The Hip Zip Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 We open up as a 5.5 underdog. While I am not overtly confident at this point that we win this game I am a bit surprised at how much this line disrespects our program in general. I suppose that I can understand it though, Eastern plays a tough zone and Riley and crew are probably the only team in the MAC that match up to our front court length. Their RPI is impressive and Murphy is building a program. The days of EMU being a pushover are over. Sack up and prove them wrong on this one. This may be a big game for our psyche so lets smack 'em in the mouth in front of their 187 fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Z Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 I'm a tad surprised by five and a half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hip Zip Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 I'm a tad surprised by five and a half. To be honest I was too. I thought maybe Eastern -2 or so. I do believe that they have earned the right to be favored but that number seems high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 We don't lose often, but when we do, we lose big. dosequisguy.jpeg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hip Zip Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 We don't lose often, but when we do, we lose big. dosequisguy.jpeg Funny stuff, I like it. The Zips took some quick money at my offshore. Now Eastern -4 which is more in line with where it should be. They are not exactly built to blow people out. They like to tough it out, much like we do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 Basically I see us winning or losing by fifteen. We lose our cool when we get down a few late. A big exception being the OU game, that was incredible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 ... We lose our cool when we get down a few late. ... I've never seen a truer statement about fans on this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyzip84 Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 We used to complain about the low RPIs in the MAC West. Pomeroy has EMU at 95 and UA at 153, so here is an opportunity for the Zips to improve their RPI. I know, I know. It doesn’t matter so much this year since at at-large bid is out of the question. But it’s better than playing a team with an RPI in the 200s, right? The real issue here is team psyche. A 2nd consecutive beat-down, compliments of a MAC West squad, might have lasting consequences. Win or lose, I hope to see more effort so that the game is at least competitive. Yes, my expectations eased a bit in 2014, but I think I’m just being a realist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 Pomeroy may have EMU at #95. But the really important number is RPI, where Live RPI has them at #44. Why is that so important? Because there's a callout on the NCAA tournament selection committee sheet for top 50 RPI wins. A top 50 RPI win on the road can make a difference in NCAA tournament seeding should the Zips get there. When's the last time the Zips had a top 50 RPI win on the road? No matter what anyone here thinks about EMU's real strength, RPI loves them because they had the #5 toughest OOC SOS in the country with games against Syracuse, Kentucky, Duke and UMass among others. EMU's 2-3 zone will be a serious challenge for the Zips to crack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 Pomeroy may have EMU at #95. But the really important number is RPI, where Live RPI has them at #44. Why is that so important? Because there's a callout on the NCAA tournament selection committee sheet for top 50 RPI wins. A top 50 RPI win on the road can make a difference in NCAA tournament seeding should the Zips get there. When's the last time the Zips had a top 50 RPI win on the road? No matter what anyone here thinks about EMU's real strength, RPI loves them because they had the #5 toughest OOC SOS in the country with games against Syracuse, Kentucky, Duke and UMass among others. EMU's 2-3 zone will be a serious challenge for the Zips to crack. Hmm. Playing a high SOS OOC has given them a #44 RPI, some attention and respect, and has better prepared them to start their best run to begin MAC play in years? What a concept. Dave, I understand that a road win against a Top-50 RPI team can catapult your own present ranking, but when it comes to tournament seeding at the end of the year, the only thing that will matter is if EMU has a Top-50 RPI at the end of the season, and not now. Correct? On another note: Does anyone else find this to be extremely odd? Not only do we play EMU (a non-division team) twice, but the two games are only a couple of weeks apart?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 On another note: Does anyone else find this to be extremely odd? Not only do we play EMU (a non-division team) twice, but the two games are only a couple of weeks apart?? Schedule is pretty strange this year, the extra West games are because the of the new 18 game schedule - and we don't play Buffalo at all until the last 6 games of the season and then play them twice in two weeks then. I think tonights game will tell a lot about the way this Zips season will go. Win it and I think a top 4 seed is really likely, lose it and it could well be play in game time. I think it could be that critical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 ... Dave, I understand that a road win against a Top-50 RPI team can catapult your own present ranking, but when it comes to tournament seeding at the end of the year, the only thing that will matter is if EMU has a Top-50 RPI at the end of the season, and not now. Correct? ... To the best of my knowledge the opponent's RPI at the time you beat them is what counts at the end of the season. Otherwise you could beat a top 50 team when they're at full strength, and if that team for instance later lost their three top players to injuries and their record and RPI cratered at the end of the season, you wouldn't be getting credit for what at the time was a much better win than the opponent's final RPI might show. You can see where the top 50 wins and losses are called out on the Zips NCAA Selection Sheet right here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Z Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 I'm a tad surprised by five and a half.Line is at two and a half. That's closer to what I expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 To the best of my knowledge the opponent's RPI at the time you beat them is what counts at the end of the season. Otherwise you could beat a top 50 team when they're at full strength, and if that team for instance later lost their three top players to injuries and their record and RPI cratered at the end of the season, you wouldn't be getting credit for what at the time was a much better win than the opponent's final RPI might show. You can see where the top 50 wins and losses are called out on the Zips NCAA Selection Sheet right here. I see your Sheet. Actually, there is one way to definitively get the answer. For example, it shows that we were beaten by #11 RPI Iowa State (one of our two Top-50 RPI losses). Is that their RPI NOW, or their RPI when they beat us? By looking at a couple of the other teams vs. Akron, it seems to show their current RPI. So, it looks like this continues to update during the course of the season, and doesn't stick to the team's ranking at the time the game was played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hip Zip Posted January 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 As far as RPI sheets and the like, some guys love stats and numbers in general and some guys don't. Count me into the second group. I'm really happy that we have smart fellows like Dave in here to break it all down for us because when I try to make some sense of it all I am like: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mivid12 Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 http://firstrowus1.eu/watch/234519/1/watch...n-michigan.html fyi... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 @skip-zip, checking a number of team RPI values on the Zips sheet vs. Live RPI shows that most are not exactly the same but all are pretty close to current RPI. If that sheet is identical to the way the NCAA does it, then my assumption was wrong and it's the final season RPI that counts. So you don't get full credit for beating a team that may have been much stronger when you beat them than they end up at the end of the season. I suppose the counterargument is that you get more than full credit for beating a team that was weaker when you beat them than they end up at the season's conclusion, and that it all balances out. Thanks for questioning that. @The Hip Zip, it's not so much that I love stats and numbers. In fact I find them annoying in the sense that it takes time to look them up and then try to translate their significance. In my case, I just like to doublecheck what I think I'm seeing against other measures of what's happening, and stats and numbers can be useful tools in helping develop a more complete and accurate understanding of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpsjugglerdude Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 BTW this game is on 1311 on TWC in Ohio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted January 23, 2014 Report Share Posted January 23, 2014 Major changes to the starting lineup. Melo, Diggs, Kretzer, Harney, Tree. Not surprised. Forsythe was just awful vs Toledo, letting players get behind him under the basket all game long. Really strange how bad his footwork and positioning were, the worst he looked all season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomzip Posted January 23, 2014 Report Share Posted January 23, 2014 BTW this game is on 1311 on TWC in Ohio. great arena, great match up = a few hundred fans lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted January 23, 2014 Report Share Posted January 23, 2014 http://firstrowus1.eu/watch/234519/1/watch...n-michigan.html fyi... Looks like this is the only option if you don't have TWC. ESPN3 is blacked out in Ohio, and the MAC website isn't working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted January 23, 2014 Report Share Posted January 23, 2014 I've said it many times....I love the Tree/Harney/Kretzer front line. That's how we have to play if Pat isn't going to get the job done. Diggs starting too? Must be a big shakeup from Keith after the Toledo disaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomzip Posted January 23, 2014 Report Share Posted January 23, 2014 Looks like this is the only option if you don't have TWC. ESPN3 is blacked out in Ohio, and the MAC website isn't working. http://www.mac-sports.com/Schools/EasternM...eStreaming.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derrt Posted January 23, 2014 Report Share Posted January 23, 2014 This is what happens when you start the best players. Great start, lets keep it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted January 23, 2014 Report Share Posted January 23, 2014 http://www.mac-sports.com/Schools/EasternM...eStreaming.aspx No sound on that feed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.