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Thanks Six Pack. We haven't been in The Tournament since 1986. We've had a couple of NIT appearances since then, and won a first-round NIT game last year. The MAC usually only gets one team in the big tournament, but sometimes two.

Isn't it sickening how people just ASSUME that everyone in Ohio is a Buckeye fans?? Like it's the only D-1 school in the state? There's quite a few other D-1 schools in Ohio, and they all have plenty of fans. It makes me sick.Let me elaborate further....If you live in North Carolina, do people assume that you are a Tarheals fan? NO...of course not. You could like Duke, or NC State, or Wake Forest, etc. etc. Heck, I know more Michigan fans than Ohio State fans. I would never wear that red and gray crap. Ok, I'm done.

Believe me...we ALL love to see Can't lose

Nevada 67-64 with 3:18 to go. Our poor free throw shooting is making the difference again.

Captain....looks like maybe I was giving the 86-87 Cleveland State Vikings a little too much credit. Zipsgrad. Thanks for the research. If Cleveland State was indeed in the Top 25 in the preseason poll, they must have slipped out of the polls before we played them.

Zipgrad. I did notice that our website says that we have never beaten a ranked team. But, my recollection was that Cleveland State started that season something like 8 or 9 in one of the polls. Remember, they were returning all of their key players from a team that went to the Sweet 16.Maybe they slipped out of the polls before they played us? Or, maybe my recollection is bad. I thought their high ranking was why there was such a huge buzz over that game. I wonder how we could find out information from that long ago?

Thanks Rowdy. It looks like the line is moving in our favor. It would appear as if plenty of folks are respecting our home court record. THIS NOW PUTS THE PRESSURE ON US TO BE THERE, IN FULL FORCE, LIKE WE HAVE FOR OTHER IMPORTANT GAMES OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS. (read my other posts).

I'm sorry. I deal with radio stations every day. YOU, as the advertiser, tell THEM when you want to run your ads. Bleacher Bum...thanks for the observation.

You're right Hilltopper. They were cheap little metal things with the Acme/Click Store logo on them (for you younger folks, the store used to be called Acme/Click). They fit in your thumb, and you clicked them for Cricket McLaughlin. Here's another Akron Basketball Classic for you "older" folks....How about the game at the Richfield Coliseum in 1987 when we played #2 ranked Pitt? We were in that game the entire way. They gave us a student section right behind the Pitt bench (a good place to have a student section) and I remember waving goodbye to Pitt Center Charles Smith (future NBA player) when he fouled out. We were also yelling "you should have stayed in Akron" to Jerome Lane (Akron St. V. grad and future NBA player).That was fun.

I know quite a few people from Pittsburgh, and I am friends with an ex-Akron linebacker from that area. And here's why I think so many people know us out there. Starting back in the Faust era, we've recruited TONS of football players from the Pittsburgh area. A number of Faust's assistant coaches were from that area, and they canvassed that area pretty hard. And now that JD is here, he's using his Pittsburgh-area connections as well to recruit.We've especially been very successful when Pitt is going through rough times. That leaves players from that area wanting to play Division 1A, not wanting to go to Pitt, but wanting to play fairly close to home. If I sat down long enough, I could come up with a pretty large list of great Akron players from that area, and I bet this is what most of them would tell you.

Hey Captain. I don't want to downplay the exciting 1986 OVC Championship Game. However, at the beginning of the following season, we defeated a Cleveland State team, in overtime, that was RANKED IN THE TOP TEN at the time. That was the Cleveland State team that still had Mouse McFadden, and Ramsey and Smith (the guys who took them to the NCAA Sweet 16 the previous year). And we still had Marcel Boyce and Eric McLaughlin. I wonder how many of the "older" folks on here remember that classic?I was still a student at the time, and word was spreading around campus that we needed to get to the game two hours early just to get a decent seat. By gametime, they were letting people come in and sit on the track up against the glass barriers because there was nowhere left to sit. People were also sitting on the stairways in the bleacher sections. I don't think anybody in the upper level sat down the entire game!! I'd LOVE to see that kind of environment Friday night.

I was in the Tommie Evans lounge last night as someone's guest. I did hear several people question why there was no real food, and the people doing the serving said, "dinner food will only be served during weekend games this year, and appetizers for the weekday game". I agree, if I were a big-money donor, I'm sure I would be a wee bit miffed.

Excellent News!! I'm looking forward (somewhat) to next football season again now.

I shouldn't comment on that, but I will. Marketing has nothing to do with being "new". You either know what you are doing, or you don't. I know. I've been doing it for almost two decades. There's no excuse for misinterpreting a theme, or not communicating effectively with your target market. That's all Marketing 101. And my comments have nothing to do with my loyalty, or lack of loyalty to my alma mater.

Let me add a few more...The marketing that did exist was poor, on a number of different criteria (I've gotten into this in detail previously).Long-time football season ticket holders with good seats were told prior to this season that they will be moved to other areas next year because "they are not major donors to the Z-Fund".

As an alum for many decades, I have probably never been as upset with administrative decisions as I am right now.As a career sales and marketing executive, I've noticed countless huge mistakes with the marketing efforts. Now they top it off by alienating the only organized group with a collective voice to help our teams achieve victory. And for what? A few extra dollars?Yes, I've been one of those people that has spent many games in those lower reserved seats. But someday soon, I'll be old and want to sit at home and listen to the radio instead. So, I have to ask this question.....How can you possibly benefit from taking the students off the floor, and alienating the next group of alums that will someday be the people that you call on to purchase your cherished lower-reserved seats?Nice job.

I do have a concern about our inability to recruit some size. Weinkein had the size, but was simply unproductive. I think Dambrot was looked at as being a good recruiter because he nabbed Joyce and Travis. But they played for him when they were younger, and probably could not have gone to big programs anyway. I'd say that he has some work ahead of him looking at who is on the roster right now, and who might have to play bigger roles come next year. I don't think Rybak, Linhart, and Conyers are going to be as productive as Dambrot had hoped, but I hope I am wrong. I do remember the Huggins era well since I was still in school when he came here. Huggins never had many big stars, but got a lot out of the people he had. I will remind everyone of one thing though....the MAC has a history of being controlled by good guard play. So, you can win the MAC without a big man, but I'd sure like to think that we are a good enough program to be able to recruit one.

Is that supposed to be the campus placed on Alcatraz Island? I've been there, and that looks quite like "The Rock".

Bottom line. If you aren't getting 2nd chance points from rebounds, you have to hit free throws. Otherwise, you only have one way to score points. We knew this coming into this year...this team needs Jeremiah Wood. Travis will wear down during the course of this season if he has to handle all of the dirty work inside himself. Romeo simply isn't big enough to do it on his own.

I think the Sun Belt makes for some good matchups for us. Middle Tennessee plays well against us (beat us Charlie Frye's senior year). Arkansas State was a bowl team two years ago, and beat N. Texas 29-10 this year (a similar score to our game with N. Texas). And Troy State tied with MTSU for that league title this year.They do have some teams that are just as good as MAC teams. N. Texas had a bad year this year, so that worked out well for us.

I agree. The revolving door of assistant coaches is something that EVERY D-1 head coach has to deal with every year.

FearTheRoo...Nice Job!! I won't spend ONE DIME on any Buckeye's gear. I don't care if they ask for it or not.

Captain. Thanks for the story. This is funny, but I don't remember this guy (my memory weakens as I get older). How much did he play in that one year he was here?

sgm...I'd like to add to that.I have relatives that live out of state. After we won the MAC Championship last year, some of them were requesting Akron gear for Christmas. And NONE of them are Akron grads.I think most of it has to do with being associated with a winner. Plus, a couple of them liked the logo when they saw us play on tv.The question is.....how long can we continue to ride this new wave of notoriety generated by last year's football championship and bowl game appearance?To this I say..............Come on Men's Basketball !! We Need You !!!

74Zip...Thanks for the info. WOW...that's scary that they can get something pushed through the state that fast.Anyone who thinks this soccer facility will ever be more than 10% full is crazy. Wohlstein is certainly selling the "benefits of the entire project" as a way to get this ego-gratifying stadium built.Rowdy. I think your prediction of attendance might be on the HIGH side. Once everyone visits the stadium one time (for the novelty of it) I predict that the Zips Women's Soccer Team will be drawing better than Wohlstein's pro team.This is just such an awful idea. And a really poor use of public funds. This reminds me of an idea that a buddy of mine had several years ago. Put a dome on the Rubber Bowl.....and we can call it the Con-Dome.