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Zips at NIU


RowdyZip

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Well, about 2.5 hours from tip, no one has gotten this started. Vegas says the Zips win by 12.

NIU has performed admirably by nearly beating UMass and upsetting Miami on the road. I think this combination and the recent troubles we've had with bad NIU squads keeps it a little closer.

Akron 78

NIU 69

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Well, about 2.5 hours from tip, no one has gotten this started. Vegas says the Zips win by 12.

NIU has performed admirably by nearly beating UMass and upsetting Miami on the road. I think this combination and the recent troubles we've had with bad NIU squads keeps it a little closer.

Akron 78

NIU 69

Morning line is 12 1/2

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A new Zips star is born every game. :) Early in the season, Kretzer was performing more the way I expected McAdams to perform. Reggie went off big-time today.

It's nice to see individual players step up, but I still think this team needs a consistent star to be "born." I thought Tree or Harney were poised for a breakout, but kind of cooled off today. Maybe this team just isn't built in a way that allows any particular player to stand out consistently. I guess a positive of that philosophy is you don't have to depend on one player to get you wins.

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It's nice to see individual players step up, but I still think this team needs a consistent star to be "born." I thought Tree or Harney were poised for a breakout, but kind of cooled off today. Maybe this team just isn't built in a way that allows any particular player to stand out consistently. I guess a positive of that philosophy is you don't have to depend on one player to get you wins.

This.

The history of Keith Dambrot at Akron is balanced scoring without having a single player dominate the scoring night in and night out. In his 9 years as head coach the highest scoring average on a season was 14.9 for Romeo Travis in 2006-2007. If Zeke continues to score around 13 per night for the remainder of the year he will end the season with the forth highest average scoring season under KD and it will be the first time since 2007-2008 (Jeremiah Wood at 14.1/game) that a Zips player has averaged better than 12/game.

A lot of things have changed since KD took over in 2004-2005. We play with a lot more depth. KD is a lot more willing to trust players early in their career. We recruit taller, more athletic players. One thing I have a hard time seeing change though is that the Zips will continue to rely on balanced scoring.

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First and foremost, I am so pleased and relieved to see a 15-point Zips win in DeKalb, IL. Despite the fact that NIU has never been a basketball powerhouse, the Zips have historically had a hard time posting big wins in DeKalb. They did it today despite some shaky moments. The most important point is that they stepped up and put it out of reach just when it really mattered. This is the mark of a good team.

As far as balanced scoring versus the elusive guaranteed go-to scorer, an undeniable truth about the human condition is that we always imagine that we want what we don't have. If we have balanced scoring, we think there's something better about having a go-to scorer. But the reality is that guaranteed go-to scorers are a rarity. Pick a player who you think is guaranteed to score when absolutely needed, then go look at the records. The truth is that go-to scorers have off games. And you can bet your booty that fans of the guaranteed go-to scorer wish they had balanced scoring when their hero fails to deliver.

What I didn't like about today's game is that the refs called two quick fouls on Zeke. I wasn't watching the video, so I can't comment on how valid the calls were. But following the online stats, I was aware that the refs also called two quick fouls on Zeke's replacement, Pat Forsythe. Again, they may or may not have been valid. But I have a sour feeling in my gut that MAC refs are really quick to call fouls on 7-foot centers in MAC play. Now maybe it's only a coincidence that the Zips have the only two functioning 7-foot centers in the MAC. But if this happens in every game, I'm going to start believing that the MAC refs are flown into Zips conference games on black helicopters.

EDIT: OK, I misremembered. After reviewing the play-by-play, Zeke got 1 early foul. When he was replaced by Forsythe, Pat picked up 2 fouls. Zeke then came back into the game and got his second foul late in the first half. Black helicopters fading.

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