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Does UA have a shot against Notre Dame?


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Well... it has happened 4 times since 1985 that a 15 seed has indeed beaten a 2 seed and UA does have experience as a 15 seed having played no. 2 Michigan in 1986 and losing by only 6 points.

I know it's a long shot, but how can UA feasibly beat Notre Dame?

I feel if Zeke stays out of foul trouble he can have another spectacular game like the one he had last night-

Additionally, having Mcnees, Mclanahan and Roberts hot from behind the arc would certainly help as well-

Go Zips!!

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Welcome to the board (and welcome to all new members, by the way).

To answer your question, yes I do believe that the Zips can beat the Irish. We're hot right now having won 11 of 13. Not to mention we will get away from the MAC refs giving Zeke more of a chance (like last night) to dominate inside. We will likely have the advantage inside on ND, we'll just have to play tough perimeter D and hopefully someone gets hot like McNees in the first half last night.

No one gave Ohio a chance last year. It's our turn to surprise some people.

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Do not fall for the myth that ND is a one-player team!

Hansbrough may get all the headlines, but this is a strong overall team. All the starters are seniors, and Hansbrough is the shorty at "only" 6-3. The other four starters are 6-7, 6-8, 6-8 and 6-8. There will be some nightmare matchups for the shorter Zips guards. Zeke will be the only Zips player with a height advantage.

ND is the only team in the Big East that was undefeated at home, and the Big East is probably just a bit tougher than the MAC.

One of the few things in the Zips favor is that ND plays a style that's similar to Miami's of running the clock down on most plays and taking last-second shots. So the Zips do have experience facing that style of offense. Problem is, ND is a lot better than Miami. Almost half of ND's games this season have been against top 25 teams. They're experienced and they're really good in the fundamentals.

If the Zips play their best possible game and ND has an off game, the Zips have a chance. The Zips can't control whether or not ND has an off game, so they just have to focus on playing their very best game and hoping for a few breaks. They played Gonzaga even for 30 minutes in Portland, and have to find a way to do the same for 40 minutes against ND in Chicago.

Hilltopper and I will be in Chicago making as much noise as we can against what might be expected to be a huge turnout of ND fans, so the situation is going to be similar to the one we faced against Gonzaga and its huge turnout of local fans in Portland.

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NO

Congratulations, we have our winner for the biggest douche on this board.

Great. Just great.

I have been a season ticket holder for more than thirty years.

I know basketball. I know most of the team. I know the coaches. I know and love the program.

I made the trip to Portland (knowing full well that beating Gonzaga was a pipe dream).

I just made three trips to the "Q" (the last one on three hours sleep and having worked all day).

I stayed for an hour after the great win over Cant.

I went to the Barley House to share in the celebration with the team. Signed up for tickets to

the Notre Dame game.

And, some rubber turd calls me a douche for stating and honest and obvious response to a

question posed by a legitimate poster. Kindly return to Portage County and crawl back under

your rock.

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NO

I agree.

Our most important player is Zeke. He is a seven foot player in the MAC which helps him tremendously because there aren't any like him. ND was one of the top three teams in the best college basketball conference this year. Guys like Zeke are a dime a dozen in the Big East. They won't have a problem with his height.

If I was the coach of ND, I would target Zeke early and try to get him into foul trouble. I think it will work because, like I said, they know how to play against guys like Zeke because they play them all the time. If Zeke is going to survive this week, he has to do more than just try to block shots. He needs to be physical and keep his body in good position. Don't let the ball get inside. He isn't going to get many blocks against ND. He was routinely beaten badly to the baseline Saturday and that can't happen again this week.

Zeke is what I would call and "old time shot blocker" in the way Bill Russell was a shot blocker, which I believe is more enjoyable to watch. They keep a slight distance from the offensive player, or quickly play help defense, and then swat shots. Works well in the MAC. The game is much more physical now and that is hard to do.

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Looking at ND's schedule, they do seem to be a fest or famine type of team. They were blown out in all but one of their losses, and also blew a number of people out. This probably is a result of them supposedly being a 3 pt. do or die team. According to Real Time RPI, ND should win by 9. I definetly think the Zips can hang with them, but beating them will be a tall order. Hopefully the Irish will have a little too much fun on St. Patrick's Day. :)

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If I was the coach of ND, I would target Zeke early and try to get him into foul trouble. I think it will work because, like I said, they know how to play against guys like Zeke because they play them all the time. If Zeke is going to survive this week, he has to do more than just try to block shots. He needs to be physical and keep his body in good position. Don't let the ball get inside.
I was thinking the same. It seems to me in Zeke's young career, the bigger the game, the more attitude he brings. I remember coach McFadden after the first Ken+ game this year saying something like "we need to get Zeke to play like this every game." There has been no bigger game that Zeke has played in...bring it Z!
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If I was the coach of ND, I would target Zeke early and try to get him into foul trouble. I think it will work because, like I said, they know how to play against guys like Zeke because they play them all the time. If Zeke is going to survive this week, he has to do more than just try to block shots. He needs to be physical and keep his body in good position. Don't let the ball get inside.
I was thinking the same. It seems to me in Zeke's young career, the bigger the game, the more attitude he brings. I remember coach McFadden after the first Ken+ game this year saying something like "we need to get Zeke to play like this every game." There has been no bigger game that Zeke has played in...bring it Z!

I mentioned in another thread about watching a John Wooden special on HBO last weekend. I guess my advice to Zeke when playing aggressive this week would be to pass along a quote Wooden used to say, "Be quick - But don't hurry." Stay out of foul trouble Zeke.

John Wooden quotes.

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All kidding aside, there's no reason for Zips fans to be trading insults with each other over this issue. GoZips was only exaggerating slightly when he said the Zips have no chance. Even though ND is a #2 seed, many knowledgeable people think they are a legitimate #1 seed with a good shot at reaching the Final Four.

Realistically, the odds against beating ND are much higher than they were when the Zips played Gonzaga. It's fair to say the Zips have virtually no chance of beating such a strong team. Should the Zips pull off a miracle, it's also fair to say that such an upset win would be cited in NCAA basketball discussions for decades.

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Found this on the espn game message board. Gotta love Gaucho fan!

jdgaucho (3/13/2011 at 10:13 PM) Report Violation Akron vs Louisville - just like in the national championship for men's soccer, but instead it'll be for a final 4 berth

jdgaucho (3/13/2011 at 10:08 PM) Report Violation c'mon Akron. take these turkeys!

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