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WOW...we've been waiting 10 months to do this. It was a 15 point margin, and I'll take it, even though it wasn't even nearly that close. Besides McNees making his usual few bad judgements on passes, I'm starting to believe that he can run the point. And that will be a huge help for this team. The way he shoots the ball is an absolute coaches dream. Nice to see we can win a game where Cedrick shoots 2 for 11.This hopefully shows that our double OT game at Dayton was no fluke. We're a good basketball team. And hopefully Ohio and Can't will see the score, and take notice of what faces them. Some people need to understand that when we have a 4,000 announced attendance, it means that the place was 2/3 full. And when you look at the bleacher sections, and see all of the empty space, you'll see that the count is quite accurate. At certain times, the entire crowd was on their feet and really making some noise. Nice to see. A lot of people saw that 6'-11" kid walking around. I hope we can get him. Total team effort. Everyone doing their role.This shows again that if team plays intense defense for 40 minutes, and gets someone hot from the field, we're a tough team to beat.Let's hope for more.

ZipAlumn..here's your answer...MIAMI (OH)Record 6-6SOS Rank 5RANKING 55AKRONRecord 10-3SOS Rank 271RANKING 76I don't think anyone will argue that you load your OOC schedule with 15 teams that you can't beat. But it's clear that playing some harder opponents, even if you lose, has its benefits in your national ranking.skhorbotly...here's how Can't playing at NC helps their program...BESIDES THE MONEY. 1) National exposure and awareness for your program (helps recruiting)2) An opportunity for your players to play a reknowned program (helps recruiting)3) A tremendous boost to your SOS4) Great test for your players5) Preparation for conference play

McFly...I can answer that pretty easily. See Miami's (OH) schedule. If we want to be recognized nationally, we have to do whatever it takes to boost our SOS to put us in that position. It's real simple. With a higher SOS, you will still benefit, even if you do lose a few more games.

Flyer 1407..thanks for the feedback, from someone who was at the game.Believe me, many of us are livid about our OOC schedule strength. It's doing us no good. That's why our matchup with you presented such a good opportunity for us. Especially with what you folks have accomplished as of late.Believe it or not, the #11 that you refer to, Nick Dials, is really a 2-guard, and is playing the point out of necessity after Dru Joyce (LeBron's old high school teamate) graduated. But he is a great player. Good luck to the Flyers the rest of the way!!

@Miami @Can't and @Ohio will be the 3 big ones. Winning ANY of those games on the road would be big.

I don't know about you guys, but I just about had a heart attack tonight.I went into this game hoping for a decent showing, and got probably the best performance the Zips have ever played against a ranked team.KD just said in his post-game interview that he is proud of the performance. I could not agree more. I wished we had won, but I am not one bit dissappointed. OK....I now believe that McNees is ready to play at crunch time. That's good to know, although I think that Ced being in the game during overtime could have been the difference. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY....going into conference play, we may have just shown that we can handle playing a good team on the road, in front of a big crowd. That will be HUGE during conference play.

GP1...excellent point about JD bringing in Biggs and Getsy. That was a tremendous boost to that offense. An offense that really needed some instant impact players with Charlie graduating.In addition, the last group of players LO recruited would have been in their junior and senior seasons the last couple of years, and we won a combined 9 games in those two years. So, please put this notion to rest that JD won because he had LOs players.

Zippy is also on the front page of the ABJ today. No, not the front of the sports page, the front page of the paper!!A buddy of mine also said that ESPN mentioned it on the air as well.

The JAR is only 25 years old, and is in good shape. And, we aren't filling it. This is not a Rubber Bowl situation, where age and condition really necessitated some action. I'll be very surprised if a new basketball arena becomes a reality in the next 10 years. I know people will talk about it, but based on these factors, it's not going to happen anytime soon.

Duh....2007 Patriots. Too much today.

Hmmm. Interesting.I guess they see that we are 10-2, and consider that it's a pretty good matchup. That 5.5 points is usually only about what you expect as part of the home court advantage. Or, maybe they feel that Dayton has been playing better than they really are. Like I said earlier, this game has suddenly emerged as a game in our OOC schedule that could actually get us some national publicity if we can win.

The 1972 Dolphins and the 1997 Patriots should be envious.

I still have last year's championship game on tape, and I decided to watch it again the other day.During that game, they patiently worked the inside-out game. Romeo had some success guarding Politz inside, but it looked like Wood struggled when he was guarding him. That concerns me.And what happens when Politz gets stopped? They kick it to the guys on the perimeter, and our guards seemed to struggle during that game getting back outside to put a hand in their face. AND, all of their outside shooters return from last year.I really think we'll need a top-notch effort to win this one. The home court advantage and the fans will need to help make the difference.

Kids leave programs all the time for a variety of reasons. But Rodney surprises me too, especially when he was going to start having opportunities to play. Lets hope his departure was for other reasons other than a loss of faith in the direction of the program. Because, in some cases, that can become contagious. I was just talking about CJ7 among some other fellow long-time alums/fans just last night. Someone made the point that if both QBs were struggling throwing the ball, but one was a great runner, and the other was not, than why didn't we play the "runner" more often? I guess that's a valid point. Well, now he's gone, and we're left with the guy that can't throw well, or make plays with his feet. And since Hakes left in the aftermath of a two-man QB battle last fall, we're now back to square one. Lets hope JD didn't botch this whole QB situation, but I have a bad feeling. I simply did not want to go into a second straight season with uncertaintly at this position, but it appears that's exactly where we are headed.

Z.I.P.....you've hit the nail on the head.This philosophy of "if they won't give us a home game, we won't play them" gets you NOWHERE. Miami is showing us how to do it, and we should be paying close attention. Besides the opportunity for an at large, and the preparation for conference play (both of which you mentioned), you also gain some national exposure, and help your recruiting. Then you turn around the next year and keep the cycle going. THAT's how you build a program.Let me say it again...Refusing to play top-notch competition on the road, and instead scheduling the 320th ranked OOC schedule, especially when you KNOW that your conference schedule is not going to help, is doing very, very little for the growth of your program.

Since I saw only about 20 Rowdies in the lower sections at last Saturday's game against a good, quality opponent, I'd say you guys have your work cut out for you for next Saturday.Good Luck!!! Go Zips !!!

I'll disagree with ZipsWin about Dials. I believe he had 16 last night, and is consistently the emotional leader of this team. We won't win this year without him spending significant time on the floor. The problem is that he appears to get tired running the point, and sometimes makes a bad play due to the fatigue. Plus, he's not the greatest dribble penetrator, and the point man needs to do that. If they can find a way to get him back to the #2 spot more often, if McNees keeps progressing, Dials will likely become the go-to guy every time we need a long jumper. Other thoughts...Quade's dunk was unbelievable.Our rebounding certainly needs work. When Jeremiah can go 7-8 from the line, how can we possibly lose? This might also start making some teams think twice about fouling him.The two blocking calls that got Jeremiah his 3rd and 4th fouls were totally bogus.I like Steve M. at the point, but I think KD may still be hesitant to have him in there at crunch time.Nate is coming alive...and we'll need him.I like starting C. McKnight, and bringing Quade off the bench. Quade seems to contribute more in that capacity. Is Conyers in the dog house?I agree that if Brett McKnight is only going to get a few minutes a game, he should be redshirted. But I think it's too late. I'm hard pressed to think that we can lose a conference game this year if we can go 17-21 from the line on a consistent basis. Lets hope for the best. Our defense is really starting to become the hallmark of this team. And it should keep us in every conference game this year.

johnnyzip....I hope you're right.Dayton has suddenly emerged as our best opportunity for a non-conference win that would get some kind of national attention.nbs95...I agree.When you schedule like we do, you HAVE to beat the Winthrop's and the Portland State's.

uakronkid...I have 30 years of experience with this basketball program. If we keep doing what we've always done, we'll keep getting what we've always gotten. You won't get at large consideration with our current strategy of scheduling. Plain and simple.

The Sagarin shows us at #100, and UIC at #106, so it should be a pretty good matchup. Speaking of SOS, and some past threads about why you should, or should not, go a little bit out of your way to play high ranked teams. Here's some data to absorb.....Miami is only 6-5, yet they have a #44 computer rating due to their #8 strength of schedule. So, it does pay to play some bigger programs, even if you do lose a few more games. In fact, Miami has clearly put themselves in a position for at-large consideration with this strategy.However, Akron (9-2 record), even though they have won 3 more games than Miami, probably has no way to put themselves in this position with a #324 strength of schedule.

I would only comment that there are several players on this list that are in the very early stages of their pro careers.

Oh man....don't remind me again of that Hawaii vs. Michigan State game. It cost Charlie his chance to play in a bowl game.

Miami's inside-out combo with Politz and Bramos is pretty lethal.Wow...I bet our #320 SOS is really turning some heads

Nice find. Withoug exhausting myself reading the article.....did these guys have anything to do with the outcome of the Akron vs. Ohio State game?

GP1...I think that was the downfall of the Dan H. era. Ball was a great freshman. I was at the game where he scored 44 (I think) against Xavier. I thought he was a world beater. But, as that era would teach us, "development" as individuals, and as a team, really never happened over the next few years. Because, if I recall, there were many other freshmen on that team who we assumed "could only get better". Probably the primary reason why Dan was never looked upon by many as a guy who could grow a program.