GP1

Be careful of how you get on the map.

Look into Southwest non stop from Cleveland. A cheap ticket may cost you more than the price of gas going up and back. Probably cost around $120 for gas up and back at the current prices, plus wear and tear on the car.

That was actually #1 on my list. Actually, they were so important, they should have been numbers 1,2&3. The other thing the Zips did last night was to follow a strategy I always say wins big MAC games. I believe that in a game between two closely matched teams, which we were last night, one team is more likely to blow a game than win the game. This is never intended as a slap in the face of the winning team. On the contrary, it is a compliment to the focus of the winning team. Akron stayed cool and made plays they had to make at crunch time never making a crushing mistake. How did Can't blow the game? Can't basically blew the game last night on the foul line. They went 12-23 (52%). The Zips were equally as terrible 8-17 (47%). Both are unacceptable averages and both can cost a team a game. If Can't shoots their average of 67.2% from the line last night, they have a little over three more points and we are all talking today about how Akron blew the game because of poor freet hrow shooting. That's what is most fun about talking about the game last night. It was an incredibly close game by two good teams and the Zips came out on top. A couple of plays go differently or Can't shoots 70% from the line and we are having a different conversation today. Enjoy this one. Championships are hard to come by.

You just described what every college basketball coach does. I can't believe nobody is discussing some of the central plays that decided the game last night. There were three, all performed by players and not coaches. 1. The two free throws made at the end to take the lead. Many of us have been fans for a long time and have watched the Zips in many sports choke away leads. What I am most proud of and and encouraged about is we finally had a player in a position to win a game and he did. 2. Zekes block at the end. A clean play. In the past, a Zip would have fouled the guy and send him to the line and we would have lost. 3. A play that is not getting much talk is Steve M. blocking a jump shot right at the end. In the past, this shot would have beaten us. I don't think any of these plays were a result of some great coaching strategy. They were plays executed by the PLAYERS. I'll take good players over good coaching any day of the week. Good players make coaches look good, not the other way around.

Normal Can't discussions involve their outhouses overflowing, so I guess it would be more of the same today.

It could be the best news ever for us. We could compete at a level where our peers are more closely like us. The players aren't in school for an education at big schools. They don't care about the value of it. The USS Value of A Scholarship has sailed. Kids are already getting sweet perks from supporters and boosters at big schools.

From where I stand, the team on paper looks pretty damn good. They were loaded with seniors, brought in some good talent in the off season and have a high school All-American playing for them. I don't know why everyone is so quick to downplay the talent on the team. They have better talent than Can't State and showed it last night. Can't State was the No.1 seed and there is no way that team has more talent than Akron. We ARE a talented team.

Can't made shot after shot in the first five minutes. For a cohesive defense, they sure weren't keeping them from scoring. Please do yourself a favor and review the GoZips.com play by play review of the game. Maybe it wasn't 7 minutes, but it was at least five. Maybe when people go to games, the lose some of the nuances of what other fans see on TV with replay, etc. After that, I would agree that the Zips far outplayed Can't. What neither team did, which had nothing to do with defense and it hurt Can't the most because they took so many of them, was miss foul shots. The foulshooting percentages those two teams put up last night were almost criminal.

skip-zip, no offense intended, but in what world is it like this now? It is already closer to guys getting paid (actually, they are getting paid) than college students who happen to play a sport. Way closer. Let's not try to make believe really talented guys at schools like Alabama are there to get an education or that the coaches care whether or not they get an education. Should they get paid by the schools? No. Should they be able to go out and get a job? Yes.

Nice player, but easily replaceable. Who is going to do this next year? It constantly amazes me how negative some of you can be in spite of these players winning one of the most exciting games against our arch rival on national TV and giving us one of the best seasons in program history. One more win and we have THE best season in program history. Why treat some of them like disposable commodities? They are real young men who have worked hard to entertain us and do our alma mater proud. Why not celebrate that with them and thanks them for their hard work and success? If they choose to leave early because better opportunity exists elsewhere, wish them well! They have earned it. Put the bitterness and negativity away for at least a few weeks...there will be plenty of opportunity for that during football season. Yes, I hope the growth of our program results in continually better players being brought in, but that doesn't have to be at the expense of taking away from the accomplishments of current and past players. We have them to thank for the growth of the program. Shame on you, GP1! Please reread my post. I said he was a nice player before saying he was replaceable. Everyone is replaceable...some more easily than others. Are they disposable commodities? Maybe. Some for sure. Didn't we give the boot to some of our commodities after last season? Aren't we better because of it? It's Division I college basketball, not D-III or high school. In a big boys world and inside of coaches rooms, players are talked about in this manner. Sorry if some aren't mature enough to talk about it.

They weren't ready to play last night. In fact, they were terrible the first 5-7 minutes of the game. The players found it within themselves to play better after that. Let me get this straight. You're saying Akron won in spite of their coach last night? No negatives here. The Zips won for all the right reasons. They won because our group of players played better than their group of players over a 45 minute game. During the first 5-7 minutes of that game, the Zips were terrible followed by Can't being terrible for a 5-7 minute period. The Zips were sleepwalking at the beginning of the game. Both teams were well coached and the refs were not a factor.

Tell me why Can't has more talent than Akron. I think we have some very talented players. My frustration with KD has been more about him not winning big games with what I consider having as much talent as the next guy in the MAC. Yesterday was one day and a great day. We need to strive to be this good all the time and string 2-3 years of MAC Championships together. This can be a great MAC program, but one day doesn't make it great. I wouldn't call it more talent, but a different kind of talent. That's my point. They don't have better talent. Like a lot of MAC teams, they are all pretty equal in talent.

They weren't ready to play last night. In fact, they were terrible the first 5-7 minutes of the game. The players found it within themselves to play better after that.

I agree. Things like this should be held in the Students Center or the JAR. Why build a new Student Center if you aren't going to use it for University events. An off campus bar is not the proper place to have a watch party for the NCAA Tournament.

He looks like a WR does in football when they get caught up trying to block someone in the middle.

The players on the floor were the difference. Zeke didn't foul out. Akron was a better team last Friday then Can't right up until Zeke fouled out. They were the better team on the floor last night and they won. Akron is a better team than Can't and if Zeke doesn't foul out last Friday, they go 3-0 against them this season. Akron is the better team.

GCR44, I was in church this morning with my Akron Zips sweatshirt on and a guy came up to me who graduated a few years after me from UofA and said, "That was a great game last night." We had a real nice talk after church. Believe me, there are Zips fans all over America who are proud of what happened last night. What a great game that was!

Nice player, but easily replaceable. Who is going to do this next year? If the Zips play up to their potential again next season, there can be another group of 15 guys doing the very same thing.

Nice player, but easily replaceable. We'll have the discussion after the season is over.

Ravenna? Are you kidding me? Last night may have been the biggest collection of slack-jawed Portage County people ever assembled in one arena.

Tell me why Can't has more talent than Akron. I think we have some very talented players. My frustration with KD has been more about him not winning big games with what I consider having as much talent as the next guy in the MAC. Yesterday was one day and a great day. We need to strive to be this good all the time and string 2-3 years of MAC Championships together. This can be a great MAC program, but one day doesn't make it great.

Nice photo. There is a fine line between success and failure. If Can't makes the layup at the end of regulation, Steve goes from a guy on the web page of SI to one of the all time goats in Zips history. That's what made last night so great. Both teams could have won that game, but the Zips did. What a great game!

I said in the car on the way home from the Q that if that game had been played by 2 teams that I didn't even care about, I would remember it as a great basketball game. The fact that it was UA over Can't is just beyond belief. We don't get to see many games like this in our lifetimes, and it's one to remember and savor over the years. It was everyting that a championship college basketball game should be: 1. Two treams that hate each other. 2. Both teams go through periods where they outplay the other, but basically, they match the level of play of the other team. 3. A guy on the foul line need to make two to take the lead and he does. 4. A player doing what he does best and blocking a shot from point blank range. 5. Both teams were well coached, but in the end, the PLAYERS on the court decided the game. 6. Both teams were of equal talent. 7. The arena looked packed and unless you knew what to look for, you couldn't tell the upper level wasn't open. It looked like a big time college basketball game.

Let's not overblow what happened. The crybaby who was run over didn't shove anyone. There was a benchwarmer who ran off the bench and an assistant coach for Can't State who overreacted. It looked worse than it was. It didn't change the score so who cares! It was a GREAT college basketball game. Looking forward to more discussion tomorrow.

Let's not overblow what happened. The crybaby who was run over didn't shove anyone. There was a benchwarmer who ran off the bench and an assistant coach for Can't State who overreacted. It looked worse than it was.