Zips vs OU

[K-Roo]

Head to Head

[Z-Pouch]

Head to Head

I thought that this was the toughest MAC game on the schedule in January – Imposing larger venue and potentially rough student section for a young team. Is it the game that we start to see the light at the end of the tunnel? Win here would be huge and completely unexpected to me (Spread is surprisingly only 4pts)Can Linhart guard Tillman? Or does Conyers get a shot at redemption? Or does KD go big on him with a lot of switching?

[Captain Kangaroo]

Or does KD go big on him with a lot of switching?

Bardo will use his 5 fouls tonight.

[skip-zip]

I have no idea what KDs plan is to stop Tillman in this game, but I'll be please with an all-out effort from everyone on the floor to cut off the passing lanes and limit his opportunities. Z-Pouch...unless we start to score points, or suddenly stop playing defense, I think for the time being people are going to expect low scoring grind-it-out games when Akron is on the floor. So, I would be surprised if you see very big point spreads in our games anytime soon, even on the road.

[RACER]

the next two games are huge for the zips.even if we can split the next two would be ok.a win tonight ,and Can't would be awsome.we start to play the teams in the west,and start to get alott of wins then.

[ZachTheZip]

I have no idea what KDs plan is to stop Tillman in this game, but I'll be please with an all-out effort from everyone on the floor to cut off the passing lanes and limit his opportunities.

He's quick, he's slick, he'll kick you in the . Steve Sweich, Steve Sweich.

[tbozeglav]

I have no idea what KDs plan is to stop Tillman in this game, but I'll be please with an all-out effort from everyone on the floor to cut off the passing lanes and limit his opportunities.

He's quick, he's slick, he'll kick you in the . Steve Sweich, Steve Sweich.

wow.... just....wowAnyways, this looks to be a real good game. Id really love to see the guys win this one and build some momentum going into the Can't game. Winning 2 in a wide open MAC, and especially tough East, would go a long way.

[jeaglet1]

At the half, Ohio is up 37-26.

[Dave in Green]

No foul problems at halftime. Lots of rebounding and shooting problems.McClanahan has been productive in his 7 minutes: 2 of 4 from the field (1 of 2 on 3s), 1 of 2 free throws, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 0 turnovers, 0 personal fouls. Not bad for a mid-season converted redshirt.

[MDZip]

The team looked terrible for the whole game and are back within 2 with 1:44 left. At least there is no quit in them. There is still a chance.

[ZipsGpa]

in ot tied at 56!!!

[tbozeglav]

im confused by espn's game cast... they show the score as 56-56, but the gamecast chart shows Akron 56, Ohio 53.....**edit**guess they went to overtime and espn didnt update in time...

[Dave in Green]

Extremely gutty performance to come back from a big double digit deficit in the last 5 minutes, tie it and take it into overtime. B. McKnight redeems another poor shooting performance by rebounding a missed shot by C. McKnight and putting it back in as the clock expires.Now, do they have anything left, or do they fold as they did against Miami?

[ZachTheZip]

in ot tied at 56!!!

Bwah? I turned it off in disgust with about 10 minutes left!

[ZipsGpa]

crud... a loss... 70-65

[MDZip]

But in the end - another disappointing loss. (sigh)

[Agent Zero]

Akron loses 70-65. Devaughn Washington for Ohio killed the Zips in the overtime period. Ugh!

[Deeustin89]

humpty was atrocious tonight. chris was having a nice game when not saddled with foul trouble. gritty defense in the latter part of the first half and the second half but in the end another one they let get away. they are starting to add up.

[Dave in Green]

They didn't win, but they didn't fold. They have to keep improving, and they have to win one of these close ones. All is forgiven if they learn another lesson to be applied in the MAC tournament.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Watching the BG game on TV Saturday, Jim Chones constantly commented on the Zips poor shot selection. If he were doing color for the OU game, he could probably have just ran a tape of the BG broadcast...it was the same thing.OU worked the ball inside constantly. Conversely, we heaved up all sorts of stuff, at all points in time within the 35 second clock. We just don't have a whole lot of poise and confidence in our offense. Too much early panic.Humpty is really struggling with letting the game come to him. He's forcing everything. In fairness, Linhart probably had a worst OT than Humpty.If you want to look for positives - Chris McKnight continues to be a reliable scoring threat. Roberts is playing well too. The comeback to force OT was amazing. A really gritty effort was wasted with the horrific OT.Zips were outscored 16-4 in the Miami OT. And 12-4 in the OU OT. Getting to OT is nice...but you gotta at least show up once you get there.Who surrenders quicker - A real French person, or Steve French? I think our Frenchy broke his own personal record by waving the white flag with 17 minutes remaining in the 2nd half.I won't fret over this loss. It was a hell of an effort at an arena where the home team is something like 21-1 in their last 22. Beat K.e.n.t on Saturday and all will be well. It will be VERY interesting to see how the youngsters respond to the intensity of that game.

[jeaglet1]

As already stated, Akron kept coming and wouldnt give up which is a good sign for the young team. Seems as soon as Tillman got in foul trouble the Zips woke up.

[GJGood]

Anybody know anything about Ronnie's condition? I just think he is the best ball handler on the team. I like Hitchens and he will have big games but he is also a little more turnover prone than Steward from what I have seen (in their limited Akron time but also from what I saw both of them do in high school). If the Zips had just taken A LITTLE BETTER care of the ball in these close losses I think we'd all be pretty satisfied right now.Still, gutsy comeback last night in one of the toughest venues we play in. This is a good sign for the future. Now, let's take care of business at home Saturday then hopefully play well against YSU and the MAC West squads.

[skip-zip]

I was listening to the game with a friend who does not follow Zips basketball at all, and I told him at the mid-way point of the 2nd half that we just can't score well enough to come back from a double-digit deficit. So what happens? The only other thing that could possibly get us back in the game. Good defense, coupled with dumb passes and cold shooting by OU. It sure made a boring game pretty exciting.1) Humpty still makes me shake my head. He finally gets a night where he starts to look like a real point guard and dishes out a decent amount of assists, but ends the game with maybe his worst night of the season taking care of the basketball. His dumb turnovers kill us since we don't shoot the ball well enough to be throwing it away. I like when KD pulled him in the late stages of the Buffalo game in favor of McNees and Roberts. Although neither has Humpty's playmaking ability, for right now, that's probably the best thing for us to do if we want to maximize our possessions at critical junctures. Plus, he's not shooting well either. As I sensed very early in the season, this guy just has a long way to go before he'll be able to do what we need him to do in the role that's been given to him early in his career by our coach. So, when is Ronnie due to return? 2) I felt that going into this season, C. McKnight was going to eventually emerge as the MVP of this team. Following that problem with his ribs, he looks like he might be getting aggressive again and producing like I expected. Lets hope it continues. 3) Maybe French's early raising of the white flag had something to do with him being an OU grad. But really, I lost count of the number of times that OU was probably only a single hoop away from puttting the game out of reach for us in the 2nd half. The problem was, they never got that hoop when they needed it.4) Once again, as I've said many times, I'd rather see us shoot 3-pointers all night than take the wild shots that we're taking closer to the basket. 5) Bardo...only one basket and two rebounds in 25 minutes. We see this so often, and I still don't believe that it's mathematically possible. 6) I give most of these guys all the credit in the world for competing the way that they do on most nights. But, so much more of what it takes to be a good basketball team just isn't sinking in with these guys quite yet. I still hope it happens soon enough to make something of this season.

[Deeustin89]

I was listening to the game with a friend who does not follow Zips basketball at all, and I told him at the mid-way point of the 2nd half that we just can't score well enough to come back from a double-digit deficit. So what happens? The only other thing that could possibly get us back in the game. Good defense, coupled with dumb passes and cold shooting by OU. It sure made a boring game pretty exciting.1) Humpty still makes me shake my head. He finally gets a night where he starts to look like a real point guard and dishes out a decent amount of assists, but ends the game with maybe his worst night of the season taking care of the basketball. His dumb turnovers kill us since we don't shoot the ball well enough to be throwing it away. I like when KD pulled him in the late stages of the Buffalo game in favor of McNees and Roberts. Although neither has Humpty's playmaking ability, for right now, that's probably the best thing for us to do if we want to maximize our possessions at critical junctures. Plus, he's not shooting well either. As I sensed very early in the season, this guy just has a long way to go before he'll be able to do what we need him to do in the role that's been given to him early in his career by our coach. So, when is Ronnie due to return? 2) I felt that going into this season, C. McKnight was going to eventually emerge as the MVP of this team. Following that problem with his ribs, he looks like he might be getting aggressive again and producing like I expected. Lets hope it continues. 3) Maybe French's early raising of the white flag had something to do with him being an OU grad. But really, I lost count of the number of times that OU was probably only a single hoop away from puttting the game out of reach for us in the 2nd half. The problem was, they never got that hoop when they needed it.4) Once again, as I've said many times, I'd rather see us shoot 3-pointers all night than take the wild shots that we're taking closer to the basket. 5) Bardo...only one basket and two rebounds in 25 minutes. We see this so often, and I still don't believe that it's mathematically possible. 6) I give most of these guys all the credit in the world for competing the way that they do on most nights. But, so much more of what it takes to be a good basketball team just isn't sinking in with these guys quite yet. I still hope it happens soon enough to make something of this season.

skip-i was in attendance for this one so i'll shed some light from someone who saw it live:1. you are right. Take away the dumb mistakes and you can live with a 3-9 shooting game and 6 assists from your PG, but the bad thing was, until the end (when it turned into simply forcing it) Hump was simply being careless. falling down while dribbling and turning it over. guys not looking when wide open and the pass goes right by them into the hands of the defense, etc. I'm as big a supporter as there is of Humpty but at this stage i think KD has to play him according to how he's performing on that given night. If you only play him big minutes when he's taking care of it and creating for others, you will get better production because he turns it over in bunches and makes plays in bunches, i think the leash needs shortened to where its one or two turnovers and he's on the bench for extended time. The problem is obviously ronnie being out so the lack of depth, but tonight there was no reason he needed to come into the game with 1 minute left in OT and had sat the first 4 minutes of OT.2. Chris was very good tonight. he's scoring his best in the mid range. I dont mind him taking the wide open 3 but he's starting to catch a shoot a little too often for my taste. i like him taking the 15 footer or facing up, making a move and getting a good shot. But he was by far the bright spot offensively tonight and i'm pleased with his turnaround as of late.4. These shots kill us because its not like we are just getting it on the glass so someone can clean it up. we are horrible on the O glass. wild out of control shots are possession enders. I like our chances much better from outside, but it wouldnt be as bad if guys would step over, fill in and we had players who could dish it off for easy hoops. instead we have guys who get tunnel vision once they begin to drive to the hoop. its shot all the way no matter how good the help defense.5. The funny thing is the guys actually look for him and feed him in the post. Everytime they do i'm like "why do we think he can score 1 on 1 in the post"? especially because he never gets real good position, he's always catching it atleast 10 feet out which is much too far for him to be able to do anything with it.and i'll add my own tid-bit. game tying basket or not, it pains me to watch Brett McKnight. He simply has no idea of what is a good shot and a bad shot. He makes up his mind its going up when he touches it and it often results in 17 foot contested fadeaway jumpers. A guy who sat behind me tonight plays alot of ball with Brett in the summer and said that its no different then. he's putting it up when he gets it no matter what kind of shot he can get. that tells me its a mindset thing, and needs changing IMO.

[Dave in Green]

..... Zips were outscored 16-4 in the Miami OT. And 12-4 in the OU OT. Getting to OT is nice...but you gotta at least show up once you get there. .....

Where did you come up with that?First, the Zips were outscored in the OU OT 14-9, not 12-4.Second, there was absolutely no comparison with the Miami OT. Miami dominated OT from beginning to end. The Zips took the lead early in OT against Ohio, and led halfway through OT. Only at the end of OT did they fall behind and have to foul to get the ball back.