OU at Akron

[RootforRoo44]

Dj not shaking hands...bi@&h

Once a punk, always a punk.

[GP1]

I knew we had it in the bag when I saw our good luck charm, Gerry Faust, sitting behind the bench.

[zippy5]

I guarantee we get votes tomorrow

[ksu sucks]

I guarantee we get votes tomorrow

Okay, perhaps I'm underestimating our chances. Quite honesty though, this sounds a bit optimistic. Ohio was barely a top 100 team.

Regardless, great win. We are now officially atop the MAC. I like it here. Let's stay a while.

[jem101]

That was way too much fun. Great effort from the Zips. Loved the different looks they threw at Cooper. Harney was on him most of the second half. Even saw Tree on him at one point. Besides the regulars, great to see McAdams hit some huge threes.

[akronzips71]

That was way too much fun. Great effort from the Zips. Loved the different looks they threw at Cooper. Harney was on him most of the second half. Even saw Tree on him at one point. Besides the regulars, great to see McAdams hit some huge threes.

I hear Len Paul was at the game. Now THAT's a good luck charm!

[K92]

I knew we had it in the bag when I saw our good luck charm, Gerry Faust, sitting behind the bench.

ZipsWin! thinks you meant to say Fausty the Snowman.

[zippy5]

reading through the bobkitty forum game thread.. no respect through the first 2 pages, I feel like the next two will be fun to read. And to anyone thinking about it, don't troll like their arrogant fans, have some class. Just read it and laugh for a little

[UAZips]

Haven't watched the game yet so maybe I'd think differently seeing it in context, but OU starting to foul with about two and a half minutes left seemed weird. Was that about the only option they had at that point down 9? with a little under 3 minutes left? By the way, let's not forget 4 straight huge free throws from Harney.

[UAZips]

reading through the bobkitty forum game thread.. no respect through the first 2 pages, I feel like the next two will be fun to read. And to anyone thinking about it, don't troll like their arrogant fans, have some class. Just read it and laugh for a little

I smiled a bit at all the "this game is no big deal" talk there.

[zippy_ua_00]

Don't forget about how poorly they played but no credit to how we caused the bad shots and missed passes etc etc

[akzipper]

Akron did not have to make a run in the second have to win the game. The Zips made their run in the first half to overcome the big OU early lead.

So, in a way, you were correct. Think of it that way.

Yes I will admit I was wrong. The beginning of the game was very frustrating but I'm glad the Zips proved me wrong. I will enjoy the win but we need to remember it was just one game. The season will come down to the MAC tournament. Winning now is fun, but the fans and team need to know that the games at the end of the season will matter MUCH more. Remember we beat OhioU last year in Akron and struggled in the next two matchups. I really hope there is not a repeat. Stay grounded Zips fans!

[zippy5]

Yes I will admit I was wrong. The beginning of the game was very frustrating but I'm glad the Zips proved me wrong. I will enjoy the win but we need to remember it was just one game. The season will come down to the MAC tournament. Winning now is fun, but the fans and team need to know that the games at the end of the season will matter MUCH more. Remember we beat OhioU last year in Akron and struggled in the next two matchups. I really hope there is not a repeat. Stay grounded Zips fans!

We won by four last year. We handled them tonight.

[akzipper]

We won by four last year. We handled them tonight.

Good point. I just think we need to keep things in perspective. Beating them today was nice, but this team can achieve much more...

If UA can take anything else positive from this game it's that we have outgrown the JAR. Time to move on already!

[RowdyZip]

I still think we'll only see about 3500 Tuesday and that's a shame. I think we have a solid shot at 17 straight heading into Athens, though Miami and EMU aren't road cupcakes.

[akzipper]

I still think we'll only see about 3500 Tuesday and that's a shame. I think we have a solid shot at 17 straight heading into Athens, though Miami and EMU aren't road cupcakes.

I think we can get a bit of nicer crowd than that. KD made some good points after the game that the student turnout has been much improved. Even going as far as saying that the atmosphere has been similar to the soccer games. Maybe that's the one positive of the soccer program being on the downswing, students need a team to gravitate towards and basketball is putting itself in that position.

[Dave in Green]

Ugh - why are there open seats with 2 minutes left? It's Akron people... not downtown L.A.

Rt. 8 isn't going to be clogged with people on the way out.

Those were OU fans filing out. There were quite a few at the JAR, and we waved bye-bye to them as they started filing out after realizing their Kitties were not going to be able to stage a comeback against a superior team. Not many Zips fans left early.

[pdt1420]

Great win. Great crowd. I especially enjoyed the upper GA student section. They were very into it. On a second half Kretzer 3, with the ball in the air I turned to watch the student section reaction and I was not disappointed: nearly the entire section came out of their seat.

Speaking of, I'm loving the fact that we have an above average 4 (Abreu, Zeke, Tree, Harney) and get to play the hot hand between Chauncey, Walsh and Kretzer for the 3 ball. Not like in years past where you hoped McClannahan was on or it was going to be a long night.

Honestly I was never worried during this game. Disappointed when we got down 13, but at that point OU was shooting 71% from the field and 60% from 3 point. I kept telling myself that OU couldn't play better and they couldn't keep it up for the whole game. Plus there's this fact:

OU is soft. S. O. F. T. Marshmallowy soft.

Poor Ivo Baltic... maybe he could have contributed if they counted all his 3 point makes during pregame shootaround. Once the game started, Tree accosted him so physically I thought OU was going to have to cancel another day of classes. Keely: pffffftttt. Nobody on that team of wanted any part of anything within 15 feet of the basket. Content to jump passing lanes to get runout baskets and hope for a high 3 point percentage. Hey DJ, keep throwing them up from the parking lot.

Lastly, props to speedo guy for making the security guard come tell you to put your clothes back on on 3+ separate occasions. I spit my diet coke on the gentlemen in front of me when, during 2nd half shootaround, you laid down in front of OU's basket, legs spread eagle, and beckoned to OU players "Hey... hey... come here... look at this."

[ZipGB8]

I think we can get a bit of nicer crowd than that. KD made some good points after the game that the student turnout has been much improved. Even going as far as saying that the atmosphere has been similar to the soccer games. Maybe that's the one positive of the soccer program being on the downswing, students need a team to gravitate towards and basketball is putting itself in that position.

It's not just the teams and how good they are. It's the buzz that's created around campus and the community. Ten years ago, Zips athletics would get decent turnouts from the students at the Rubber Bowl for football and maybe a few hundred students to the men's basketball games, with at least 1,000 more for the Can't games. But I never really understood the subpar student following for home basketball games since Dambrot took over. Isn't his home record 150-14 over his 8.5 seasons or something close to that? They should have at least 5,000 in attendance as a whole every home game just because of that. The Zips every year have many likable players on the teams that most of the fans should want to come out and support. Most other MAC teams might have a couple of them at most.

In the late 90's/early 2000's Miami and Bowling Green to name a couple had big attendance for their home games consistently. Can't may have as well but even they are dropping off in attendance, especially in non-conference games meanwhile they still get a sellout pretty much in the Akron games. The one thing I do like about the Zips over the past 5 years or so is they are marketing well and making more effort to get their games on ESPN2 and ESPNU as well as STO. That should get more notoriety to the students as well as the NCAA.

[zippy5]

It's not just the teams and how good they are. It's the buzz that's created around campus and the community. Ten years ago, Zips athletics would get decent turnouts from the students at the Rubber Bowl for football and maybe a few hundred students to the men's basketball games, with at least 1,000 more for the Can't games. But I never really understood the subpar student following for home basketball games since Dambrot took over. Isn't his home record 150-14 over his 8.5 seasons or something close to that? They should have at least 5,000 in attendance as a whole every home game just because of that. The Zips every year have many likable players on the teams that most of the fans should want to come out and support. Most other MAC teams might have a couple of them at most.

In the late 90's/early 2000's Miami and Bowling Green to name a couple had big attendance for their home games consistently. Can't may have as well but even they are dropping off in attendance, especially in non-conference games meanwhile they still get a sellout pretty much in the Akron games. The one thing I do like about the Zips over the past 5 years or so is they are marketing well and making more effort to get their games on ESPN2 and ESPNU as well as STO. That should get more notoriety to the students as well as the NCAA.

We went over this earlier this year. Look at their home schedule and record in any sort of big game. Tonight was a step in the right direction.

[Dave in Green]

Mid-Major Madness

[Quickzips]

Just got back from my dad's birthday party (family always comes first) and am so glad to have seen a Zips win. When we went in the Zips were down double digits in the first half, and I wasn't feeling good. Looks like the Zips turned it around and pretty thoroughly handled OU down the stretch. Nice to see Abreu and Zeke have some good games. That should shut up some of the talk that those two choke against the Bobcats.

If the Zips don't have at least one top 25 vote tomorrow it will be a damn travesty. This team has won 13 in a row. Longest streak in the country. We're 17-4. If that doesn't get you one measly top 25 vote then we need to get the heck out of this conference.

[Dave in Green]

I had to go to a family dinner immediately after the game, and all I could think about during the dinner was what I wanted to say on ZN.o. And now that I'm at the keyboard, I'm almost speechless. All I can say is that I love this Zips team. I really do. I've been following basketball longer than most of you reading this have been alive. I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly. I know how hard success is to achieve, and how quickly it can all fall apart. This team has already faced a lot of adversity this season. But they never give up. They keep coming back. If one or two or three players are off in any given game, one or two or three other players step up and fill the gap.

It's exceptional and extraordinary to have the longest current winning streak in college basketball. Everyone should savor this moment because most college basketball fans will never see their team accomplish this in 100 years. We Zips fans are all so very fortunate that we have an outstanding head coach and coaching staff who have slowly been building up the team to accomplish something like this. It's a great time to be a Zips fan.

[akronzips71]

Very well said DIG

I have been watching Zips hoops since Jerry Sloan (Tony Laterza) and of course the immortal Len Paul. Those were some heady days, we almost get the Div II (small college at the time) national championship.

This team is special. It has totally come together, and this will end up being one of the great Zips years ever.

[K92]

DiG is right. It is a great time to be a Zips fan. The post game party at BW3 tonight was an especially happy event. It feels good to root for this team.