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OU at Akron


MDZip

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Akron is going to have to shoot the ball well from the outside and continue to rebound the ball on the offensive end. You'd have to think that at some point OU will start to pack it in with double and triple teams. They may even throw a zone at Akron for an extended period of time. Akron needs to be the bully in this matchup. I can't wait to see how it plays out on the court!

:screwks:

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To me this game is pretty simple. It comes down to OU's backcourt against the Zips frontcourt. Strength vs. Strength. Not that Akron has a bad backcourt or that OU has a bad frontcourt. It is just a matter of OU having very good guards and Akron having very good bigs. If Zeke, Tree, Harney, Forsythe and Kretzer outplay Cooper, Kellogg, Offut and Taylor the Zips win. If it is the other way around OU goes home with a big road win.

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I don't break it down into individual players, or even backcourt vs. frontcourt. This is, plain and simple, teamwork vs. teamwork. The team that plays together the best is going to win. It's not about who starts and who comes off the bench. It's not about who gets the most minutes. It's not about who has the most points or rebounds. It's every player doing what's best for the team every minute they're on the floor. It's that extra effort by a guard to snag a rebound away from a bunch of taller forwards, that extra pass to find the player who's a little more open for the shot. It's all the little things that set a team playing together apart from a bunch of talented individual players. I think the Zips are starting to buy into this, and if they do, they're going to keep winning.

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I want to see one thing in particular, and I want to see it early. I want to see Cooper picking himself off the floor (slowly) after being knocked down hard when he penetrates the lane. Nothing dirty, just a good hard foul to make him think twice when he does it again.

Absolutely! If it's OK for teams to hack, hold, push, shove Zeke all game long, a few timely chucks on DJ should be more than fair game.

I keep wondering if the back-up PG battle will materialize, even only for a few minutes. I want Melo to post up Stephanie Taylor :D

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Absolutely! If it's OK for teams to hack, hold, push, shove Zeke all game long, a few timely chucks on DJ should be more than fair game.
Anything that has happened to them in the Mac will be considered child's play if one or both make it to the NBA.
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You are correct, and it's one of the reasons I've always preferred college ball to the NBA.
I have always enjoyed college ball more too, until LBJ got drafted by the Cavs, I was a big LBJ fan which made me start to like the NBA more. When LBJ left, most of my interest in the NBA diminished again. NOTHING beats March madness. It's the best. THAT is why I want to be (as much as a fan can) a part of it. Come on staff, we have the team, make it happen!
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To me this game is pretty simple. It comes down to OU's backcourt against the Zips frontcourt. Strength vs. Strength.

I've pointed to this repeatedly as the reason why we've started to dominate Ken+, but have started to also get dominated by OU over the last few years.

OU's guards have the ability to turn this into a 20 point game, as they've done before. We likely don't have the backcourt personnel to chase them successfully for 40 min. right now. It will take pure guts and effort. Maybe Deji emerges as the defensive X-Factor in this game? Maybe a little more Zone from the Zips again tonight? We'll see.

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I've pointed to this repeatedly as the reason why we've started to dominate Ken+, but have started to also get dominated by OU over the last few years.

OU's guards have the ability to turn this into a 20 point game, as they've done before. We likely don't have the backcourt personnel to chase them successfully for 40 min. right now. It will take pure guts and effort. Maybe Deji emerges as the defensive X-Factor in this game? Maybe a little more Zone from the Zips again tonight? We'll see.

I was thinking of this myself. I wouldn't be surprised if Deji gets some solid minutes tonight because he is the one guard that we have that is long and athletic enough to stick to Cooper.

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I've pointed to this repeatedly as the reason why we've started to dominate Ken+, but have started to also get dominated by OU over the last few years.

OU's guards have the ability to turn this into a 20 point game, as they've done before. We likely don't have the backcourt personnel to chase them successfully for 40 min. right now. It will take pure guts and effort. Maybe Deji emerges as the defensive X-Factor in this game? Maybe a little more Zone from the Zips again tonight? We'll see.

I've been going to Zips games long enough to know that in the past whenever they are on national TV or are in big games against top teams or high ranked RPI teams, they come out jittery, have trouble controlling the pace of the game, and take a while to get their mental toughness together. Dambrot is smarter than you think. When he keeps saying as Abreu goes, the teams goes, he is basically saying that Abreu is really good and keeping the mental toughness where it needs to be and everyone else follows. I have no doubt in my mind that Harney, Walsh, and Chauncey who are your most experienced guys that can give you enough offense to stay in the game, play much better when Abreu is on the floor.

I really like that this year, Dambrot has been coaching with his gut a lot more. He's been using 1st unit/2nd units, he's been doing more of keeping 3 forwards on the floor/3 guards on the floor combos. He knows his players in and out. He knows Chauncey plays better with Abreu on the floor, he knows Zeke and Tree play better when they are getting more rebounds throughout the game, he knows Harney plays better when they play at a faster pace. I'm a firm believer than in tough conference games or in big games in general, the team that has the shows the best leadership and takes the most risks will usually come out on top. And OU has players who aren't scared, they believe they are better than you from the get go. It's all about mental toughness as I said.

The team that makes the most 3's and gets the most rebounds will win this game.

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Seems like every game this season they start out sluggish. Then we find ourselves sitting here at halftime saying "well the Zips will need to make a run in the 2nd half". Honestly I'm tired of it. I don't know what it will take to get this team motivated to start a game, but it hasn't happened yet. They were lucky to come back against Can't, Buffalo, and the other dozen teams this year. How many times to they think they can go on 16-0 runs? It's not going to happen against OhioU even if we're more talented. OhioU 72 Akron 60...

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Zeke is looking more and more like a pro.

He has agility and presence under the offensive basket. I remember him missing bunnies and dunks. Not any more. Now he is deadly within reach of the hoop.

One thing that used to frustrate me about Zeke was the rarity with which he would dunk. This year he isn't afraid to put it down at all.

This bald jackals ref is hosing the Zips early.

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