ejcool27 Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 I notice one difference from this Zips team then the ones of the last 2-3 seasons.....They still won!....this would've been a loss last season in fact when I saw Central hit the three and make it 63-60 I already wrote this down as a loss....It may be ugly, but a win is a win! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronzips71 Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 It seems like they only play well when under the pressure of being down or on the cusp of being down. This one should have been a 30+ point blowout. And Zeke made some REALLY nice plays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyzip84 Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 I notice one difference from this Zips team then the ones of the last 2-3 seasons.....They still won!....this would've been a loss last season in fact when I saw Central hit the three and make it 63-60 I already wrote this down as a loss....It may be ugly, but a win is a win! I thought the same thing. In the end, it just matters if the Zips win. OU barely escaped BSU in Athens today. Nobody will care, come MAC tournament time, about margin of victory of games played during the regular season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 These announcers suck but they are FAR better than others we have heard. Buffalo's announcers were excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valpo Zip Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 The announcers were as unbiased as I've seen from MAC homers this year. Since we're at it, I feel that we have no room to complain about this subject because Steve French gets even on MY nerves sometimes with how much of a homer he is. Just like ejcool, when CMU closed down to 3 points, I almost had no more hopes that we win this game. The Zips 2.0 are mentally tougher than the Zips 1.0 This weekend will be an RPI killer for us, playing a 243 rpi team cannot be good (win or loose) and also both WVU (terrible call) and Miss St lost their games so that will indirectly affect us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Five guys scored all of CMU's points. Two of their starters and four reserves didn't score a single point. Strange box score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akzipper Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Now I get all this "a win is a win" but these are no where near quality opponents. These ugly wins against BG, Miami, Ball State, and CMU are scary because we know that this team is a few plays away from losing to these teams. Even though they don't we know it could happen and if we play like this against OU and Can't at home or in the MAC tournament we are going to get smoked! Ugly wins are fine, but every win is ugly it's proof of an unstable team. A team that can beat Mississippi State but lose to Valp, Duquesne, and Buffalo. This is what makes it difficult for our fans to get behind this team, and why no one in the country will take us seriously come March. If people think this type of play will win the MAC, you are in for a rude awakening! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadszip Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Five guys scored all of CMU's points. Two of their starters and four reserves didn't score a single point. Strange box score. Even more strange is that the fourth guy to score (Mbiagoto) didn't get in the book until about 12 minutes left in the game when he hit a three. What's more disconcerning is that even with that being the case, I believe that three brought CMU to within 10 points. No way should three players be able to, for the most part, hang with a good team with the depth Akron has. I'm with akzipper. A win is a win, but this was a bad one. It was nice to see the team finally get out to a fast start, but sloppy play and the inability to hit free throws allowed a bad CMU team to claw back into it. A team that is going to make noise in the tournament wins tonight by 30. Throw in the fact that they have yet to play a complete game in MAC play, and there are real reasons to be concerned, even at 6-1 in the league. However, they are still somehow 6-1 in league play (and everybody here would've taken that in a heartbeart), so at least they are finding ways to win. I'm going to give them until the end of the Western portion of the schedule before I really start to worry. Hopefully, they can do what Can't just did to Northern and Toledo and then put together solid games against WMU and EMU. If they do that, I'm sure everybody will be a lot more confident in this team heading down the stretch. If not, and even if they only drop the Western game, I won't have a whole lot of confidence at Can't or Ohio, and even at home against Buffalo. 6-1 is great, but it can easily end up being 11-5 or 10-6 if there isn't improvement. Right now, they have simply either out-talented teams (Miami, BG, Ball State, CMU) or played well enough in spurts to win at home (Ohio, Can't). Unless they catch some luck, they are going to have to put together complete games to win in Cleveland. The talent is there, now is the time for it to translate onto the court, something I haven't seen since the Mississippi State game (didn't see the Marshall game). Overall, this is easily the most talented Akron team I've seen, and it's not even close. But the careless way they play for long spurts makes me think that most of the less talented KD teams of the last five years, would beat this team like a drum if MAC tourney play started right now. The good thing is, I'm sure KD hasn't been happy, and if he can get this group to gel, another MAC title and a Sweet 16 run is definitely possible. No doubt in my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip Watcher Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Sounds to me like you're already worrying. You see this team finishing 4-5 with 6 of 9 reamaining games @ home? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 I notice one difference from this Zips team then the ones of the last 2-3 seasons.....They still won!....this would've been a loss last season in fact when I saw Central hit the three and make it 63-60 I already wrote this down as a loss....It may be ugly, but a win is a win! That's because we at least have enough individual talent right now that someone is capable of making a play when we desperately need it, despite the boneheaded plays and scoring droughts that get us into that situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 That's because we at least have enough individual talent right now that someone is capable of making a play when we desperately need it, despite the boneheaded plays and scoring droughts that get us into that situation. +1. We have the individual talent to often overcome poor team play. That may work (most of the time) in the MAC, but won't fly if we have sincere Sweet 16 aspirations. Heck, it didn't even fly against Valpo & Duquesne. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hip Zip Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Count me in into the enjoy the W camp. Sure, we don't always look good against some of these western division teams and especially on the road. Teams like Central, and Eastern just make you look bad due to their style of play. They know that they can't run with our guys and their only hope is to run the clock down and play physical basketball. Eastern Mich is getting really good at this. They can't score 60 pts a game and sometimes not even 50. They just hang around long enough that they have a chance to win it late by making a couple of plays. While we all want a western sweep,I think that 5-1 vs the West is a passing grade and I'll gladly take the W at Central and come home. (Too many minutes for #5 though, this game was probably his poorest of them all) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valpo Zip Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 While we all want a western sweep,I think that 5-1 vs the West is a passing grade and I'll gladly take the W at Central and come home. Absolutely not. Losing to western teams will be a buzz killer and an RPI disaster. Like the EMU team that you are suggesting we may lose to has an RPI of 216. Even if we admit that we have no chance at an at large bid, if we win the MAC, our RPI makes a difference in what seed we get. 5-1 against the west is NOT a passing grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZoner Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 I thought the same thing. In the end, it just matters if the Zips win. OU barely escaped BSU in Athens today. Nobody will care, come MAC tournament time, about margin of victory of games played during the regular season. Yes and no. Of course, the "W" or "L" is what matters most, but margin of victory is one of the best indicators of quality out there. Teams that win convincingly are more likely to keep winning than teams that eek out wins. Buffalo leads in this category with Akron and OU behind them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 I will happily concede the margin of victory quality indicator to Buffalo, OU or even Can't as long as the Zips keep winning more games than any other team in the MAC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hip Zip Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Absolutely not. Losing to western teams will be a buzz killer and an RPI disaster. Like the EMU team that you are suggesting we may lose to has an RPI of 216. Even if we admit that we have no chance at an at large bid, if we win the MAC, our RPI makes a difference in what seed we get. 5-1 against the west is NOT a passing grade. Well then, do tell what you know about Western Mich ? Because I've been watching them and they will be a handful when we come calling. And don't put words in my mouth. In no way did I suggest that we would lose to EMU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Absolutely not. Losing to western teams will be a buzz killer and an RPI disaster. Like the EMU team that you are suggesting we may lose to has an RPI of 216. Even if we admit that we have no chance at an at large bid, if we win the MAC, our RPI makes a difference in what seed we get. 5-1 against the west is NOT a passing grade. I have to agree with you that I would be disappointed if we lose any games to the West. At the same time, I like to remind myself and everyone else that these are college kids. To say that they don't play well every night is an understatement. That's why even the best teams every year lose several games. So, whenever I see someone expecting excellence over a long stretch of games, I have to ask them to exercise a bit of understanding and caution. Last night should be a good enough indication of what can happen. But thankfully, two road games are out of the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valpo Zip Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 And don't put words in my mouth. In no way did I suggest that we would lose to EMU. I just read your post again, you say that CMU and EMU are tough teams and then you say that you won't be disappointed with a 5-1 west swing. Since we alread beat CMU, I concluded that you suggested we MAY lose to EMU. That's all. Anyways, I am sorry you feel I put words in your mouth, no bad intentions here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hip Zip Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 I just read your post again, you say that CMU and EMU are tough teams and then you say that you won't be disappointed with a 5-1 west swing. Since we alread beat CMU, I concluded that you suggested we MAY lose to EMU. That's all. Anyways, I am sorry you feel I put words in your mouth, no bad intentions here Not a problem Ada. My point was simply that they are not particularly good teams, especially with the ball, but their style of play can make some decent teams look bad. Eastern zones really well but I think we have the guys to go over the top of it. I'd be shocked if we lost to them. Getting to Western, they have been banged up all season long and still are with Ward having a knee problem. On top of that their big guy, Stainbrook is a bit of a nutcase and him and Hawkins have been at odds all season. So much so that Hawkins left him in KZoo for their last road trip. He played against Miami but didn't start yesterday. Anyways, through all of this crap Hawkins has watched a couple of bench players step up and play really well. Whittington is a big guy that can rebound and bang pretty well and a little guard named Richie that can knock down threes. They have been tough as hell at home, I don't think that they have dropped any and this includes a spanking of Duquense. This is the one loss that I can easily see happening. I'll bet you a hoppin Frog on the outcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZoner Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Well then, do tell what you know about Western Mich ? Because I've been watching them and they will be a handful when we come calling. And don't put words in my mouth. In no way did I suggest that we would lose to EMU. It's a game Akron should win, but the Broncos will likely make it uncomfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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