15th seed it is

[KNCLZip]

Will be there. Purdue alum, UA faculty and fan....will be supporting Purdue AND Akron on Friday in person, hoping for the two to meet in the Sweet 16. Bought a couple all-session tickets on Ticketmaster just now...nosebleed seats but with ND so close to Chicago, their fans will probably be scooping up tickets fast and furious. Figured I might as well buy asap. Purdue doesn't care for ND (Digger never would schedule a game against Purdue, saying there were no roads from South Bend to West Lafayette), so hopefully I can get any Purdue folks who will be in attendance at the Zips-Irish game to pull for the Zips.

Hope to see some fellow Zips there on Friday!

[zipseuph]

From CBS Sportsline:

Why they'll win it: Experience, of course. The common theme with this team is to joke about the median age hovering around 26. But with five seniors in the starting lineup, Notre Dame's been playing like a team out of the 1970s or '80s, the way it has beaten teams so well. The group has so much confidence because it's so comfortable in its skin. Ben Hansbrough and Tim Abromaitis are dangerous from deep, but Carleton Scott is the player Hansbrough has said is most vital to keeping the unit strong at its core.

Why they won’t: Too many lopsided losses. The Irish dropped six games this year, five by 12 points or more.

Players to watch: It's hard to not watch Hansbrough compose himself on the court. He could have a Jimmer-like moment on the big stage, certainly. And as noted above, Abromaitis is just as lethal from long range. Shutting them down involves both having an off night as much as any successful coaching strategy.

Best off the bench: Notre Dame doesn't go deep, but Eric Atkins is an efficient scorer, competent distributor and no stranger to the foul line. Great plug-him-in guy.

Soaring/slumping: Up: Hansbrough's been ascending ever since January, to be honest. Abromaitis is in the territory as well. There have been a few games when both have gone off. Down: It's a compliment to say Tyrone Nash falls into this category because, really, the Irish haven't seen disappointing play out of anyone lately. Nash is a victim of raised expectations.

Notable stat: 15.9 percent. That's how often Notre Dame turns teams over. Only eight teams force their opponents into fewer mistakes. None of those teams will be in the tournament.

Last time won a national championship: 1936 (pre-NCAA tournament).

All-time starting five: G: Austin Carr; F: Troy Murphy; F: Kelly Tripucka; F: Adrian Dantley; C: Paul Nowak.

Final thought: Burn, baby, burn? The burn offense is the ace up Notre Dame’s sleeve. The Irish can score with the best of them -- and run, too -- but no team has such a counter like Brey's. The burn offense is defined as this: burning out the shot clock until the final few seconds before taking a shot. It's used to take other teams, perhaps those who thrive off running and chaos, completely out of their element. It's a wonderful weapon to have, and Notre Dame has mastered it, even if they utilize it infrequently.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball...-things-to-know

did I miss something? this article has ND as a 1 seed.

[UAZip0510]

From CBS Sportsline:

Why they'll win it: Experience, of course. The common theme with this team is to joke about the median age hovering around 26. But with five seniors in the starting lineup, Notre Dame's been playing like a team out of the 1970s or '80s, the way it has beaten teams so well. The group has so much confidence because it's so comfortable in its skin. Ben Hansbrough and Tim Abromaitis are dangerous from deep, but Carleton Scott is the player Hansbrough has said is most vital to keeping the unit strong at its core.

Why they won’t: Too many lopsided losses. The Irish dropped six games this year, five by 12 points or more.

Players to watch: It's hard to not watch Hansbrough compose himself on the court. He could have a Jimmer-like moment on the big stage, certainly. And as noted above, Abromaitis is just as lethal from long range. Shutting them down involves both having an off night as much as any successful coaching strategy.

Best off the bench: Notre Dame doesn't go deep, but Eric Atkins is an efficient scorer, competent distributor and no stranger to the foul line. Great plug-him-in guy.

Soaring/slumping: Up: Hansbrough's been ascending ever since January, to be honest. Abromaitis is in the territory as well. There have been a few games when both have gone off. Down: It's a compliment to say Tyrone Nash falls into this category because, really, the Irish haven't seen disappointing play out of anyone lately. Nash is a victim of raised expectations.

Notable stat: 15.9 percent. That's how often Notre Dame turns teams over. Only eight teams force their opponents into fewer mistakes. None of those teams will be in the tournament.

Last time won a national championship: 1936 (pre-NCAA tournament).

All-time starting five: G: Austin Carr; F: Troy Murphy; F: Kelly Tripucka; F: Adrian Dantley; C: Paul Nowak.

Final thought: Burn, baby, burn? The burn offense is the ace up Notre Dame’s sleeve. The Irish can score with the best of them -- and run, too -- but no team has such a counter like Brey's. The burn offense is defined as this: burning out the shot clock until the final few seconds before taking a shot. It's used to take other teams, perhaps those who thrive off running and chaos, completely out of their element. It's a wonderful weapon to have, and Notre Dame has mastered it, even if they utilize it infrequently.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball...-things-to-know

did I miss something? this article has ND as a 1 seed.

This was from CBS' projected brackets that they posted yesterday...they had Notre Dame as a #1.

[Sergeant Zip]

Interesting Observation:

The MAC Champ got a #15 Seed

The OVC Champ (our old conference) got a #13 Seed

Can't State was a 7 in the NIT too

[Let'sGoZips94]

Honestly, I'm glad we're a 15 seed ONLY because we are playing ND. Notre Dame is one of the weakest 2 seeds in the tournament. There's only one 3 seed I would want to play as a 14 seed anyways, and that's BYU. However, seeing as though this is closer for our fans, I am glad we are the 15 seed. Bring on the Irish.

[UAZip0510]

How about some actual game discussion?

Starters

F-Tyrone Nash - 6'8", 232

F-Tim Abromaitis - 6'8", 235

F-Carlton Scott - 6'8", 218

G-Scott Martin - 6'8", 219

G-Ben Hansborough - 6'3", 203

The Domers starts five seniors, led by Ben Hansborough. He is the star of ND and was named Big East Player of the Year. Hansborough averages 18 PPG and shot .441 from three point land this season. Tim Abromaitis is probably their next best player, a 6'8" forward who averaged 15 PPG, 6 RPG, and shot .424 from downtown.

Most games, their rotation only goes seven deep, with 6'9", 244 forward Jack Cooley and 6'2", 173 guard Eric Atkins. If the Zips can get them in foul trouble, it will make an upset much more plausible. Notre Dame is a very good three point shooting team, so the Zips will need to stick close on defense. Zeke Marshall will have a definite height advantage, and needs to play like he did against Can't State if the Zips have any chance to win.

PPG - Notre Dame 76, Akron 70.5

RPG - Notre Dame 36.9, Akron 34.5

APG - Notre Dame 16.7, Akron 14.6

FG% - Notre Dame .466, Akron .433

FT% - Notre Dame .725, Akron .706

3PT% - Notre Dame .392, Akron .361

[zippy5]

Count me in the minority, but I thought ND had the resume of a 1 seed. Playing them in Chicago is terrible, but hey, crazier things have happened. I personally think there's a few teams seeded 13/14 that we are better than but whatever. Play the hand you're dealt, and play your hardest 40 minutes of the season Zips! I think this is the most well-balanced team we've had in a while, we have pretty much every type of player, and no team is gonna be a nightmare matchup for us. Let's just hope we can stop Hansbrough off the dribble like we stopped Can't. I watched the Pitt/ND game and Pitt couldn't stop it. Tall task, but if we can do it, we got a chance.

[akronzips71]

They are BIG

That will be a problem.

[KNCLZip]

Game time on Friday: 1:30pm EDT (12:30 CDT in Chicago), broadcast on TBS.

http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/20...ess-tv-schedule

[GP1]

There was an excellent program on HBO yesterday about the Wooden years at UCLA. He never once talked about winning games. It was always about doing your best.

The last time the Zips were in the tournament they did well, but I don't think they did their best for 40 minutes. This week is a chance to correct that. Win or lose, I just want to see 100% effort from every guy for 40 minutes and let the chips fall where they may.

GP1, your wisdom and insight continues to impress me.

Nobody is more impressed than I am.

[skip-zip]

Lets look at the obvious first.

Ever since the inception of the 3-point line, college teams have viewed it as an "upset tool". So, can we win a 3-point shooting contest in this game? One of the big questions will be whether we can shoot over their superior height on the perimeter. And with our inferior height, and knowing that they are a good 3-point shooting team, can we defend them effectively on the perimeter?

This sets up as a classic example of us having to work the ball into the post in order to get the separation we'll need to get open 3-point looks. And if Zeke can score some points, that will be a big help towards opening up the floor since he'll really be our only offensive threat that has a height advantage at any position.

[ZachTheZip]

ND relies on the three. Akron needs to guard the perimeter and deny passing lanes to keep the game within reach. We also need our shots to fall in a dynamic offense (no standing around). And shoot better than 50% from the line. ND doesn't foul too much, so our bigs shouldn't have to worry about foul trouble. Zeke needs to show why Pitt wanted him. If he went there, he would have been relied on to come up big during the BIG East tourney and the Dance, and it is no different here.

[apalmison]

Playing them in Chicago is terrible, but hey, crazier things have happened.

ND draws a crowd no matter where they play. It being in Chicago gives us a chance of having more people there than we would if it were out west.

And who knew we could take a little revenge out on Notre Dame for the Buffalo/Akron football matchup at the Rubber Bow?!:

Irish coach Mike Brey also didn't have a lot to say about Friday's opponent, but he is familiar with Akron, especially the Zips coach Keith Dambrot

"Keith is certainly LeBron's high school coach and just a well thought of guy," Brey said. "This is a great story. It's funny how small this world is. 2008, and my son was playing at Buffalo. I go over and I sit in the press box in the last game in the Rubber Bowl, Buffalo at Akron with Gerry Faust and Keith Dambrot to watch the game. Well, my guys know that – well, they knew what days Kyle played because we practiced in the morning and then I'd drive. They were pissed. They were like, oh, Kyle must play tonight, Thursday night MAC game, we're practicing at 7 a.m. They win in four overtimes. It was that magical year they ended up winning the MAC title.

"I remember sitting with Keith the whole time, great guy, talking about his program, talking about our program. He says to me, you know, we just got this big kid from Pittsburgh. It's the Marshall kid. And he said, I think we stole one. I saw him block a shot the other night, and I happened to watch the game, and I thought, that's the guy he's talking about.

"Keith is very well respected in our profession, paid his dues, and I think it's five or six straight 20-win seasons he's had at Akron. But he's just a coach, good old teacher coach, and he's done a great job with the Zips."

Article

[originalrowdy]

Well, the Vegas spread is -13.5. I honest to God am thinking about taking those odds. Thoughts?

[Dr Z]

Well, the Vegas spread is -13.5. I honest to God am thinking about taking those odds. Thoughts?

I like using this site for researching such a conundrum.

[Sergeant Zip]

From the Genius that is Pat Forde:

Notre Dame (2)

Best Case: Mike Brey does what Digger Phelps and every other men's basketball coach in school history failed to do -- capture a national title. Riding the rarest commodity in the game -- lavish experience -- the heady Fighting Irish reverse the trend that says you must have surefire pros to win it all. The Irish shoot the lights out of three successive venues and win a succession of close games -- they beat Louisville in their third overtime meeting of the season, then take out Kansas State in Houston and slay Ohio State in the title game. Ben Hansbrough joins big brother Tyler in the fellowship of the (championship) ring. Phelps gives Brey a gold-plated highlighter. Notre Dame faces reality and officially becomes a basketball school, and to prove it, the Irish commit to building a new arena.

Worst Case: Experience is great, but athleticism can beat it. Notre Dame runs into that in a second-round upset loss to Florida State. The Seminoles blanket the Irish shooters and savage them on the offensive glass. Crestfallen Notre Dame fans remember that Mike Brey has never been to a regional final, much less a Final Four, as a head coach. Then they go back to scrutinizing the spring football depth chart. Meanwhile, Mike Krzyzewski unexpectedly retires after winning a fifth national title and Duke names Brey to succeed him.

Akron (15)

Best Case: The Zips take inspiration from a text message sent from former Akron homie LeBron James: "Take your talents to Chicago. And shock the world." Balanced team that won 11 of its past 13 games jumps on sleepy Notre Dame in afternoon tipoff, instills unease in pro-Irish crowd in the United Center and hangs around until the final media timeout before capitulating. LeBron sends consoling postgame text saying that he knows what it's like to lose in a playoff format. Gerry Faust shows up to root for both teams.

Worst Case: There are no motivational texts from LeBron, and no hope, either. Akron team that didn't beat anybody in the RPI top 75 and lost to a pair of teams in the 300s is in far beyond its depth against the Fighting Irish (No. 8 RPI). Zips fail to challenge Notre Dame inside and are buried beneath an avalanche of 3s. Faust gets booed by both fan bases.