Sweet Revenge

[Quickzips]

Everyone enjoy the weekend just a little more after taking down the Golden Felons? I know I did. But now its time to focus in on the Ohio Bobcats. This one must have been circled on the Zips calender after the heartbreaking OT loss at Quicken Loans Arena in last years championship match.

After entering the season as the near unanimous preseason conference favorite, the Bobcats have struggled. They went 7-7 against a relatively weak OOC schedule that featured only two road matchups and lost at home in their MAC opener to rival Miami in triple overtime. Don't be fooled though, the Bobcats still have some talent and are a dangerous team.

Any conversation regarding Ohio's roster has to begin with talented Sophomore PG D.J. Cooper. Cooper is an early PoTY candidate and the sparkplug for everything Ohio does on offense. He is equally adept as a scorer (19.2 points per game) and as a passer (7.7 assists per game). He leads the team in shot attempts having doubled up his next closest teamate (240 for Cooper as opposed to 119 for DeVaughn Washington). Cooper is not without his faults as he is prone to turning the ball over (3.7 per game) and takes way too many 3 attempts (104 on the season) for a player who shoots as poorly from downtown as he does (just under 29% on the season). Still, this will be a tough matchup for Alex Abreu. I expect the Zips to play off of Cooper and dare him to take long jump shots unless and until D.J. proves he can hit some of them.

Beyond Cooper, the Bobcats rely heavily on a trio of forwards. 6'5" Senior Tommy Freeman is a known commodity at this point as a nearly exclusive 3 point shooter (90 of 114 field goal attempts coming from 3 so far this season). Despite his lack of offensive diversity, Freeman is second on the team in scoring (11 per night) as he is very good from outside (45% from 3 for the season). McClanahan will likely draw the assignment on Freeman and will have to be very mindful of his 3 point ability. 6'8" Senior DeVaughn Washington is third on the team in scoring (10.7) and provides the kind of long athletic forward that traditionally gives the Zips fits. I expect to see Zeke matched up against Washington in critical situations much the way KD used him on Justin Greene against Can't. Rounding out the frontcourt is 6'8" sophomore Ivo Baltic who has made significant headway in his second year in the league. Baltic gives Ohio a lot of what Cvetinovic gives the Zips as he can score around the rim with a variety of moves and is pretty adept at getting his hands on errant passes (.8 steals per night).

If the Bobcats have two glaring weaknesses they are backcourt depth and size down low. 6'3" freshman Nick Kellog starts at SG and has been steady but unspectacular so far (7.5 points, 1.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists per night). 6'4" freshman Ricardo Johnson comes off the bench for the Bobcats backcourt but only provides about 2 points per game in a little over 11 minutes. In terms of size, the Bobcats only list one player over 6'8" and that comes in 6'10" freshman Ethan Jacobs who has played sporadically and only tallied 4 total points in 7 appearances this season. I look for Daryl Roberts to have a big game coming off the bench for the Zips and I expect Zeke to abuse the smaller frontcourt of the Bobcats.

Ultimately this is a game that the Zips ought to win. We're at home, riding a bit of a winning streak against a team that has struggled to find it's identity to this point. The Zips can't take this one for granted though. Ohio still has the ability to sneak up on people and may be better suited now that they are back in the underdog role as opposed to playing the favorite role.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Can we hold Cooper under 40?

I see us winning, but we've yet to prove we've improved our perimeter defense over the past 2 years. Scorers like Cooper continue to rack up video game-like shooting performances against the Zips.

[UAZipster0305]

Can we hold Cooper under 40?

I see us winning, but we've yet to prove we've improved our perimeter defense over the past 2 years. Scorers like Cooper continue to rack up video game-like shooting performances against the Zips.

Video game-like performances...I LOVE it!

Thanks for your previews, Quickzips.

[MDZip]

Quickzips, I don't know how much time and effort you put in these previews but you do a nice job (maybe you ought to combine forces with RootForRoo44 on ASN), but thanks for doing them. I watched some of the Ohio-Miami game on STO (why I could see that game and the Lady Zips vs. Ohio live, but not the Akron-Can't game mystifies me, but that is for another post I guess), and it seems eerily similar to the Ohio team of last time. Lot of talent not playing together particularly well (just hope the end result in March is not the same). Baltic looks much improved this year and Cooper is still very good if occasionally error prone. I think the Zips height will cause problems for Ohio and the Zips should win this one. They need to hold at home so I expect a big effort in this one. Maybe not 20 points from Zeke this time but should still be a potential double-double.

Zips 67 Bobkittens 61

[ZachTheZip]

The Zips will have the major advantage inside. OU is the top 3-shooting team in the MAC. Those two factors lead me to believe that we'll see lots of threes chucked up by the Bobcats. Perimeter defense is a key to this game.

On offense, the Zips need to feed the ball inside and tear them apart. Guards need to drive to the hoop. Attack the rim very aggressively and rebound your own shots.

[Quickzips]

Quickzips, I don't know how much time and effort you put in these previews but you do a nice job (maybe you ought to combine forces with RootForRoo44 on ASN), but thanks for doing them. I watched some of the Ohio-Miami game on STO (why I could see that game and the Lady Zips vs. Ohio live, but not the Akron-Can't game mystifies me, but that is for another post I guess), and it seems eerily similar to the Ohio team of last time. Lot of talent not playing together particularly well (just hope the end result in March is not the same). Baltic looks much improved this year and Cooper is still very good if occasionally error prone. I think the Zips height will cause problems for Ohio and the Zips should win this one. They need to hold at home so I expect a big effort in this one. Maybe not 20 points from Zeke this time but should still be a potential double-double.

Zips 67 Bobkittens 61

I think the main difference in this years team and last years team is the lack of a second option at guard who can break teams down off the dribble and score seemingly at will. Cooper is still there with that kind of ability, but they don't have a guy like Bassett at SG who can impose his will on teams anymore. What made OU so dangerous last March was that you had to account for both Cooper and Bassett's ability to break you down from the perimeter which was a very tough task. Only having to deal with Cooper makes the task significantly easier. I actually wouldn't be too surprised if we take the approach of letting Cooper have his but don't let the rest of their role players beat you.

[xu9697]

I will defer to you guys on this, as I have only seen about 4 Zips games this year:

Any chance we can take Quincy Diggs and put him on Cooper, at least in spurts. Obviously he does not have his quickness, but can his length and solid athleticism give us something there?

[Dr Z]

I actually wouldn't be too surprised if we take the approach of letting Cooper have his but don't let the rest of their role players beat you.

I would agree with that. I have heard KD in his post game interviews say this very thing more than a few times.

[OZoner]

These two teams don't like each other. Should be a lot of fun.

[Zip Watcher]

I will defer to you guys on this, as I have only seen about 4 Zips games this year:

Any chance we can take Quincy Diggs and put him on Cooper, at least in spurts. Obviously he does not have his quickness, but can his length and solid athleticism give us something there?

I expect to see lots of Diggs on Cooper. He's not giving up too much quickness to Cooper, and he can bother him with some size & strength.

No predictions, but this comes to mind:

[Captain Kangaroo]

I actually wouldn't be too surprised if we take the approach of letting Cooper have his but don't let the rest of their role players beat you.

I would agree with that. I have heard KD in his post game interviews say this very thing more than a few times.

It worked against David Kool. But not against that Cotton kid from Wisconsin GB.

Diggs may indeed be the answer...but he was supposed to be our athletic "Ken.t equalizer," and he was totally ineffective Saturday night.

[Dave in Green]

Nice analysis, as always. A couple of observations. First, Cooper scores a fair amount of points because he takes a lot of shots. His shooting percentage is not that great, especially his 3-point percentage. Doesn't mean he can't get hot in a particular game and go off for 40+, but his average percentage is only fair.

Cooper's main claim to fame is assist percentage. When he's on the floor, and he averages a healthy 36+ minutes per game, he assists in 49.1% of his team's baskets. That's not just good, it's the second best assist rate of any D1 player in the country. Just for comparison, Rajon Rondo currently leads all NBA players with a 48.7% assist rate. So look for Cooper to be driving to the bucket a lot and passing off to his teammates. The Zips can't afford to collapse on Cooper when he drives to the bucket, or his teammates will be getting a lot of high percentage bunnies.

Tommy Freeman is the best 3-point shooter on the Zips schedule this season. Freeman is currently hitting 3s at a 45.6% rate -- easily best in the MAC and 37th best in the country. The Zips can't afford to play too loosely on Freeman when he's out on the perimeter, or he could shoot the lights out from 3-point range. Nitro and Q seem to be the natural defenders for the 6-5 Freeman. I'd be concerned if any of the Zips shorter guards ended up against Freeman, as he could shoot 3s right over them.

[Zip Watcher]

I actually wouldn't be too surprised if we take the approach of letting Cooper have his but don't let the rest of their role players beat you.

I would agree with that. I have heard KD in his post game interviews say this very thing more than a few times.

It worked against David Kool. But not against that Cotton kid from Wisconsin GB.

Diggs may indeed be the answer...but he was supposed to be our athletic "Ken.t equalizer," and he was totally ineffective Saturday night.

Couldn't disagree more about Diggs off the ball on Saturday. He gave us some good D on Sherman, and had a few key rebounds. He didn't play big minutes, but when he was out there he made some good contributions. With Brett McKnight as effective as he was, and Roberts playing a solid game .. Diggs wasn't going to play huge minutes.

[Let'sGoZips94]

I don't see this game being much different from the Can't game besides the score. I don't think O-Who is all they are cracked up to be. Cooper is good, but he's nowhere NEAR where he was last year with Bassett at his side.

Gameplan: I would have to say put Diggs on Cooper, but if you don't want to do that, put him on Freeman. Freeman needs to be glued to. If you watched the game against Miami (OH) the other day, Freeman was why that game was as close as it was. He nailed his 3's. Also, if I remember correctly he killed us in the MACC last year. YOU HAVE TO GET THE BALL TO ZEKE AGAINST THESE GUYS! Miami pounded it down low and three O-Who players fouled out including Washington and Keely.

Prediction:

Akron 74

Bobkitties 61

Zeke with a double double again, Abreu with multiple assists and steals, Diggs with some athletic plays, and Brett McKnight lights them up.

[RowdyZip]

Kitty Kat point of view, in case you were wondering.

This will be another tough MAC East game, and this season will come down, again, to the big 4 in the East of Akron, K-ent, OU, and Miami. The Zips have a little bit of an advantage playing 2 of the toughest 3 at home to start the first leg of MAC play. Let's take advantage and get on a streak in the MAC and hold that lead through a tough second half.

Akron 68

OU 63

No line posted yet., but I look for it to be in the neighborhood of Akron (-6).

[OZoner]

Nice analysis, as always. A couple of observations. First, Cooper scores a fair amount of points because he takes a lot of shots. His shooting percentage is not that great, especially his 3-point percentage. Doesn't mean he can't get hot in a particular game and go off for 40+, but his average percentage is only fair.

Actually, he's 48% from two, really good for a guard. It's that poor three-point shooting that's dragging him down. He's taking almost 7 threes a game, which is just silly considering how bad he is at it and he good of a slasher he is.

By the way, here are the margin of victories the last three seasons: 6, 3, 5, 9, 5, 3, 1. Three of those went into overtime. If you look back at the last decade, there are a lot of close contests.

In other words, expect a battle.

Some heartening facts:

- Ohio hasn't won in Akron since 2003.

- Akron has swept Ohio twice in the last three years.

- Ohio has not had a better conference record than Akron since the 2001-02 season

[Dave in Green]

I misread statsheet.com on Cooper's 2-point percentage. They show him at 45.8% on 2s, which isn't too bad; 28.8% on 3s, which is pretty bad; and 40% overall, which is only fair. I still think Cooper's greatest value is in breaking down defenses with his drives and then dishing to the open man when the defense collapses on him.

But regardless of stats, I do expect a battle and a close game.

[Dr Z]

No line posted yet., but I look for it to be in the neighborhood of Akron (-6).

Zips by 5.5 according to Danny Sheridan

[Quickzips]

I actually wouldn't be too surprised if we take the approach of letting Cooper have his but don't let the rest of their role players beat you.

I would agree with that. I have heard KD in his post game interviews say this very thing more than a few times.

It worked against David Kool. But not against that Cotton kid from Wisconsin GB.

Diggs may indeed be the answer...but he was supposed to be our athletic "Ken.t equalizer," and he was totally ineffective Saturday night.

Couldn't disagree more about Diggs off the ball on Saturday. He gave us some good D on Sherman, and had a few key rebounds. He didn't play big minutes, but when he was out there he made some good contributions. With Brett McKnight as effective as he was, and Roberts playing a solid game .. Diggs wasn't going to play huge minutes.

Agreed, Diggs was a big part of the win Saturday despite not scoring. When KD inserted him back into the game in the 2nd half and put him on Sherman was huge in cooling Can't off and giving us the opportunity to make a run at it.

I don't know about putting Diggs on Cooper too much though. On paper it sounds like a good idea, but you have to consider what that does for the rest of our lineup. I think you could get away with it if we don't have Abreu in the game as well. If Abreu is in the game, and Diggs is matched up on Cooper then Alex is likely going to have to guard someone who is 6 to 7 inches taller than him. I like Alex and all, but that may be too much to ask of him at this juncture. In the end it will all come down to personnel on the floor for both teams. I wouldn't be surprised to see Diggs on D.J. for a few minutes here or there, but I don't expect to see it too much.

Another guy to consider who I haven't mentioned to this point is 6'8" PF Reggie Kelley. Kelley was a monster against us in the JAR last year, but has struggled off the bench so far this year. Still, he's shown that he's capable of putting up some big numbers. The Zips don't want to see him get it going early.

[Zip Watcher]

Nice analysis, as always. A couple of observations. First, Cooper scores a fair amount of points because he takes a lot of shots. His shooting percentage is not that great, especially his 3-point percentage. Doesn't mean he can't get hot in a particular game and go off for 40+, but his average percentage is only fair.

Actually, he's 48% from two, really good for a guard. It's that poor three-point shooting that's dragging him down. He's taking almost 7 threes a game, which is just silly considering how bad he is at it and he good of a slasher he is.

By the way, here are the margin of victories the last three seasons: 6, 3, 5, 9, 5, 3, 1. Three of those went into overtime. If you look back at the last decade, there are a lot of close contests.

In other words, expect a battle.

Some heartening facts:

- Ohio hasn't won in Akron since 2003.

- Akron has swept Ohio twice in the last three years.

- Ohio has not had a better conference record than Akron since the 2001-02 season

Thanks for stopping in, zoner .. good to have you here.

The more I think about it, if I'm gameplanning for the Zips .. I'd probably have Diggs concentrate on Freeman, and have Abreu and Roberts do their best to limit Cooper's drives. Lay off him a bit and let him try to beat us from outside. Given his very nice assist numbers and his percentage in the arc .. the Zips need to keep Cooper outside .. and whatever they do, keep a body on Freeman. If they take away DJ's best kick out option .. that will help. As for inside, the Zips need to play their game.

Go Zips!

B) B)

PS .. I know it was another era for OU .. but the last time they came to the JAR in snowy conditions ... It wasn't pretty for OU.. Let it Snow .. Let it Snow ...

[yazan07]

I think our best bet with DJ Cooper is to imagine him in his underwear.

Hope this helps:

[Dr Z]

One star recruit.

[ZachTheZip]

The game will be played as scheduled.

[MDZip]

One star recruit.

I'm sure the Rowdies will let this one slide.

[RootforRoo44]

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