1981 grad

It would be a nice gesture to put the bench players in, at least the senior bench player who have not played since the MAC started.

This game reminds me of the VCU game. At that game, as good as Zeke Marshall was great all season for the Zips, but he looked slow against the Athletic VCU team. Tonight there is only one player who is standing out and playing well, Jimond Ivey, our most athletic player. When you get to the next level, you need athletic kids or you are going to get run off the court. We are just too slow on defense and do not have the athletes to attack the basket on offense. Totally outclassed tonight. This team is reallhy good! I wish we could have given them more of a game.

Noah needs to stay with his man. You cannot give these guys open looks on the 3 line. They are killing us.

They are a better team but we look completely lost. Not a good showing by this team. Very disappointed.

We are not playing our game. They are just jacking up the 3 ball because it is easy. Need to work the ball inside. Big Dog need to get the ball to the open man. Somebody needs to cut to the basket. Too much standing around. We have to play our best to win this game but that did not happen in the first half. We are probably shooting 25% with a bunch of turnovers. We have played poor first halves and come back. Hopefully we can do it tonight. Just play Zip basketball and stop taking the quick and easy. Go Zips!

We are taking long 3 balls without trying to work the ball into anyone. They are afraid to drive the lane. When Big Dog is out these guys look lost. Drive the ball into the lane and create something and stop throwing up 3 balls from all over the court.

He has gotten blocked so many times under the basket he has no confidence taking the ball up He always stops with a ball fake. TAke it up!!

We need to play the ball through Big Dog. Another poor start. Reminds me of the last game against Kent. Need to play better before this gets out of hand.

From the box score of their game: Attendance: 9,556. However, my main point is that in my viewing of the 2nd round games that everyone is playing high level basketball and the crowds are into the games. The Zips need to bring their A game tonight to extend the season. Would love to see them win tonight and possibly get a home game on Wed.

I noticed against Houston that KD used his bench more than in most other games. I hope that this trend continues. The youger players, Poke, Dunn Martin, Utomi are our future and it is great for them to get tournament experience. Further, if we win we will have another game Wed and will need the fresh legs.

I watched some of the NIT games today and to say that these teams are playing uninspired basketball is simply not true. There is some great basketball in this tournament. The crowds also seem to be very loud. I read that Syracuse had 10,000 fans for an 11:00 A.M start on Saturday. The Zips have an opportunity to do something that they have never done before, win 2 games in a post season tournament. They will have to play some great basketball to get this done. There are no travel related excuses since they have been in Texas the entire week. Really looking forward to this game. Go Zips!!

I watched the Kent UCLA game and Kent played very well and was with 6 with about 10 minutes left in the second half. Kent had numerous offensive rebounds and forced UCLA to double Hall. UCLA then went through a stretch late in the 2nd half where they made 10 or 12 straight shots to build up a 20 point lead. Kent played great basketball during the tournament and peaked at the right time. The final score did not reflect the true nature of the game. (like our game with Gonzaga). I may not be in the majority but I was routing for Kent to be competitive because it reflects on our conference. We will never get a second bid for our conference as long as we are always one and done when we get to the conference tournament.

Middle Tennessee was a great series and we should do everything to bring them back. They also brought some fans with them.

During the second half of last nights game, the announcer indicated that Kwan was a non factor in the 2nd half and that KD should run a play for him to get him involved in the offense. I believe this was a great point. Kwan seems to get down on himself when he misses a shot a then disappears. He needs to revert back to mid season form taking the ball inside and going strong to the hoop instead of fading away from the hoop. He had a key rebound last night in the second half and rebounded well. We need a strong game from him on Monday to win.

I think it did. I don't know if there is a stat but it seems that because of our poor foul shooting that we miss the first shot on the one on one and it turns into a wasted possession at the end of the game. Great rule for us!

Correct me if I am wrong, but a home game is still possible since Bakersfield won. If Bakersfield wins as an 8 seed and we win as a 7 seed then we get a home game. Now that would be nice! A home game to get to Madison Square Garden.

Great victory for the Zips. Amazing how a win like that erases the sting from Saturday. I thought the Zips won the game and Houston did not give it away. Tough defense on the last few possessions.

Let's pull out a close one like we have been doing all season.

We need to get out of the paint when Big Dog has the ball. There is no reason for anyone to be near Big Dog when he has the ball down low. Their center cannot handle Big Dog one on one. Force them to double team him We took some long 3 balls but made a few. Our guards are getting killed on the dribble drive but that has been going on all year. Would like to see more Poke so that Big Dog is not exhausted at the end of the game. Good first half by both teams. Can anyone estimate the crowd. The arena is so big is tough to guess. I am thinking 3,000. We would have a bigger crowd at the Jar.

When Big Dog has the ball down low just get out of the paint. Our spacing is just not that good when he has the ball. In the next possession they did better. There is nothing their center can do against Big Dog. Good first half. We took some long three balls but we also made some. Our guards just cannot defend the dribble penetration but that has been a problem all year.

I went to that game and my thought was the only one that looked like he belonged on the court was Tree. Everyone else looked slow compared to the athletes on VCU. Harney was our point guard and he could not handle the ball against continuous pressure. The only good thing about that day was watching Michigan play and I believe they made a run to the finals that year.

Kwan had a great season. I started this thread because I never thought he would achieve the success that he had and deserved a shout out for how well he was playing every game. He is one of the main reasons we were so successful this season. Unfortunately, his offensive game became more inconsistent about three quarters through the season. In the semifinal he went 3 for 4 from the 3 line and scored 11 points in limited minutes because of foul problems. However, in the final he and Antino had poor shooting nights and there is little chance of us winning when those 2 are not shooting well. However, the talent is there so there is still a chance to reach 1000 points. No matter if we win or lose, would love to see Kwan have a great game tonight. Go Zips!!

The closest team to Akron was Indiana, a 6th seed. There facility is being renovated and although they are seeded higher they are on the road. It would have been nice to have had Indiana come to the Jar.

At Buffalo and at Kent. Did not think they would win either game. I am not predicting that they will win but I think they could play a competitive game against anyone in the NIT. I am hoping they draw a Wed. game so they get the extra day rest.

When Akron lost on a last second bank shot years ago, everyone was upset that we did not get an NIT invitation and the NCAA changed the rule so that conference champions received an NIT bid. Now that we are in the NIT, all I have heard is negativity regarding this tournament. On the post game show, the announcers indicated nobody wanted to play in the NIT, and the asst coach on the post game did not seem thrilled about the NIT. I understand that the interview was right after our loss but it is the 2nd best tournament. It would be great if we could make a post season run in the NIT. We will be playing a high level team and if we win we could get another home game. We loss our bid to the NCAA and we need to get over it and show the country that we have a good basketball program. I remember last year how poorly the team played against Ohio State and I hope that we will not have a repeat of that game. Lets forget the past and make something happen in the future. Go Zips!!