About as Big-time as It Gets

[Captain Kangaroo]

Home game...vs. K.e.n.t...for the MAC Championship...on ESPN2...Friday Night...That's about as "big time" as it gets in Summit County.

[Quickzips]

If this one isn't standing room only, this campus and this community should be damned ashamed.

[Dave in Green]

What a difference from last year when the Zips had lost 2 of their last 5 conference games going into the season finale at Can't, where they lost their 3rd conference game of the final 6 in the regular season as well as their last chance for a bye in the MAC tournament.This year the Zips have won 7 MAC games in a row going into the season finale against Can't at the JAR, the bye is clinched and it's all about whipping the team that, like it or not, has been the dominant power in the MAC over the past decade.If the players and fans aren't up for this one, we're all brain dead.

[mes102]

It's a final at the MACC Center...66-58...IT's ALL ON THE LINE ON MARCH 5TH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!IT'S GO TIME!!!!!! i BELIEVE IT IS OFFICIALLY THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE YER FOR BOTH TEAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RACER]

there is more than just a regular season mac champs on the line.the winner will also get an nit bid.the zips need to take of business on friday.

[Dr Z]

I like what Dambrot said he told the kids about Fridays game. Something like, as big as this game is on Friday, the next one will be bigger.

[zippy_ua_00]

What a difference from last year when the Zips had lost 2 of their last 5 conference games going into the season finale at Can't, where they lost their 3rd conference game of the final 6 in the regular season as well as their last chance for a bye in the MAC tournament.This year the Zips have won 7 MAC games in a row going into the season finale against Can't at the JAR, the bye is clinched and it's all about whipping the team that, like it or not, has been the dominant power in the MAC over the past decade.If the players and fans aren't up for this one, we're all brain dead.

thats pretty impressive, except that we havent even won 7 mac road games. infact we are 6-2 on the road in the mac and have won 5 mac road games in a row

[zippy_ua_00]

there is more than just a regular season mac champs on the line.the winner will also get an nit bid.the zips need to take of business on friday.

agreed about the NIT, but i dont want the NIT, i want the big dance

[Captain Kangaroo]

You want to see the program grow every year. Under Dambrot we:* Made it to Cleveland (how many of us endured those Round 1 home losses under Hipsher, then went up to Cleveland to watch everyone else have all the fun)* Won games in Cleveland* Made the NIT* Won NIT games* Made the MAC Finals* Won the MAC Tourney and got an NCAA bidIn my book there are three big accomplishments waiting on the Zips immediate to-do list -* Advance to the NCAA Round #2* Start winning quality OOC games* Win an outright regular season MAC ChampionshipTwo of those goals remain possible in 2010, and one can be accomplished on Friday.The Zips program has never won an outright MAC Basketball Championship. What better team to do it against than K.e.n.t?Be obnoxious on Friday night, Zips fans. Be very obnoxious. And bring your confetti.

[Hilltopper]

What a difference from last year when the Zips had lost 2 of their last 5 conference games going into the season finale at Can't, where they lost their 3rd conference game of the final 6 in the regular season as well as their last chance for a bye in the MAC tournament.This year the Zips have won 7 MAC games in a row going into the season finale against Can't at the JAR, the bye is clinched and it's all about whipping the team that, like it or not, has been the dominant power in the MAC over the past decade.If the players and fans aren't up for this one, we're all brain dead.

thats pretty impressive, except that we havent even won 7 mac road games. infact we are 6-2 on the road in the mac and have won 5 mac road games in a row

The Zips have won their last 7 MAC games in a row. He didn't say ROAD games. Mon, Feb 01 Eastern Michigan * - Akron, Ohio 7 p.m. 59 - 62 (L) Wed, Feb 03 Northern Illinois * - Akron, Ohio 7 p.m. 90 - 76 (W) Sat, Feb 06 Ball State * - at Muncie, Ind. Noon 75 - 70 (W) OT Tue, Feb 09 Central Michigan * - at Mt. Pleasant, Mich. 7 p.m. 56 - 52 (W) Sun, Feb 14 Ohio * - Akron, Ohio 2 p.m. 91 - 88 (W) 2OT Wed, Feb 17 Miami (Ohio) * - at Oxford, Ohio 7 p.m. 61 - 56 (W) Wed, Feb 24 Buffalo * - Akron, Ohio 7 p.m. 77 - 67 (W) Sat, Feb 27 Bowling Green * - at Bowling Green, Ohio 2:30 p.m. 74 - 68 (W)

[GP1]

There will be a group of UofA alumni watching and drinking at McHale's in Tega Cay, SC.Go Zips!

[Hilltopper]

Be obnoxious on Friday night, Zips fans. Be very obnoxious. And bring your confetti.

What color would you like your hair to be after we win?

[infofan]

Only 4, 151 showed up last january for UA vs Can't. Lets hope about 1600 more will come to their senses and witness the best of MAC basketball friday night. The nation and the world will be watching on TV. Forget all the debate concerning the lack of student support. This is their chance to jump on the bandwagon. a loud partisan crowd DOES make a difference! And dont forget to bring your BEAT Can't STATE towels! Updated RPIs as of sundayRPI Rk Mid-American Conf All RPI SOS Rk SOS East Division 48 Can't St. 12-3 21-8 0.5839 100 0.5317 85 Buffalo 9-6 16-10 0.5517 115 0.5254 91 Akron 12-3 21-8 0.5491 171 0.4940 133 Ohio 6-9 15-14 0.5205 114 0.5260 163 Miami (OH) 8-7 12-17 0.5083 82 0.5396 181 Bowling Green 6-9 13-14 0.4964 164 0.4993 West Division 165 West. Michigan 7-8 14-14 0.5081 150 0.5078 191 East. Michigan 8-7 14-13 0.4868 246 0.4668 207 Cent. Michigan 8-7 13-14 0.4799 228 0.4716 209 Ball St. 8-7 14-13 0.4768 226 0.4732 256 Northern Illinois 5-10 9-19 0.4455 181 0.4891 320 Toledo 1-14 3-26 0.3960 153 0.5057

[vmd9]

You want to see the program grow every year. Under Dambrot we:* Made it to Cleveland (how many of us endured those Round 1 home losses under Hipsher, then went up to Cleveland to watch everyone else have all the fun)* Won games in Cleveland* Made the NIT* Won NIT games* Made the MAC Finals* Won the MAC Tourney and got an NCAA bidIn my book there are three big accomplishments waiting on the Zips immediate to-do list -* Advance to the NCAA Round #2* Start winning quality OOC games* Win an outright regular season MAC ChampionshipTwo of those goals remain possible in 2010, and one can be accomplished on Friday.The Zips program has never won an outright MAC Basketball Championship. What better team to do it against than K.e.n.t?Be obnoxious on Friday night, Zips fans. Be very obnoxious. And bring your confetti.

I had an idea, we used to do at my high school...we had a tradition after the first made basket throw streamers and confetti into the air. just an idea? Well we used to throw it all onto the court but that could be grounds for a technical foul and it takes a while to clean it up. So maybe do like the Lebron chalk toss from last year, after the first basket! could look sweet if we could get a lot of ppl to do it

[zippy_ua_00]

What a difference from last year when the Zips had lost 2 of their last 5 conference games going into the season finale at Can't, where they lost their 3rd conference game of the final 6 in the regular season as well as their last chance for a bye in the MAC tournament.This year the Zips have won 7 MAC games in a row going into the season finale against Can't at the JAR, the bye is clinched and it's all about whipping the team that, like it or not, has been the dominant power in the MAC over the past decade.If the players and fans aren't up for this one, we're all brain dead.

thats pretty impressive, except that we havent even won 7 mac road games. infact we are 6-2 on the road in the mac and have won 5 mac road games in a row

The Zips have won their last 7 MAC games in a row. He didn't say ROAD games. Mon, Feb 01 Eastern Michigan * - Akron, Ohio 7 p.m. 59 - 62 (L) Wed, Feb 03 Northern Illinois * - Akron, Ohio 7 p.m. 90 - 76 (W) Sat, Feb 06 Ball State * - at Muncie, Ind. Noon 75 - 70 (W) OT Tue, Feb 09 Central Michigan * - at Mt. Pleasant, Mich. 7 p.m. 56 - 52 (W) Sun, Feb 14 Ohio * - Akron, Ohio 2 p.m. 91 - 88 (W) 2OT Wed, Feb 17 Miami (Ohio) * - at Oxford, Ohio 7 p.m. 61 - 56 (W) Wed, Feb 24 Buffalo * - Akron, Ohio 7 p.m. 77 - 67 (W) Sat, Feb 27 Bowling Green * - at Bowling Green, Ohio 2:30 p.m. 74 - 68 (W)

indeed, my fault, i misread it

[Dave in Green]

What a difference from last year when the Zips had lost 2 of their last 5 conference games going into the season finale at Can't, where they lost their 3rd conference game of the final 6 in the regular season as well as their last chance for a bye in the MAC tournament.This year the Zips have won 7 MAC games in a row going into the season finale against Can't at the JAR, the bye is clinched and it's all about whipping the team that, like it or not, has been the dominant power in the MAC over the past decade.If the players and fans aren't up for this one, we're all brain dead.

thats pretty impressive, except that we havent even won 7 mac road games. infact we are 6-2 on the road in the mac and have won 5 mac road games in a row

The Zips have won their last 7 MAC games in a row. He didn't say ROAD games. Mon, Feb 01 Eastern Michigan * - Akron, Ohio 7 p.m. 59 - 62 (L) Wed, Feb 03 Northern Illinois * - Akron, Ohio 7 p.m. 90 - 76 (W) Sat, Feb 06 Ball State * - at Muncie, Ind. Noon 75 - 70 (W) OT Tue, Feb 09 Central Michigan * - at Mt. Pleasant, Mich. 7 p.m. 56 - 52 (W) Sun, Feb 14 Ohio * - Akron, Ohio 2 p.m. 91 - 88 (W) 2OT Wed, Feb 17 Miami (Ohio) * - at Oxford, Ohio 7 p.m. 61 - 56 (W) Wed, Feb 24 Buffalo * - Akron, Ohio 7 p.m. 77 - 67 (W) Sat, Feb 27 Bowling Green * - at Bowling Green, Ohio 2:30 p.m. 74 - 68 (W)

indeed, my fault, i misread it

No problem. It seems to be happening a lot to me lately, so I'm starting to get used to it.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Elton Alexander Agrees with Me:

Even in a 96-team tournament, it appears the Horizon League, the MAC and other conferences like those would likely still be one-bid leagues.Which brings us to arguably the biggest regular-season college basketball game ever in Northeast Ohio, Friday at Akron's Rhodes Arena between Akron (21-8, 12-3 MAC) and Can't State (21-8, 12-3).At stake is the regular-season Mid-American Conference title and a guaranteed spot in the NIT, should the winner not capture the MAC Tournament crown and the accompanying NCAA Tournament berth. With the loser in danger of not going anywhere, it's practically all or nothing for the Zips and Golden flushes.

Full ArticleFor all you rationalizers and worry-worts who're already preparing for a Zips loss...You know who you are...you already have "It doesn't matter if we beat K.e.n.t. or not...it only matters what happens in the MAC Tourney!" pre-written and stored as a text file on your hard drive. To YOU I say -Friday is HUGE! Freaking H-U-G-E. It is for a MAC Championship. It is for an NIT "lock." And if we don't get it...it goes to K.e.n.t. State. They get the banner, and the Zips may end up with nothing more than a Travis-Joyce-esque "feel-good" post season party @ the JAR. Losing on Friday is not an option.

[Dave in Green]

I was one of those saying earlier this season that the only thing that matters is the MAC tournament. But that was only in reference to earning a bid to the NCAA tournament. Having a guaranteed NIT bid in the pocket going into the MAC tournament matters a lot.Two teams have set themselves apart from the rest of the MAC this year. The only way for one of those two teams to clearly set itself apart from the other is to win both Friday and in the MAC tournament. Friday's game is the first of several must wins for the Zips to take the next step up. It's huge.

[Quickzips]

Personally, I could care less about the NIT. We've been there, won games there. It really isn't that big of a deal. Come April nobody in the country is going to be talking about those great NIT games or how impressive that NIT championship game was. It isn't quite on the level of the CBI and these other ridiculous tournaments, but that is really only because it has been around longer. I suppose if we won the whole thing I might get a little excited about it, but other than that, ehhh.Now all that said, I still want to wax the floor with Can't.

[GoZips]

Elton Alexander Agrees with Me:

Even in a 96-team tournament, it appears the Horizon League, the MAC and other conferences like those would likely still be one-bid leagues.Which brings us to arguably the biggest regular-season college basketball game ever in Northeast Ohio, Friday at Akron's Rhodes Arena between Akron (21-8, 12-3 MAC) and Can't State (21-8, 12-3).At stake is the regular-season Mid-American Conference title and a guaranteed spot in the NIT, should the winner not capture the MAC Tournament crown and the accompanying NCAA Tournament berth. With the loser in danger of not going anywhere, it's practically all or nothing for the Zips and Golden flushes.

Full ArticleFor all you rationalizers and worry-worts who're already preparing for a Zips loss...You know who you are...you already have "It doesn't matter if we beat K.e.n.t. or not...it only matters what happens in the MAC Tourney!" pre-written and stored as a text file on your hard drive. To YOU I say -Friday is HUGE! Freaking H-U-G-E. It is for a MAC Championship. It is for an NIT "lock." And if we don't get it...it goes to K.e.n.t. State. They get the banner, and the Zips may end up with nothing more than a Travis-Joyce-esque "feel-good" post season party @ the JAR. Losing on Friday is not an option.

AMEN ... !!!!

[g-mann17]

I was one of those saying earlier this season that the only thing that matters is the MAC tournament. But that was only in reference to earning a bid to the NCAA tournament. Having a guaranteed NIT bid in the pocket going into the MAC tournament matters a lot.Two teams have set themselves apart from the rest of the MAC this year. The only way for one of those two teams to clearly set itself apart from the other is to win both Friday and in the MAC tournament. Friday's game is the first of several must wins for the Zips to take the next step up. It's huge.

I too am a "winning the tournament is the only thing that matters person"; however, that was in reference to the NCAA bid. Beating Can't always matters. And since there are serious stakes on the line, it matters even more. Besides we all know a number 1 seed really helps us accomplish "the only thing that matters" (winning the MAC Tournament).

[Dave in Green]

The Zips still have some things to accomplish in the NIT. Winning more than a game or two and making it to Madison Square Garden would be a big deal for both the players and fans.Also, winning the NIT post-season championship might get the Zips an invitation to the NIT Season Tip-Off / Preseason NIT. That would match the Zips up against some high RPI teams early in the season, which would help with SOS.None other than the Gary Trent-led Ohio Bobkitties won the preseason NIT in 1994 over a field that included such traditional powers as Alabama, Syracuse, Ohio State, Virginia, Kansas State, Memphis, USC, etc. So there are some positives to be found in the NIT, even if they are secondary to the Big Dance.

[MDZip]

My 1000th post has been reserved for one simple purpose: Beat K.e.n.t!

[The Hip Zip]

My 1000th post has been reserved for one simple purpose: Beat K.e.n.t!

Now that is some great timing MD !!

[ZachTheZip]

Less than 500 GA tickets remain.No word on how many student tickets remain. There were 1000 total.This game WILL sell out.