other conference in college basketball. Like climbing on people's backs to get rebounds. The number of times our guys got hammered trying to score in the paint, and there was no call, was pretty alarming too. The point is, it's impossible, during the course of one game, for a team to adjust to an officiating crew that is calling things that far out of the norm. 2) If you missed what I said in another thread, our crowds fluctuate based on the notoriety of the opponent. Do you really think many people in Ohio are familiar with Virginia Commonwealth Basketball? In fact, how many people in Ohio do you really think even know that there is a college by that name? We'll have near-sellouts for certain games during the course of a year, but a game against an unknown school is not going to produce such a turnout. And the 11am game I'm sure didn't help either. Plus, just for your information, the entire lower section of the arena is always sold out. Some of those people just didn't care to show up. Again, no desrespect, but you guys are an unknown commodity.

District....I never said anything about any "conspiracy theory"...just pathetic officiating. Those kinds of things do not go uncalled in our conference. Climbing over the back for rebounds is something that has been a foul since I started playing basketball when I was 8 years old, and it's still a foul in the MAC, Big Ten, etc. If that kind of thing doesn't get called in your league...fine. But, it's a clear advantage in a bracketbuster game for the visiting team. It's actually the HOME TEAM that has to adjust to officials who call a game that is familiar to what the team from their conference is accustomed. It really can put you at a disadvantage if you don't adjust quickly enough, and that's almost impossible to do in one game.We won't be coming to your place next year with a very good team. We lose 4 of our top players at the end of the season. And like we've been telling you, 3 of them had injury issues going into this game, at some level or another. And, without going into great detail, we're talking about more than "sprained ankles". The crowds at our arena seem to go up and down based on the notoriety of our opponents. Virginia Commonwealth is pretty much a "nobody" to sports fans in Ohio. So, likewise, we don't get as big of a crowd as we might get for a K.E.N.T, Ohio U., or Miami game. This is no disrespect. You guys are having a fine season. But, very few people in Ohio are familiar with Virginia Commonwealth.

Lee Adams...lame argument. It always has been.The Suckeyes beat Youngstown 38-6 the week before. Hard to call that "calling off the dogs" or "keeping it close so that MAC-level teams will schedule them again". Did you happen to catch the Can't score a few weeks later? Or the score of the game against Northern Ill. the year before? Give me a break. In case you weren't paying attention, OSU scored 3 points in the entire first half. So, you are saying that they "let" the score stay at 3-2, WELL INTO the 2nd half, because Tresel was "taking it easy on us"? And if that's the case, why were we so fortunate to be the only team that they so "gratiously permitted" to stay in the game with them?Did you notice that they were THROWING for first downs in the 4th quarter to try to get first downs to run the clock out? Did you also notice that two of our interceptions were on deep routes?? You can make that argument if OSU comes out and scores a few times early, and then starts running the ball and coasts the rest of the game, like they did in the other games. But, that's not what happened. And what about 2001? When we had the ball with a chance to tie the score in the 4th quarter? Do you believe that they were just being "kind" by coming so dangerously close to a loss??Please.

I agree....why would we want to stears clear of the Suckeyes?? We lost to them by 18 and 14 points the last two times we've played them. And in both cases, we were still within one-play of taking the lead well into the 2nd half.They are the only top-level team that we are assured of getting on our schedule every 5 years or so, and they play close enough for our fans to travel. I'm just not seeing any negatives in playing them at this point.

DistrictBaller...thank you. You hit the nail on the head. The shots didn't drop today for us. That's basketball. I can count dozens of times where your shots hung on the rim and dropped. It just wasn't our day.

zippy5...your idea is always a possibility. But the percentage play there is to take the 3, and have enough time for a possible rebound, or a foul and another possession. Frankly, if Dial's shot does not take such a long bounce off the rim, we get a rebound and an easy putback because they won't foul us. Then we still would have gotten our 2-points, and could have still fouled and gotten another possession. But that's the way it goes.

DistrictBaller...ok, so GoZips might sound a little angry...but I think you get the point.1) You can't climb on another player's back in the MAC to get rebounds. But with Colonial officials, at a MAC arena, I guess that's ok. And despite that, we STILL won the battle on the boards. 2) Your "premier shot blocker" hammered Wood near the end of the game...no call. And the same guy committed an obvious goaltend....no call. Hmmmmm. Ultimately, those are the two plays that determined the outcome of the game. 3) Get over the fact that you say Rodriguez made "freshman mistakes". YOUR SUPERSTAR GUARD MADE 7 TURNOVERS...so what do you call that?..."experienced mistakes"??? I'd say your guards had trouble handling the ball against our defense. It was pretty obvious. 4) You played against a team who's 3 TOP PLAYERS are all FAR LESS THAN 100%. The guy that lit you up for 17 points is a guard who is going to have knee surgery at the end of the season, and has played sparingly. And Wood probably isn't even 50% at this point. Congratulations :rolleyes:5) Want to know how bad the officiating really was?? That's the first time, in 4 years, and I have heard our coach "almost" comment about the officials after a game. So, I think that speaks for itself. Just get your facts straight before you come on here gloating.

zippy5...I wish I could agree with you. But coming from a coaching background, someone needs to take the 3-pointer with plenty of time on the clock in that situation so that you have time to get an offensive rebound and get another try, or foul and still get at least one more possession. If Nick keeps working to get someone else a shot at that point, instead of taking it himself, we run even more time off the clock, and may not get a better look...or...time for another possession.I'm sure everyone was covered on the perimeter at that point since they know we needed to shoot a 3-pointer.

Actually, Chris McKnight did one heck of a job on the boards today. And we needed it when Jeremiah was not on the floor. That kept us in the game.True, Nate's game is not scoring. I think he got hot for a period of time this year, but I don't believe he is the guy that we want shooting the ball. And now that Jeremiah is back, he should understand that there is less pressure on him to score offensively.I know a few people are wanting to jump at the opportunity to praise this Maynor guy. He played well when he had opportunities to penetrate. But, did anyone notice that HE TURNED THE BALL OVER 7 TIMES. We did one heck of a job guarding him out on the perimeter. That one guy's ability to block shots really played a key role today. Nick Dials....if nobody noticed......had ZERO turnovers today. Nice job.Gosh, sure was nice to see Jeremiah actually contribute. But, he had NO legs out there most of the game. Understandable. Anyone have a view on the no-call on the goaltending, or the double foul on Jeremiah in the paint near the end of the game that wasn't called? KD was biting his lip not to say anything in the postgame interview.

DistrictBaller...VCU played a nice game today. You guys have a good team. But, you certainly did not beat an Akron team that was anywhere close to "a full team". Our #1 player did not start, was getting taken out of the game frequently, and was just recovering from Knee surgery. Our #2 player has a hip problem, and our #3 guy is playing on a knee that needs surgery as soon as the season is over.If anyone listened to KD after the game, he liked that we worked well against VCUs defense to get shots. They just weren't dropping. Sometimes, games go like that. Plus, it seemed like every VCU shot that was dancing on the rim fell in. It was one of those games. Although KD tried hard not to say it, that play near the end of the game where Jeremiah gets pushed from the front, and jumped on from the back and falls to the floor was complete BULL !! And the non-call on the goaltend right around the same time might have been even worse. I guess that happens when the officials for bracketbuster games come from the other conference. The inside guys from VCU climbed a lot of back to get rebounds. I guess those are not fouls in the Colonial, although they are everywhere else.

Bigzipguy...you know what I think. Could C. McKnight be even more productive with Jeremiah on the floor at the same time? And will Jeremiah now be more effective with another post threat on the floor with him?I'm really looking forward to seeing if these last couple of weeks have indeed made us a better team in the long run. If we're going to the MAC tournament to win it, I am thoroughly convinced that we need to be much stronger in the paint to get it done. I hope, at least defensively, Bardo has some some growing during this period as well.

Sure, there is some benefit to a Can't victory. It helps the conference. But, although we want the conference to get better, do we really want Can't to get better? We don't want a situation where they start to "appear" that they have a better program than us. That kind of stuff can have long-term effects on us. Plus, I just can't root for someone that I consider an enemy the other 364 days a year.

unZiped...my recollection is the same......3 home losses.04-05 Loss to Can't05-06 Undefeated06-07 Loss to Nevada07-08 Loss to Northern

I understand the point that a-zip is making.We've lost to some very mediocre teams away from the JAR since KD has been the coach. So, why are we so good at home, and SO much better at home than most teams in D-1?But as a-zip says, the JAR doesn't seem to be a very intimidating place, and we rarely draw big crowds. But it does have it's advantages, as I stated earlier. One is that I really think opposing teams get a very "closed in" feeling when they play here, because everything is so compact. Which also generates a lot of noise with a very average crowd. But, I've heard coaches point to the factor that the arena has a very different kind of design. Players are used to seeing a lot of open area behind the baskets, but at the JAR they are looking at a wall. That can mess with your head when measuring shots.

Well, I would like to see Can't get eliminated early also. But, and Akron/Can't final would be good for the conference and would produce a very exciting weekend for NE Ohio college basketball fans.

I don't believe we've ever hit 4,000 average in the entire time the JAR has been in existence since the early 80s. But I do believe that the crowd's closeness to the floor, the compact design, the way the noise resonates, and the different sight lines compared to other arenas makes is particulary difficult for visiting teams.

Without a doubt....If you can't get the #1 seed, you are absolutely playing for the better draw. And the #3 spot is the better draw. The 4 spot is certainly going to be more physically and emotionally demanding, since it likely means a Miami or Ohio game in the quarterfinals, and a Can't matchup in the semis.From the 3 spot, we'll likely get BG, Eastern or Central in the quarters, and Western in the semis.That's going to make quite a difference.

It's really looking like we'll need to win that game at OU to secure that #3 spot. We're asking our guys to pull one more big road upset. That's a big task. But keep in mind, OU has had a recent history of losing games they should not have lost. So, maybe they will lose another game somewhere and help us out a little bit. That #3 spot would allow this tourney to set itself up for a potential Akron/Can't final.

I listened to Cedrick's postgame interview.....From what I recall, Ced indicated that he didn't know he was about to hit 1,000 points, and French commented that he couldn't believe that Ced didn't know. And then Ced said something like "I never go to GoZips.com or ZipsNation".

I'm afraid that we'll still need to pull off one more big road upset, at OU, to get that #3 spot. And that's worth shooting for. I'd much rather play WMU in the semis than Can't State. Maybe we can finally get a Can't/Akron championship game.As far as Jeremiah is concerned, I'd rather see him return in Athens. It gives him another week to get ready. Sure, I understand that some people want to see him in a game as opposed to rehabing. But, I would hate to see him rush back and be lost for good. Plus, this bracketbuster game really means nothing now that we really have no legitimate chance at an at-large anymore.

There's something else that could really work in our favor.....Ohio plays at Miami only 3 days after their home bracketbuster game against George Mason. That could be just what we need to get that #3 spot. That would make #4 Ohio have to play #1 Can't in the semis. Now that we pretty much have the #4, getting that #3 would be really big. Finally, MAC basketball fans could get to see an Akron/Can't final. It has never happened.

Quickzips...say what you want about our defensive effort at Ohio State being helped by the rain. I was there, and I can tell you, as much as the rain may have helped us a bit (and it didn't rain very much), the heat and humidity ABSOLUTELY hurt us. In fact, a very accurate article came out after that game from a neutral sportswriter who implied that we may have been able to hang in there much longer if it wasn't for our lack of depth, and the extreme humidity. I can tell you, I am in pretty good shape, and I was sweating my $#& off walking to my car after that game. No, I am not thinking that we should "sell ourselves short" by playing "ok"defensively. But, we've made good strides. And with the 3-3-5 allowing us to get more of our talented DBs on the field, it's worked quite well. I'm not going to get down on the coach for what has amounted to a much improved defense since he came on board. He certainly can evaluate his defensive talent much better than any of us. And if the 3-3-5 worked best for what we have right now, then I'm all for it. Like I said...we'll see what happens down the road. But, this defense has certainly been a nice improvement.And besides that...I agree with what the Captain is saying....I'm much more concerned about scoring points right now.