Zips vs. Rhode Island

[Valpo Zip]

The RPI is not a perfect system.

That would have been a pretty good post if you had stopped there.

You proved me right by not providing a solution. Complaining about the current situation is easy. Finding a solution is the tough part

[Zip Watcher]

The RPI is not a perfect system.

That would have been a pretty good post if you had stopped there.

You proved me right by not providing a solution. Complaining about the current situation is easy. Finding a solution is the tough part

I proved nothing of the sort. I'm not complaining about RPI .. it's simply rubbish. My only complaint is when posters use it as a crutch to either over promote or denigrate teams.That's why the games are played. Every team in the country has an opportunity to win the National Championship. Every year. Win your league's autobid .. you're in the dance. Win 6 games .. you're the Champ.RPI has never cost a team a single game or championship, nor has it given a team a game or championship. There's no problem to solve.Go Zips!

[RowdyZip]

The line has shifted in the favor of the Zips. Most sites now have Akron -1 or -1.5. Shows how little rpi means for #150 to be favored to beat #8. Still surprising after last yrs debacle. GO ZIPS!

[g-mann17]

The RPI is not a perfect system.

That would have been a pretty good post if you had stopped there.

You proved me right by not providing a solution. Complaining about the current situation is easy. Finding a solution is the tough part

Fine solution for the RPI.1. Each of the 300+ teams rolls a 20 sided die 6 times. Each roll represents you Strength, Charisma, Intelligence... oh wait I've seen this some where before...Ok, Ok scratch that. Though slightly less fantasy world then the RPI I'm sure the bigger schools could buy better dice and besides who would make sure they didn't just write six beneficial numbers down.

[ZachTheZip]

Some of the URI fans are counting on a link for a TV feed of the game to be posted on here. To that I say: good luck . We're in the MAC, and in case you haven't heard, the MAC sucks. No video feed for you. If you're desperate enough to pony up for the paid service on gozips.com, well, good luck watching that thing.

[vmd9]

link is up! channelsurfing.net

[zipsfan13]

link is up! channelsurfing.net

Thanks a lot!

[Z.I.P.]

Shouldn't this game be underway? No scores up yet -- UA Gametracker inoperational (as usual!). What's happening to my Zippers?

[Z.I.P.]

So far URI is up 19-16 after a missed URI FT... I'm seeing a lot of sloppiness (TOs and fouls) but there are also bright spots here and there... ugh there's a traveling call

OKay 22-19 Akron. 3 minute + drought for URI. 6-pt Akron run.-- ESPN's gamecast finally came up:http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/gamecast?gameId=300052006

[Z.I.P.]

So far URI is up 19-16 after a missed URI FT... I'm seeing a lot of sloppiness (TOs and fouls) but there are also bright spots here and there... ugh there's a traveling call

OKay 22-19 Akron. 3 minute + drought for URI. 6-pt Akron run.-- ESPN's gamecast finally came up:http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/gamecast?gameId=300052006

6-Pt run became an 11-pt run! 27-19 GO Zips!!!!

[WinZip]

I'm really regretting not making the 2 hour trip to this game. Love the energy in the JAR!

[Z.I.P.]

I'm really regretting not making the 2 hour trip to this game. Love the energy in the JAR!

36-29 Akron at the half!Rhodys scored on a lay-up with 13 seconds, then Ronnie Steward made a layup at the buzzer to make it seven again. Great half. Just gotta keep that momentum the next five minutes. Baron will be screaming at his team in the JAR locker room.

[RowdyZip]

Sitting in section 9 of GA with friends, I was struck with what an advantage this place could be if it was packed all the time. Probably 55% full in here and LOUD during that run. Keep it goin, Zips.

[zipsfan13]

Once again Akron loses to a quality opponent because they can't finish the game strong.

[RACER]

rhode island would mop up any team in mac.they beat ok.state ,and if keep winning will be a top 25 team.to say we didn't finish is crazy. we lost to a better team.

[Quickzips]

rhode island would mop up any team in mac.they beat ok.state ,and if keep winning will be a top 25 team.to say we didn't finish is crazy. we lost to a better team.

Rhode Island might beat every team in the MAC, but that isn't much of a testament to Rhode Island. Truth be told, that wasn't a GREAT team. They were good mind you, but they weren't that great. I've seen NAIA teams shoot jumpshots better than those guys. They don't rebound particularly well (though they turned it on in the middle of the 2nd half and did a decent job there). Their full court press, quite frankly is a joke. The Zips beat it with ease. Rhode Island won the game because they moved into a half court defense and the Zips couldn't figure it out. Nothing about that team screamed "Top 25" to me.

[akronzips71]

rhode island would mop up any team in mac.they beat ok.state ,and if keep winning will be a top 25 team.to say we didn't finish is crazy. we lost to a better team.

Rhode Island might beat every team in the MAC, but that isn't much of a testament to Rhode Island. Truth be told, that wasn't a GREAT team. They were good mind you, but they weren't that great. I've seen NAIA teams shoot jumpshots better than those guys. They don't rebound particularly well (though they turned it on in the middle of the 2nd half and did a decent job there). Their full court press, quite frankly is a joke. The Zips beat it with ease. Rhode Island won the game because they moved into a half court defense and the Zips couldn't figure it out. Nothing about that team screamed "Top 25" to me.

They won the game because the Zips got careless and turned it over too many times, and once again MISSED FREE THROWS.

[goodthts]

I did not watch nor listen to game, however looking at the stats now. No matter who the Zips play, they will find it really hard to win shooting 38% or so and having 16 TO's in a game. They seemed to hang with a good team. Once again though (Austin Peay, Gonzaga, NC State), they came up just short.They should tear apart the MAC schedule!

[RootforRoo44]

The zips could have easily won that game...actually i would bet they would majority of the time.Funny how no one has mentioned how TERRIBLE the officiating was. I guess we are just used to that kind of garbage showing up game after game at the JAR.Also, the crowd was AWESOME tonight. Really loud and they were so rowdy that i thought people were going to start throwing things after that play where Chris Mcknight was nearly murdered under the basket on a 2 footer after an offensive board. It was a fun game though, alot of people are missing out on this.

[Z.I.P.]

rhode island would mop up any team in mac.they beat ok.state ,and if keep winning will be a top 25 team.to say we didn't finish is crazy. we lost to a better team.

The Zips lost to a very good team -- which they outplayed for about 35 minutes. AGAIN!!! When will this stop? I think for once, that the cheerleaders should take a hard look at this team's warts, and that Keith Dambrot and the guys in blue and gold need to have some pressure applied. Tear apart the MAC schedule -- and get your 13 or 14 seed in the Spokane Regional. I'm starting to get fed up. I'm starting to be guided by the standards of Caleb Porter's team. Time to step it up!

[Quickzips]

The zips could have easily won that game...actually i would bet they would majority of the time.Funny how no one has mentioned how TERRIBLE the officiating was. I guess we are just used to that kind of garbage showing up game after game at the JAR.Also, the crowd was AWESOME tonight. Really loud and they were so rowdy that i thought people were going to start throwing things after that play where Chris Mcknight was nearly murdered under the basket on a 2 footer after an offensive board. It was a fun game though, alot of people are missing out on this.

I said it in another thread, and I will say it again here. Officiating did not lose us that game last night. The Zips took care of that all on their own. Was the officiating good, ofcourse not. But it didn't lose us that game. Turnovers, poor foul shooting, poor rebounding down the stretch and the general nature of the Zips to crap their pants any time they have a shot at winning a big game lost us that game last night. Winners win basketball games, losers gripe about officiating.

[The Hip Zip]

The zips could have easily won that game...actually i would bet they would majority of the time.Funny how no one has mentioned how TERRIBLE the officiating was. I guess we are just used to that kind of garbage showing up game after game at the JAR.Also, the crowd was AWESOME tonight. Really loud and they were so rowdy that i thought people were going to start throwing things after that play where Chris Mcknight was nearly murdered under the basket on a 2 footer after an offensive board. It was a fun game though, alot of people are missing out on this.

I'm glad you brought up the officiating because they did stink. Larry Scirotto ( the little guy) is the worse piece of crap that ever picked up a whistle. I have seen him call around 15 games and am still waiting for a good game from him. The other two were not much better either. We sit just three rows behind Keith and he really gave it to him a couple of times. I am surprised he didn't get a T because he was so damn mad he was shaking as he screamed at him. I am not going to blame the loss on the refs because we had them and let them go, we just were not quite good enough. Once again, not having a reliable go-to guy really hurt us down the stretch vs. a quality opponent. As James elevated his game for the Rams we simply had nobody to step up and answer.For the 1,000th time, we'll get 'em next time.

[Hilltopper]

We lost because B McKnight was awful and we threw the ball away too often. There was about a 3 minute stretch in the 2nd half where we threw it away around 4 times in a row. It was like last year when he was like a blackhole, the ball went into him and no matter what he was going to shoot. Brett needs to let the game come to him and not force things.

[GP1]

rhode island would mop up any team in mac.they beat ok.state ,and if keep winning will be a top 25 team.to say we didn't finish is crazy. we lost to a better team.

The Zips lost to a very good team -- which they outplayed for about 35 minutes. AGAIN!!! When will this stop? I think for once, that the cheerleaders should take a hard look at this team's warts, and that Keith Dambrot and the guys in blue and gold need to have some pressure applied. Tear apart the MAC schedule -- and get your 13 or 14 seed in the Spokane Regional. I'm starting to get fed up. I'm starting to be guided by the standards of Caleb Porter's team. Time to step it up!

Good post.If a team is slightly better than you, it doesn't always show up early in a game. The pressure builds until they win at the end. I saw the same thing happen at Winthrop two years ago.With that said, there needs to be immediate and long term pressure applied to the program. Both of these pressures are not unrealistic expectations based upon the current talent level of the team and quality of the program.The immediate pressure needs to be to go undefeated in the MAC regular season. Whatever happens in the tournament happens, but immediate improvement to me over last year would be undefeated in the MAC regular season.Long term, the difference between starting the season 10-4 or 8-6 does not make a difference if you win the MAC. They need to play better competition (ATM games on the road) for both the competitive aspect of the program and the financial aspect of the Athletic Department. Starting out every season 10-4 against our ooc schedule really doesn't impress anyone locally or nationally.Other than that, I like our chances in the MAC.

[Quickzips]

Just a few more thoughts on last night that I haven't posted yet.I thought there were two key points in the game last night. The stretch at about the 12 minute mark where the Zips coughed the ball up like it was their job was the first. At that point the Zips had a solid 3 possession lead. Those turnovers allowed Rhode Island to cut it back to even and really put the pressure on the Zips. The second was Jimmy Conyers picking up his 4th foul with about 5 minutes to go. That was when the rebounding advantage really started to swing for Rhode Island. They got a lot of second chance points down the stretch that they weren't able to get early in the game because Conyers was, again, a beast on the boards.Nikola needs to completely change his free throw motion. Stop shooting from way above your head like that. Shoot from the elbow.Daryl Roberts doesn't take one FG attempt all night last night? Granted, we don't need Daryl jacking up 15-20 shots a night, but it makes it hard on us when, probably our most efficient shooter doesn't take a single shot from the field.Dambrot got flat out-coached last night. I thought at halftime there was one defensive adjustment each team could make that would win them the game. For Rhode Island it was backing out of the full court pressure and playing in a half court set. Their full court pressure was completely ineffective, but when they went into a half court they seemed to confuse the Zips. For us, I felt we should have come out of the locker room playing a 2/3 zone and stick with it until the Rams show us they can shoot over it. Like I've said before, I've NEVER seen an opponent come into the JAR that highly hyped with absolutely no ability to hit a jumper. They airmailed or bricked just about every one of them. Unfortunatly, Rhode Island made their adjustment, the Zips stayed with their man to man.I'll go ahead and be the first to say it. I think Zeke needs to sit down for a week or two and rest those knees. He was effective at times last night, but after about 2 minutes on the floor you could tell he was laboring. His defensive rotations became slow and he just couldn't seem to get up and down the floor like he normally does. I know it would suck to sit him for the first week or two of conference play, but in the long term we need those knees to be healthy.I'm normally pretty hard on him, but I'll go ahead and give Mike Bardo props for making the most out of the minutes he got last night. They weren't many, but when he was in the game in the first half the Zips extended the lead and Rhode Island seemed frustrated. Not enough to warrant more minutes for him, but a decent game nonetheless.It was a tale of two halves for Ronnie Steward. In the first half I actually started to think about him as a potential starting PG again. He was calm out there, and he actually started looking to drive the ball to the hoop and take his own shot. In the second half, he looked tenative, indecisive and he became turnover prone. Guess the rust isn't entirely off for him yet. Still, it seems like Dambrot is determined to get him some more minutes. I hope it pays off.Finally, awesome job by the crowd last night. It wasn't as large as I would have liked, but I have rarely seen our crowd that engaged in the game. Too bad we couldn't send them home on a good note.