Akron @ Ohio

[ksu sucks]

I didn't hear anyone discuss this at the time(perhaps I missed it). What do you guys think about the ref warning Zeke(watch the vid from about the :28 mark)?

[Dave in Green]

I see players talking to the refs all the time after a foul is called. I don't see anything wrong for any player at any time to ask a ref for a clarification on a call. What's a ref going to say if a player asks what he has to do to avoid getting foul calls, tell the player he can't answer? Of course the refs are going to tell the players what they call and what they don't call. Everyone benefits from that, including the fans who get to see more basketball and less foul shooting. I see no issue there at all as long as the refs treat all players equally and don't play favorites.

[Dave in Green]

In retrospect, a bad loss like the Zips had at OU can cause friction within the team. Let's just hope that the players don't start pointing fingers at each other. Otherwise, you end up with a situation like the one our friends at Mississippi State have run into:

Miss. St. falling apart on court, in locker room

[The Hip Zip]

In retrospect, a bad loss like the Zips had at OU can cause friction within the team. Let's just hope that the players don't start pointing fingers at each other. Otherwise, you end up with a situation like the one our friends at Mississippi State have run into:

Miss. St. falling apart on court, in locker room

Not exactly a major shock considering the members of the team brawled in the stands at an early season tourney last season. I know a couple guys down there and they consider Stansbury to be a joke of a coach.

[OZoner]

Exactly. I thought about this a while ago and I came to the same conclusion. Ohio fans seem to be the most insecure bunch in the MAC, and this has to be why. In their defense, it's probably annoying when you travel outside of Ohio and tell someone you went to school at Ohio and the response is Oh, so you're a buckeye!

You have no idea. And it happens IN Ohio, too.

[GP1]

In retrospect, a bad loss like the Zips had at OU can cause friction within the team. Let's just hope that the players don't start pointing fingers at each other. Otherwise, you end up with a situation like the one our friends at Mississippi State have run into:

Miss. St. falling apart on court, in locker room

This is what happens when the players believe the headlines. At the beginning of the season Miss St. was ranked high. Early season rankings don't mean squat and a good coach reminds players of that. Once Miss St. got out of the band of cupcakes they play early in the season and into the SEC, they fell apart. A good team with a lockerroom problem? Or, a below average SEC team that was never as good as advertised? I'm going to let the evidence of the regular season tell me Miss State is not as good as advertised.

If you are feeling a little paranoid this morning, read no further. There are may similarities between our basketball team beating MSU this year and the football team beating NCST a few years back. Looking back at the body of work between MSU and NCST, neither team we beat was very good.

[Captain Kangaroo]

If you are feeling a little paranoid this morning, read no further. There are may similarities between our basketball team beating MSU this year and the football team beating NCST a few years back. Looking back at the body of work between MSU and NCST, neither team we beat was very good.

Mississippi State is MUCH better basketball-wise than NC State was, football-wise.

Likewise, the Zips hoops team circa 2011-12 is a much better program than the 2006 Zips Football program.

Both significant, slightly-below-historical wins for their respective sports. But not comparable.

[Dr Z]

I didn't hear anyone discuss this at the time(perhaps I missed it). What do you guys think about the ref warning Zeke...

I agree with Charlie, if a ref tells a player what to do, it's an advantage. Good for Zeke listening to him and taking that advantage. I said it here at the beginning of the season, I would like to see Zeke increase his communication with the referees after whistles.

[Dave in Green]

Anyone who believes that Mississippi State doesn't have great individual talent should do a closer analysis of their game against #1 Kentucky.

MSU had UK down by 13, which no other team has done this season. Then Rodney Hood, MSU's 2nd leading scorer and 3rd leading rebounder, went down with an injury and wasn't able to play in the second half.

MSU normally only plays 7, and finished the game by playing only 6 players in the second half. They still held off UK until UK finally took the lead for the first time in the game with just 4 minutes remaining.

Darrius Miller, a 6-8 guard, led UK's second half scoring barrage that eventually sunk MSU. He would have been guarded by MSU's 6-8 guard Rodney Hood had Hood not been out with an injury.

A team without great talent could have never come so close to upsetting #1 Kentucky. A team with great talent and poor chemistry can almost upset the #1 team in the country despite losing one of its star players to injury, and can also lose a bunch of games to lesser teams.

Conclusion: MSU is a team with great individual talent and poor team chemistry.

[GP1]

Anyone who believes that Mississippi State doesn't have great individual talent should do a closer analysis of their game against #1 Kentucky.

Who said this?

[GP1]

Mississippi State is MUCH better basketball-wise than NC State was, football-wise.

Much better? They are 7-8 in an average basketball conference. Any hint of them being good is the result of the cupcake icing they have all over themselves. They may be better, but I think there are still comparisons.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Much better? They are 7-8 in an average basketball conference.

NCST was 3-9, in a terrible football conference. One of those three wins was against a 1-AA program.

[Dave in Green]

Who said this?

No one said it. Just in case anyone might be thinking it, I thought it would be good to make the point by example through analysis of the MSU-UK game.

MSU is a classic case of a bunch of players who are individually talented to the point of being able to outplay the #1 team in the country and almost winning despite having one of the team's key players sidelined with an injury. But they are also a classic case of what can happen when all those players don't play consistently together as a team, in which case they can lose many games to teams with inferior talent but superior team chemistry.

With all their players healthy, MSU is the type of team that could make a deep run in the NCAA tournament as VCU did last season, or they could go out in the first round.

There's a lesson here for this season's Zips team, which also has a lot of individually talented players who don't always demonstrate good team chemistry.