Akron @ Valpo Feb 21

[apalmison]

This matchup is really interesting to me being an Akron alum AND a Valpo alum (Law '08). I'm going to the game for sure, being only a few hours away. If you're going let me know if there's anything I can do to help your trip. It's about a 5.5 hour drive, turnpike almost the whole way. You'll need approx $20 round trip for tolls. Valpo plays in the ARC, a 5,100 seat facility located on Chapel Drive. MapLodging - here are the places I'd recommend. There are more but these are the closest and nicest.Country Inn and Suites - 2020 LaPorte Avenue Valparaiso, IN 46383 - New hotel. It would be a good walk to the ARC but it's certainly do-able. Located in a newer area of town close to some chain restaurants, starbucks, etc.Holiday Inn Express - 1251 Silhavy Road - Also brand new. Short drive to campus.Courtyard - 2301 East Morthland DriveBest Western - 760 Morthland DriveFairfield Inn - 2101 East Morthland DriveThe "main drag" is Lincolnway Map of the TownThere are a lot of smaller restaurants and bars on Lincolnway in downtown Valpo but also some scattered throughout town that might be worth checking out. I'd recommend:BW3 - the oh so familiar B Dubs is located at 215 East Lincolnway. If the students are somewhere before the game, this is a very likely place.Pastimes - my favorite bar in Valpo at 175 Lincolnway. Has probably 60 or more beers from around the world. Pretty good food, too.Northside Tap - total dive bar with cheap beer and rather unremarkable bar food. Usually pretty crowded on weekends for some reason I never understood. 712 Calumet Ave.Brewski's - 1084 Linwood Ave. Perhaps I should now mention, for any smokers in the crowd, that Valpo has a pretty stringent smoking ban. Brewski's is still a smoking facility, at least in the bar area. Decent BW3-type food. Wings Etc. - Wings and beer. Family friendly but still a fun sports atmosphere. 501 Silhavy Road.Pikk's Tavern - great food, nice bar, carries some local microbrews and has a decent wine list. Great place for dinner. A little more upscale and not really much of a student hang out. . . which could be a good thing. 62 W Lincolnway.Maria Elena's - 454 Grenwich Street. Nice little restaurant that serves Italian, American, and Mexican food. Slow service so be patient. Easy walk from Maria Elena's to the ARC. Might be the only place that is truly well within walking distance. It's a restaurant, not a bar, though it does serve beer and wine.Chili's, Red Robin, Panera, and TGI Fridays - all located at or near the intersection of LaPorte and Silhavy. Wagner's BBQ - 2310 LaPorte Ave. Near the Country Inn and Suites. IMO the best Burgers in Valpo. Also known for its Ribs.See you at the Game! Go Zips!

[Z.I.P.]

Sorry for reframing the debate, but: Buffalo draws @Vermont (on ESPNU)! The two would have met in the final of the Rainbow Classic here in H'town, if UVM hadn't played their worst game of the year vs Colo State in the semis. UB is a good but far from great team. The same goes for the Catamounts. Prediction: Vermont 71 Buffalo 65.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Thanks for taking the time to post the Valpo info!

[GoZips88]

This matchup is really interesting to me being an Akron alum AND a Valpo alum (Law '08). I'm going to the game for sure, being only a few hours away. If you're going let me know if there's anything I can do to help your trip. It's about a 5.5 hour drive, turnpike almost the whole way. You'll need approx $20 round trip for tolls. Valpo plays in the ARC, a 5,100 seat facility located on Chapel Drive. MapLodging - here are the places I'd recommend. There are more but these are the closest and nicest.Country Inn and Suites - 2020 LaPorte Avenue Valparaiso, IN 46383 - New hotel. It would be a good walk to the ARC but it's certainly do-able. Located in a newer area of town close to some chain restaurants, starbucks, etc.Holiday Inn Express - 1251 Silhavy Road - Also brand new. Short drive to campus.Courtyard - 2301 East Morthland DriveBest Western - 760 Morthland DriveFairfield Inn - 2101 East Morthland DriveThe "main drag" is Lincolnway Map of the TownThere are a lot of smaller restaurants and bars on Lincolnway in downtown Valpo but also some scattered throughout town that might be worth checking out. I'd recommend:BW3 - the oh so familiar B Dubs is located at 215 East Lincolnway. If the students are somewhere before the game, this is a very likely place.Pastimes - my favorite bar in Valpo at 175 Lincolnway. Has probably 60 or more beers from around the world. Pretty good food, too.Northside Tap - total dive bar with cheap beer and rather unremarkable bar food. Usually pretty crowded on weekends for some reason I never understood. 712 Calumet Ave.Brewski's - 1084 Linwood Ave. Perhaps I should now mention, for any smokers in the crowd, that Valpo has a pretty stringent smoking ban. Brewski's is still a smoking facility, at least in the bar area. Decent BW3-type food. Wings Etc. - Wings and beer. Family friendly but still a fun sports atmosphere. 501 Silhavy Road.Pikk's Tavern - great food, nice bar, carries some local microbrews and has a decent wine list. Great place for dinner. A little more upscale and not really much of a student hang out. . . which could be a good thing. 62 W Lincolnway.Maria Elena's - 454 Grenwich Street. Nice little restaurant that serves Italian, American, and Mexican food. Slow service so be patient. Easy walk from Maria Elena's to the ARC. Might be the only place that is truly well within walking distance. It's a restaurant, not a bar, though it does serve beer and wine.Chili's, Red Robin, Panera, and TGI Fridays - all located at or near the intersection of LaPorte and Silhavy. Wagner's BBQ - 2310 LaPorte Ave. Near the Country Inn and Suites. IMO the best Burgers in Valpo. Also known for its Ribs.See you at the Game! Go Zips!

The kind of stuff that makes this board so great - thank you!

[vuweathernerd]

This matchup is really interesting to me being an Akron alum AND a Valpo alum (Law '08). I'm going to the game for sure, being only a few hours away. If you're going let me know if there's anything I can do to help your trip. It's about a 5.5 hour drive, turnpike almost the whole way. You'll need approx $20 round trip for tolls. Valpo plays in the ARC, a 5,100 seat facility located on Chapel Drive. MapLodging - here are the places I'd recommend. There are more but these are the closest and nicest.Country Inn and Suites - 2020 LaPorte Avenue Valparaiso, IN 46383 - New hotel. It would be a good walk to the ARC but it's certainly do-able. Located in a newer area of town close to some chain restaurants, starbucks, etc.Holiday Inn Express - 1251 Silhavy Road - Also brand new. Short drive to campus.Courtyard - 2301 East Morthland DriveBest Western - 760 Morthland DriveFairfield Inn - 2101 East Morthland DriveThe "main drag" is Lincolnway Map of the TownThere are a lot of smaller restaurants and bars on Lincolnway in downtown Valpo but also some scattered throughout town that might be worth checking out. I'd recommend:BW3 - the oh so familiar B Dubs is located at 215 East Lincolnway. If the students are somewhere before the game, this is a very likely place.Pastimes - my favorite bar in Valpo at 175 Lincolnway. Has probably 60 or more beers from around the world. Pretty good food, too.Northside Tap - total dive bar with cheap beer and rather unremarkable bar food. Usually pretty crowded on weekends for some reason I never understood. 712 Calumet Ave.Brewski's - 1084 Linwood Ave. Perhaps I should now mention, for any smokers in the crowd, that Valpo has a pretty stringent smoking ban. Brewski's is still a smoking facility, at least in the bar area. Decent BW3-type food. Wings Etc. - Wings and beer. Family friendly but still a fun sports atmosphere. 501 Silhavy Road.Pikk's Tavern - great food, nice bar, carries some local microbrews and has a decent wine list. Great place for dinner. A little more upscale and not really much of a student hang out. . . which could be a good thing. 62 W Lincolnway.Maria Elena's - 454 Grenwich Street. Nice little restaurant that serves Italian, American, and Mexican food. Slow service so be patient. Easy walk from Maria Elena's to the ARC. Might be the only place that is truly well within walking distance. It's a restaurant, not a bar, though it does serve beer and wine.Chili's, Red Robin, Panera, and TGI Fridays - all located at or near the intersection of LaPorte and Silhavy. Wagner's BBQ - 2310 LaPorte Ave. Near the Country Inn and Suites. IMO the best Burgers in Valpo. Also known for its Ribs.See you at the Game! Go Zips!

actually, brewskis is no longer open. we came back for fall classes and it had closed, supposedly for renovations. but it's still not open. other than that, you're right about the rest of them. the country inn and suites is the closest to campus. it'd be about a 25 minute walk depending on how the sidewalks are (currently under 2 feet of snow). but it definitely beats not having to deal with parking. parking at vu is less than stellar.

[valpofan56]

This matchup is really interesting to me being an Akron alum AND a Valpo alum (Law '08). I'm going to the game for sure, being only a few hours away. If you're going let me know if there's anything I can do to help your trip. It's about a 5.5 hour drive, turnpike almost the whole way. You'll need approx $20 round trip for tolls. Valpo plays in the ARC, a 5,100 seat facility located on Chapel Drive. MapLodging - here are the places I'd recommend. There are more but these are the closest and nicest.Country Inn and Suites - 2020 LaPorte Avenue Valparaiso, IN 46383 - New hotel. It would be a good walk to the ARC but it's certainly do-able. Located in a newer area of town close to some chain restaurants, starbucks, etc.Holiday Inn Express - 1251 Silhavy Road - Also brand new. Short drive to campus.Courtyard - 2301 East Morthland DriveBest Western - 760 Morthland DriveFairfield Inn - 2101 East Morthland DriveThe "main drag" is Lincolnway Map of the TownThere are a lot of smaller restaurants and bars on Lincolnway in downtown Valpo but also some scattered throughout town that might be worth checking out. I'd recommend:BW3 - the oh so familiar B Dubs is located at 215 East Lincolnway. If the students are somewhere before the game, this is a very likely place.Pastimes - my favorite bar in Valpo at 175 Lincolnway. Has probably 60 or more beers from around the world. Pretty good food, too.Northside Tap - total dive bar with cheap beer and rather unremarkable bar food. Usually pretty crowded on weekends for some reason I never understood. 712 Calumet Ave.Brewski's - 1084 Linwood Ave. Perhaps I should now mention, for any smokers in the crowd, that Valpo has a pretty stringent smoking ban. Brewski's is still a smoking facility, at least in the bar area. Decent BW3-type food. Wings Etc. - Wings and beer. Family friendly but still a fun sports atmosphere. 501 Silhavy Road.Pikk's Tavern - great food, nice bar, carries some local microbrews and has a decent wine list. Great place for dinner. A little more upscale and not really much of a student hang out. . . which could be a good thing. 62 W Lincolnway.Maria Elena's - 454 Grenwich Street. Nice little restaurant that serves Italian, American, and Mexican food. Slow service so be patient. Easy walk from Maria Elena's to the ARC. Might be the only place that is truly well within walking distance. It's a restaurant, not a bar, though it does serve beer and wine.Chili's, Red Robin, Panera, and TGI Fridays - all located at or near the intersection of LaPorte and Silhavy. Wagner's BBQ - 2310 LaPorte Ave. Near the Country Inn and Suites. IMO the best Burgers in Valpo. Also known for its Ribs.See you at the Game! Go Zips!

Excellent analysis of the Valpo area, although I'm not surprised since you went to Law School there. One point I'd like to add is to check out Buffalouie's which is on the north side of town on Calumet Ave. It has a fun atmosphere and is (I believe) co-owned by Valpo Associate Head Coach, Bryce Drew and Radio play-by-play man Todd Ickow! Also, one point of disagreement is on the Northside Tap! I always enjoyed the atmosphere and the food at Northside when I was a student there!

[apalmison]

btw - Is anyone going? Feel free to pm if you are looking for a watering hole pre-game .

[ZachTheZip]

Just a reminder: Valpo message boards

[RowdyZip]

I'm pretty upset that I have to work during this one. I thought the free Horizon League internet feed was a nice feature, I used it to watch Cleveland State dismantle K-S-U (cks). I'll offer up a prediction:Akron 64Valpo 68I just don't see much incentive to winning this one for our guys, a long drive, non-conf game against a 7-20 team. This is the kind of games where young teams fall asleep looking forward to the rest of the year in the MAC. Man, I hope I'm wrong.

[Dave in Green]

This would be a good game to play McClanahan long minutes and run a lot of the offense through him. He still only has 11 games of college experience, and needs more seasoning if we expect him to be a factor in the MAC tournament, where the Zips will need all the firepower they can muster.

[WinZip]

After a cold shower at NIU I'm less than confident with any road performance. At the same time, however, Akron (58.9 Points allowed and 67.2 Points scored) should be the better team against Valparaiso (65.4 Points allowed and 60.7 points scored). In addition, the confidence should be high after a good win against a solid Miami (OH) team. I'll take the zips in a close one, with the zips leading for the majority. Akron- 64Valparaiso- 59

[ZachTheZip]

This would be a good game to play McClanahan long minutes and run a lot of the offense through him. He still only has 11 games of college experience, and needs more seasoning if we expect him to be a factor in the MAC tournament, where the Zips will need all the firepower they can muster.

This is a game that we should use to build a bit more depth going into the last stretch of tough games and the tournament.They had better take this game seriously, though. Not because because of who we're playing, but because of who we play after them. This team needs to have confidence going to Buffalo.

[Bleacher Bum]

Zips by 14

[Hilltopper]

Two words...Steve Sweich

[WinZip]

This would be a good game to play McClanahan long minutes and run a lot of the offense through him. He still only has 11 games of college experience, and needs more seasoning if we expect him to be a factor in the MAC tournament, where the Zips will need all the firepower they can muster.

This is a game that we should use to build a bit more depth going into the last stretch of tough games and the tournament.They had better take this game seriously, though. Not because because of who we're playing, but because of who we play after them. This team needs to have confidence going to Buffalo.

I think that while the starters may remain the same, coach will do a lot more to mix in some of the other guys. The point is to peak at just the right time...Might end up being a showdown on a certain last game of the year.

[Dave in Green]

After a cold shower at NIU I'm less than confident with any road performance. At the same time, however, Akron (58.9 Points allowed and 67.2 Points scored) should be the better team against Valparaiso (65.4 Points allowed and 60.7 points scored).

Those stats are a little misleading because Valpo has a much higher strength of schedule than the Zips. This is likely to be a close game unless one team catches fire or the refs really stink.

[Z-Pouch]

After a cold shower at NIU I'm less than confident with any road performance. At the same time, however, Akron (58.9 Points allowed and 67.2 Points scored) should be the better team against Valparaiso (65.4 Points allowed and 60.7 points scored).

Those stats are a little misleading because Valpo has a much higher strength of schedule than the Zips. This is likely to be a close game unless one team catches fire or the refs really stink.

Since the game is at Valpo, dont we get our MAC refs....... (I thought that's the way the Bracketbuster handled assigning referees for these games. It's supposed to be an equalizer to home court advantage!!! )

[ZachTheZip]

After a cold shower at NIU I'm less than confident with any road performance. At the same time, however, Akron (58.9 Points allowed and 67.2 Points scored) should be the better team against Valparaiso (65.4 Points allowed and 60.7 points scored).

Those stats are a little misleading because Valpo has a much higher strength of schedule than the Zips. This is likely to be a close game unless one team catches fire or the refs really stink.

Since the game is at Valpo, dont we get our MAC refs....... (I thought that's the way the Bracketbuster handled assigning referees for these games. It's supposed to be an equalizer to home court advantage!!! )

More like the kiss of death. I've never seen another league officiated like the MAC. It's odd, because refs are regionalized. These same refs don't pull that crap when they're doing Horizon league games or the Big Ten games. It's a huge disadvantage, because we have to force our teams to play according to the style that the refs dictate, where when you breath on certain players (never the "star" players, either. It's always some guy who averages 4ppg) you will be called for an offensive foul while others can get punched below the belt and then get called for fouling the puncher.Then, when we go out and play a team who doesn't have to worry about that bullcrap, teams who simply play the games and the refs go along with the flow of the game instead of creating their own, it appears that the refs favor them because we're so used to wildly inconsistant no-calls and touch-fouls.

[vuweathernerd]

After a cold shower at NIU I'm less than confident with any road performance. At the same time, however, Akron (58.9 Points allowed and 67.2 Points scored) should be the better team against Valparaiso (65.4 Points allowed and 60.7 points scored).

Those stats are a little misleading because Valpo has a much higher strength of schedule than the Zips. This is likely to be a close game unless one team catches fire or the refs really stink.

Since the game is at Valpo, dont we get our MAC refs....... (I thought that's the way the Bracketbuster handled assigning referees for these games. It's supposed to be an equalizer to home court advantage!!! )

More like the kiss of death. I've never seen another league officiated like the MAC. It's odd, because refs are regionalized. These same refs don't pull that crap when they're doing Horizon league games or the Big Ten games. It's a huge disadvantage, because we have to force our teams to play according to the style that the refs dictate, where when you breath on certain players (never the "star" players, either. It's always some guy who averages 4ppg) you will be called for an offensive foul while others can get punched below the belt and then get called for fouling the puncher.Then, when we go out and play a team who doesn't have to worry about that bullcrap, teams who simply play the games and the refs go along with the flow of the game instead of creating their own, it appears that the refs favor them because we're so used to wildly inconsistant no-calls and touch-fouls.

every conference has some bad ones. we actually just had a crew last weekend that were pretty bad. as long as they're consistent, i won't complain too much.

[The Hip Zip]

While its true that the officials come from the visitors conference it won't be a big factor here because most of the MAC refs work the Horizon as well.To those that are going, have a great time. I'll be watching on the Horizon league network.

[Valpo Zip]

Hilltopper, for 25 games since the beginning of the season, i kept hoping to see Swiech get playtime. I gave up already, I guess KD wants to break him (whatever that means). I am used to seeing Bardo play for 6-15 minutes and achieve his great line of all zeros except 3 fouls I won't be surprised if Steve transfers this offseason, i just hope he won't transfer to a MAC team and come show us what he can do over the next 3 seasons.Anyways, rant over.Anyone has a link to the horizon league video feed?

[vuweathernerd]

Hilltopper, for 25 games since the beginning of the season, i kept hoping to see Swiech get playtime. I gave up already, I guess KD wants to break him (whatever that means). I am used to seeing Bardo play for 6-15 minutes and achieve his great line of all zeros except 3 fouls I won't be surprised if Steve transfers this offseason, i just hope he won't transfer to a MAC team and come show us what he can do over the next 3 seasons.Anyways, rant over.Anyone has a link to the horizon league video feed?

www.horizonleaguenetwork.tv however, you do have to register, but it is free.

[Bleacher Bum]

as long as they're consistent, i won't complain too much.

Then you're gonna be complaining a whole hell of a lot!

[Dave in Green]

Inconsistency is the hallmark of MAC refs. In the Zips last game against Miami, they called a reasonably fair and balanced first half. In the second half, for no apparent reason, they began calling every little touch. You never know what to expect.

[GP1]

Hilltopper, for 25 games since the beginning of the season, i kept hoping to see Swiech get playtime. I gave up already, I guess KD wants to break him (whatever that means). I am used to seeing Bardo play for 6-15 minutes and achieve his great line of all zeros except 3 fouls I won't be surprised if Steve transfers this offseason, i just hope he won't transfer to a MAC team and come show us what he can do over the next 3 seasons.Anyways, rant over.Anyone has a link to the horizon league video feed?

Try to see the positive. We have a high school all american coming to UofA next year and he will immediately be placed in the starting line up. If he is as good as advertised, he should be one of the best players in the MAC next season. Kids like Zeke don't grow on trees, they are just as tall as one.I would love it if Swiech, a guy who can't beat out Bardo, would transfer and come back to try to show our high school all american how basketball is played. I'm sure Zeke would welcome the opportunity to compete against Swiech.