PB1719 Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 Ohio defeating Belmont would be a nice bump to our SOS, it would probably put us in front of them in the mid-major rankings as well. NDST is having a fine season as well, I think if both of these pan out and we keep up the publicity that we've been receiving that we will crack it in the next few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 It's always hard to cheer for a rival like Can't or OU to do well. But there are times when it's in the best interests of the Zips. The best possible scenario is for the Kitties to upset Belmont, and then for the Zips to win in Athens. I don't expect every Zips fan to openly cheer for the Kitties to beat Belmont. But that would be the best thing for the Zips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 The best possible scenario would be for the MAC to go 12-0 in the Bracketbuster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 It is always in the best interests for Akron to root for the rest of the MAC during out of conference games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB1719 Posted February 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 Clearly the better the conference plays, it reflects better upon us. My point is, will these high profile games (If they go in our favor) be enough for us to crack the top 25? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 @PB1719, it would take an unbelievable number of multiple upsets of many good teams currently ranked ahead of the Zips -- who are effectively ranked #37 in both the AP and Coaches Polls -- for them to move into the top 25. The way things are going this season, it may be a little more likely than other seasons. But it's still highly unlikely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 One thing that hasn't been discussed about the Zips' BracketBuster game is timing. Getting the 7 pm Friday time slot is wonderful, as there are only 8 college basketball games on tap that evening, and 1 (the other BracketBuster) starts at 9 pm. The 7 games that start at 7 pm include 4 Ivy League games and a meaningless Atlantic Sun Conference game. Unfortunately, Butler and St. Louis will be battling for Atlantic 10 leadership at 7 pm, which will draw a lot of attention. But other than that, there will be little competition for the Zips game. That means that national media who may not have had a chance to see the Zips play will have perhaps their best opportunity of the season to tune in. If the Zips' winning streak is still alive going into that game, and if the Zips have a great performance, the media buzz could pick up considerably. It's imperative that the Zips make the most of this rare opportunity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 NDSU is obviously looking ahead to their game against the Zips. They just lost their second game in a row, this time to Western Illinois by a MAC West score of 49-36. Ugh. Are there any good teams left that can just keep winning, if even by only a few points a game? Oh, yeah -- Akron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zipmeister Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 NDSU is obviously looking ahead to their game against the Zips. They just lost their second game in a row, this time to Western Illinois by a MAC West score of 49-36. Ugh. Are there any good teams left that can just keep winning, if even by only a few points a game? Oh, yeah -- Akron. Scoring 14 points in the second half - at home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 Well we could have switched and gotten Belmont, and would be in sort of the same situation. Guess its good we stayed with what we have, but it's looking like the NDSU game can only have a negative impact at this point. Dang it. Belmont is now one slot - 52 - ahead of the Zips in the latest Kenpom rankings. NDSU has slipped to #67. Ohio is 63rd so a road victory there would have some significant impact. I think the Zips at-large chances largely rest in the balance there. If they can pull off a win at Ohio, the at large is possible (with the other wins of course). A loss there and the at large chance is gone, no matter what happens in any other games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 ..... Belmont is now one slot - 52 - ahead of the Zips in the latest Kenpom rankings. ..... Pomeroy's ranking for Belmont after two straight losses makes more sense to me than their mind-boggling RPI of #26. I guess it's good that there's still a lot of RPI value there if OU can knock them off at Belmont. BPI ranks the Zips even better than Pomeroy, #49 to Belmont's #52. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Zip Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 NDSU's leading scorer Taylor Braun has been out for the last nine games and it's doubtful he'll be back Friday night. The team is 5-4 since his injury. Today the beat IUPI 75-39 to hand them their 12th straight loss. Coincidentally one of IUPUI's last wins was against Ball State. Zips need to drop NDSU by 20+ and make a statement. I don't want to hear anything from Dambrodt about how this game doesn't matter because all that matters is the MAC Tournament Championship game. His attitude impacts the team and I want him to want this Nationally Televised game as much as any other game this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 ..... I don't want to hear anything from Dambrodt about how this game doesn't matter because all that matters is the MAC Tournament Championship game. His attitude impacts the team and I want him to want this Nationally Televised game as much as any other game this season. Uh, did you consider the fact that saying that this game doesn't matter would be saying that it doesn't matter if the Zips continue the longest current winning streak in college basketball? I can assure you that Coach Dambrot understands the value to UA of continuing this winning streak as long as possible. Everyone at UA understands this. Stuffed animals understand this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Zip Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 DIG I think this bracketbuster game matters every year but KD has never treated it that way and I've complained about it every year. I know he understands but I I still suspect we'll here something this week that downplays the game to some extent. It is just how he talks about this game every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 I don't think this year is like any other year in any capacity whatsoever. At least wait for him to say it to bash him for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronzips71 Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 Can we be unseated as the longest streak by only playing one game this week? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 Can we be unseated as the longest streak by only playing one game this week? Good thought. This sounds like a question for Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bUAkronG Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 Not unseated--- but Memphis plays Houston on Wednesday. They can tie our streak with a win but obviously a win friday would push us again one more ahead of them. Also for the record, Belmont currently has the 6th longest active home winning streak in the nation, so OU has a tall task of beating them on the road. In comparison, the Zips' 13 wins in a row at home currently has them 16th in the nation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OU Dude Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 If both Akron and Memphis win out they'll finish the season tied at 22. Akron is currently ahead by a game but only play one game (2/22) between now and the game at OU (2/27) while Memphis plays 3 games (2/20, 2/23, 2/26) between now and then. If both teams keep winning Akron will not have the country's longest winning streak at tip off in Athens. no pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpsjugglerdude Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 If both Akron and Memphis win out they'll finish the season tied at 22. Akron is currently ahead by a game but only play one game (2/22) between now and the game at OU (2/27) while Memphis plays 3 games (2/20, 2/23, 2/26) between now and then. If both teams keep winning Akron will not have the country's longest winning streak at tip off in Athens. no pressure. Ya, neither will OU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronzips71 Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 If both Akron and Memphis win out they'll finish the season tied at 22. Akron is currently ahead by a game but only play one game (2/22) between now and the game at OU (2/27) while Memphis plays 3 games (2/20, 2/23, 2/26) between now and then. If both teams keep winning Akron will not have the country's longest winning streak at tip off in Athens. no pressure. So in other words, if Memphis keeps winning, at some point we will no longer have the longest winning streak, even though we have not lost. Just like when we win and our RPI goes down. Ever feel like the deck is stacked against you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fargobison Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 NDSU is obviously looking ahead to their game against the Zips. They just lost their second game in a row, this time to Western Illinois by a MAC West score of 49-36. Ugh. Are there any good teams left that can just keep winning, if even by only a few points a game? Oh, yeah -- Akron. We are just grinding right now without our leading scorer Taylor Braun. We tend to play a lot like Wisconsin, which can get a bit ugly but it works most of the time. With our leading scorer Taylor Braun out we've struggled in finishing games. He is a 6'7 guard/forward that can do it all. He broke his foot while falling on a TV camera guy who for some reason was sitting too far out under the basket. Even with Braun out we are still a great defensive team, offensively we can be streaky. Anyways it should be fun to watch Bjorklund battle with Zeke, I'm looking forward to watching it. They really gave us one of the marquee TV slots which was nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 I wanted to comment on this thread. First, I'm sad to hear that Memphis has the quantity of games over the next week or so to move us out of that "longest winning streak" category. That's stinks. With the AP poll, I am going to be curious to see how far we move with 2 more wins this week. I figure, if we can move up about 5 spots this week, then I would consider a Top-25 ranking as possible before the end of the season. As most people have mentioned, it's all about other teams losing. But maybe even more importantly, how many writers who have never paid attention to Akron jumping on our bandwagon. Looks like we might end up 1-2 quality opponents short of what it would have taken to get there. Same with the at-large bid. May the debate over our SOS continue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 @Big Zip, Coach Dambrot has already made his big statement about the importance of the BracketBusters game when he made national news by volunteering to trade a home game for an away game to gain even more value. He's not going to reverse his position on the importance of this game. The Zips have reached a point where every game counts because they've grown into a strong enough program to earn an NCAA tournament at-large bid if they win their OOC games. @fargobison, I was joking about NDSU being upset due to looking ahead to the Zips game. I was aware of the Bison losing Taylor Braun, and would have mentioned that in the pre-game discussion. We Zips fans understand how tough it is to win without key players as our two starting forwards had to sit out the first 3 games of the season due to an NCAA clerical paperwork error, and we lost 2 of those 3 games. We know that the Bison will come to Akron pumped up at the chance to break the nation's current longest winning streak on national TV, and that you'll give us a good battle even without your leading scorer. On the issue of the Zips and Memphis going back and forth with the longest winning streak, that's not bad company to be associated with, as Memphis has a strong pedigree in college basketball. But they're not invincible this season. They've had some close calls, beating a weak Marshall team by just 1 point in Memphis, for example. Memphis still has a couple of tough games left on their schedule, too -- Southern Mississippi at home and Xavier on the road. The Zips just have to keep focused on winning their next game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 On the issue of the Zips and Memphis going back and forth with the longest winning streak, that's not bad company to be associated with, as Memphis has a strong pedigree in college basketball. It's only a big story in our favor right now because we are at the top of the heap, and we've stayed there long enough for people to start paying attention. As a National story, the great Akron winning streak will go away the moment Memphis would go ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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