Akron vs Eastern Michigan -MAC First Round

[mes102]

Eastern Michigan seems to have our number in the regular season...when it comes to the postseason, who can forget the MAC Quarterfinals game from last year. The block from Zeke at the end of regulation to make it go to overtime, and then of course, the Steve McNees thress shot heard around the world of sports...

Also, since the winner is going to be facing Miami(OH), do you think Charlie Coles will be making an appearance tonight? if so, can he please be put within the ak-rowdies...north end one half, and the south end the other half...the rowdies love him...it would be awesome if that can happen...

So, how do you think tonight will go? will we have another nail biter, or is the 12.5 spread just right?

[Dr Z]

So, how do you think tonight will go? will we have another nail biter, or is the 12.5 spread just right?

AKRON is 10-8 against the spread versus E MICHIGAN since 1997

AKRON is 14-5 straight up against E MICHIGAN since 1997

5 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL since 1997

E MICHIGAN is 1-0 against the spread versus AKRON over the last 3 seasons

Eastern has only ONE mac victory on the road this year...Toledo, who only had ONE mac victory total. If we can't beat Eastern at home tonight, we don't deserve to be at the Q.

[GP1]

So, how do you think tonight will go? will we have another nail biter, or is the 12.5 spread just right?

AKRON is 10-8 against the spread versus E MICHIGAN since 1997

AKRON is 14-5 straight up against E MICHIGAN since 1997

5 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL since 1997

E MICHIGAN is 1-0 against the spread versus AKRON over the last 3 seasons

Eastern has only ONE mac victory on the road this year...Toledo, who only had ONE mac victory total. If we can't beat Eastern at home tonight, we don't deserve to be at the Q.

Both literally and figuratively.......

[Captain Kangaroo]

If our sack-o-crap March defense shows up, we will lose.

K.e.n.t. scored on 21 of 23 second half possessions! And we scored at a good clip too, so we had plenty of time to get back on defense?! The OU and K.e.n.t. games really scared the crap out of me. I never thought this Zips team was awesome, but I never thought they were capable of playing so poorly.

Did any of those K.e.n.t. guards that drove the lane so effortlessly ever get knocked down? Nik and Brett McKnight drive the lane and avoid contact like the opposing center has leprosy. Conversely, opponents can drive on us with no fear of getting brushed, let alone knocked on their @ss.

We could lose by 15 tonight if Dambrot hasn't addressed our defensive issues.

[Dr Z]

We could lose by 15 tonight if Dambrot hasn't addressed our defensive issues.

$100 money line bet on EMU could get you $600.

[ZachTheZip]

Stuck watching on my phone's gametracker. How do we look? I don't think a 9-point lead is too safe with this team. How's the crowd?

[UA Fan]

I'm watching Gamecast myself...it seems to be all about the shooting. EMU is .308/.188, we are .480/.600. This might be a good night to hoist up some more 3's.

How is the taco bar?

[ZachTheZip]

Good thing EMU absolutely sucks at shooting the 3.

[ZachTheZip]

Other MAC scores:

CMU 50, Buffalo 64

NIU 54, BGSU 74

Toledo 57, Ohio 74

[MDZip]

Zips didn't play great but they did play well enough - enough to give me hope against Miami at the Q. No real surprise that all the East teams won, here was a Ken Pomeroy summary about everyone's chances, we are #2 which isn't a big surprise given the last four MAC tourneys, but #1 is. Can't believe Ball St. is above Miami either.

Throw out the seeds in this one. The conference that sent its nine-seed to the NCAA tournament last season to disembowel Georgetown in the first round produces the most unusual breakdown I've seen in five seasons of doing this. Much like in the Sun Belt, there's plenty of parity at the top of the MAC. Unlike the Sun Belt, the MAC's favorite is an eight-seed, closely followed by its six-seed. And there's this: Eighth-seeded Buffalo has about a one-in-five chance of cutting down the nets at the Q, while ninth-seeded Central Michigan has a one-in-2000 chance of doing so. Enjoy!

Rd1 Semis Final Champ

8 Buffalo 92.6 50.2 32.0 20.4

6 Akron 90.8 58.6 37.6 19.0

1 Can't St. 100 48.7 29.1 17.5

2 WMU 100 72.8 35.0 14.7

5 Ohio 96.6 52.9 21.6 11.4

4 Ball St. 100 46.8 17.1 8.2

3 Miami OH 100 39.0 19.6 7.1

7 BGSU 69.0 19.6 5.4 1.2

10 NIU 31.0 7.6 1.8 0.4

11 EMU 9.2 2.4 0.6 0.1

9 CMU 7.4 1.1 0.2 0.05

12 Toledo 3.4 0.2 0.01 0.0008

[yazan07]

The taco bar was awesome! A good way to mix it up from the usual pizza or hot dogs. Kudos to marketing for coming up with something new.

Oh and the game was alright too

[Quickzips]

Really a pretty ugly game on all ends. I'd like to say that was a new low in MAC officiating, but sadly it was just a new middle. I have no idea what those guys in stripes were looking at out there. I'd like to sit down with them and review the video, because there sure were a LOT of puzzling calls. There were some bright spots. I thought Q turned in another pretty nice performance, especially on the defensive end. Alex did a nice job changing the pace up out there. Zeke had a nice game on the defensive end, not so much on offense. His one-man volleyball game in the corner in the first half was one of the best individual efforts from a Zip all season. Nik was frustrated all night by getting hacked every which way on the offensive end and getting whistled just for breathing on the Eagles on defense. Nothing else really stood out tonight for me. Got through the first one, which has typically been the biggest hurdle for the Zips in the tournament. On to Miami.

[Dave in Green]

Agreed that the Zips didn't play great, but they played good enough to win. They looked a lot like they did during the 7-game win streak. They should have looked good playing a team whose only conference road win of the season was against Toledo. But they've been inconsistent enough this season that you never know.

Zeke definitely had a highlight reel play when he blocked a shot, landed on his feet, chased the ball to the sideline and flipped it back to a teammate before his momentum carried him into the seats.

On defense, the Zips got a boost from playing zone. For whatever reason, this edition of the Zips just can't play man as well as previous editions. Switching to zone at the right time at the Q could pay huge dividends.

I like the player rotation right now and the balanced PT. Rico and Q bring a big dose of speed and aggressiveness to the lineup when they sub in, B. McKnight brings a reasonably steady shooting performance and Bardo is holding his own in the post. The starters are all playing pretty steady ball right now, even though every one of them isn't at his best every game.

I was thinking before this game that I wouldn't be surprised if the Zips lost tonight, and I wouldn't be surprised if they won 4 straight on their way to a tournament championship. I honestly don't know what to expect from this team. I think we're in for a wild ride at the Q.

[Quickzips]

I was thinking before this game that I wouldn't be surprised if the Zips lost tonight, and I wouldn't be surprised if they won 4 straight on their way to a tournament championship. I honestly don't know what to expect from this team. I think we're in for a wild ride at the Q.

Been thinking the same thing myself. Then again, I felt the same way two years ago at this time. I'm just going to make as many games as I can this week and enjoy the ride.

[meatwad]

Zips didn't play great but they did play well enough - enough to give me hope against Miami at the Q. No real surprise that all the East teams won, here was a Ken Pomeroy summary about everyone's chances, we are #2 which isn't a big surprise given the last four MAC tourneys, but #1 is. Can't believe Ball St. is above Miami either.

Throw out the seeds in this one. The conference that sent its nine-seed to the NCAA tournament last season to disembowel Georgetown in the first round produces the most unusual breakdown I've seen in five seasons of doing this. Much like in the Sun Belt, there's plenty of parity at the top of the MAC. Unlike the Sun Belt, the MAC's favorite is an eight-seed, closely followed by its six-seed. And there's this: Eighth-seeded Buffalo has about a one-in-five chance of cutting down the nets at the Q, while ninth-seeded Central Michigan has a one-in-2000 chance of doing so. Enjoy!

Rd1 Semis Final Champ

8 Buffalo 92.6 50.2 32.0 20.4

6 Akron 90.8 58.6 37.6 19.0

1 Can't St. 100 48.7 29.1 17.5

2 WMU 100 72.8 35.0 14.7

5 Ohio 96.6 52.9 21.6 11.4

4 Ball St. 100 46.8 17.1 8.2

3 Miami OH 100 39.0 19.6 7.1

7 BGSU 69.0 19.6 5.4 1.2

10 NIU 31.0 7.6 1.8 0.4

11 EMU 9.2 2.4 0.6 0.1

9 CMU 7.4 1.1 0.2 0.05

12 Toledo 3.4 0.2 0.01 0.0008

Hey MD, where'd you find that KenPom thing? I looked on his website and couldn't locate it... is it on the worldwide leader's website somewhere?

[RootforRoo44]

btw, the taco bar was AWESOME. Kudos to whoever organized that...though i'm guessing Tap House had something to do with it.

Just great stuff....and not just because i attended Barley House Happy Hour prior to eating.

[MDZip]

That little but of Pomeroy wisdom came from here.

[GoZips]

Really a pretty ugly game on all ends. I'd like to say that was a new low in MAC officiating, but sadly it was just a new middle. I have no idea what those guys in stripes were looking at out there. I'd like to sit down with them and review the video, because there sure were a LOT of puzzling calls. There were some bright spots. I thought Q turned in another pretty nice performance, especially on the defensive end. Alex did a nice job changing the pace up out there. Zeke had a nice game on the defensive end, not so much on offense. His one-man volleyball game in the corner in the first half was one of the best individual efforts from a Zip all season. Nik was frustrated all night by getting hacked every which way on the offensive end and getting whistled just for breathing on the Eagles on defense. Nothing else really stood out tonight for me. Got through the first one, which has typically been the biggest hurdle for the Zips in the tournament. On to Miami.

This is a pretty accurate and fair analysis of the game. The refs were atrocious, evil, and they "homered"

the Zips. Mostly with the "no calls" on EM "we will hook and hack you to death"U. Oh, and the rubber

duckies never called EMU on lane violations all night except real early in the game. You could build a city

in the paint at the EMU end all evening.

[GoZips]

On defense, the Zips got a boost from playing zone. For whatever reason, this edition of the Zips just can't play man as well as previous editions. Switching to zone at the right time at the Q could pay huge dividends.

Defense? What defense? The Zips once again played defense with their hands in their pants pockets.

Reaching up occasionally to unsuccessfully swat at a shot going over their heads. Fortunately EMU was

terrible at shooting threes. Lest it be a long night.

That zone sucks. It collapses to ball side so much that often two perimeter players are wide open

Fortunately, there is no DJ Cooper on EMU. No wonder OU toasted us twice. You just can not leave

shooters that open; ever.

Zeke was given the radio show "defensive player of the game" for his blocked shots, shot alterations

and nine rebounds. He deserved it. His three blocks and subsequent passes to his team mates was

a thing of beauty.

Kudos to Nikola. He is the only Zip you can hear from the stands as he calls out passes, etc.

[Dr Z]

That zone sucks. It collapses to ball side so much that often two perimeter players are wide open

Fortunately, there is no DJ Cooper on EMU. No wonder OU toasted us twice. You just can not leave

shooters that open; ever.

Did we play zone against OU? Last night we were not playing DJ Cooper, if we were, zone would not have worked. EMU sucked on offense, they couldn't hit anything outside, why not play zone and try to make them beat you. Play it until it doesn't work. Kudos to coach K. Give your guys a break on defense so they have more energy at the offensive end. I thought EMU's halftime adjustment of not shooting outside and start driving the lane was a good one, that is how I would attack the Zips. Zone was always much more fun to play for me. Coach K made reference in the post game to how successful they were in the zone against Miami the last time they blew them out. You might not want to watch the Miami game if you don't enjoy watching the Zips play zone.

[Dave in Green]

I wasn't trying to say the Zips play great zone defense, only that against certain teams at certain times the Zips' zone is more effective than the Zips' man coverage. They're going to have to improve on both to have a good shot at winning the MAC tournament.

[RootforRoo44]

To be honest, I thought the Zips defense last night was pretty good at times. They were very aggressive and were hustling at least.

Of course leaving EMU open for 3-point shots would be a good strategy on any night. My God, they must have heaved 30 threes.

[Z.I.P.]

Here's my question: After Quincy Diggs got red carded at the end of the K.S.U. game, why was he allowed to play vs EMU? Isn't there a 1-game suspension associated with that offense? Shouldn't there be?

[Dr Z]

Here's my question: After Quincy Diggs got red carded at the end of the K.S.U. game, why was he allowed to play vs EMU? Isn't there a 1-game suspension associated with that offense? Shouldn't there be?

Any individual who actively participates in a fight (Art. 1.i) shall be ejected and is subject to suspension (See Rule 10-7).

Download rule book here See page 136.

After each of Diggs fouls last night, he put his head down and made no emotional expression. He just went about his business. I like what Brett did last night after getting upset. Calmed himself and tried to discuss with the official.

If I were an official last night, I would have ejected some fans. Some of the 50+ dudes are going to have heart attacks over mac refs. Is it worth it?

[RowdyZip]

Here's my question: After Quincy Diggs got red carded at the end of the K.S.U. game, why was he allowed to play vs EMU? Isn't there a 1-game suspension associated with that offense? Shouldn't there be?

Any individual who actively participates in a fight (Art. 1.i) shall be ejected and is subject to suspension (See Rule 10-7).

Download rule book here See page 136.

After each of Diggs fouls last night, he put his head down and made no emotional expression. He just went about his business. I like what Brett did last night after getting upset. Calmed himself and tried to discuss with the official.

If I were an official last night, I would have ejected some fans. Some of the 50+ dudes are going to have heart attacks over mac refs. Is it worth it?

Maybe not worth a heart attack, but I like some of the passion of a few (very few) fans I sat behind in the lower bowl. I'd rather see someone scream like a fool about something, good or bad, than sit on their hands like the other 800 people in those sections.