WMU GAME

[GJGood]

We are not getting an invite to the NIT, there are really only 20 teams or so nationally that do and the "old boys club" selection committee is known to favor power conference schools over mid-majors for inclusion and especially in seeding. I just cannot see them taking the 4th place MAC school that bowed out in the conference semifinals.

If you want an example of how bad the NIT selection committee is watch where they seed UW-Green Bay who won the Horizon League regular season title, has something like 25 wins, and many say is an NCAA "bubble" team. I'd be willing to bet they do no better than a 5 seed in the NIT. There are always a ton of complaints about the NCAA selection committee but the NIT crew is far worse than the NCAA one.

That being said the CBI could come our way. They have been incorporating a few more power conference schools every year and there seems to be a lot of teams out there at typical CBI level this year, so it will be interesting. The thing I like best about this tourney is that although it is single elimination up to the finals the championship is a best of 3 home-and-home series.

Then there is the CiT. This tournament is all mid-majors and low-majors with winning records. It would be an interesting tourney to get into. I just hate the fact that it is not bracketed. After each round they look at who is left and make the matchups they want to see happen, at least that is how they have done it in the past.

At 21-12 and a decent OOC schedule plus a run of good teams in recent years I imagine we will be in the CBI or CiT. I just want the Zips to stick around for a few games in whichever one they go to so some of the younger guys can develop more and Quincy can get a few more games in his career.

[skip-zip]

Supposedly EMU got an invite to the CBI; they may even get an invite to the NIT. It'll be interesting to see to say the least.

I don't know where you heard this, but EMU has a ZERO chance of getting an NIT bid. They've lost 14 games, and are the 6th best team in the MAC this year.

You obviously heard this erroneously.

[GP1]

While watching some games at Brazwells last night with the luckiest woman in the world, Mrs. GP1, she had the game tracker on the phone. Couldn't see the game where we were. Anyhow, she said at one point, "I keep seeing 'missed layup' cross the screen."

Did the Zips miss a bunch of easy shots last night? If so, missing from one foot away is much worse than missing from 15 feet away with foul shots.

[zippy5]

While watching some games at Brazwells last night with the luckiest woman in the world, Mrs. GP1, she had the game tracker on the phone. Couldn't see the game where we were. Anyhow, she said at one point, "I keep seeing 'missed layup' cross the screen."

Did the Zips miss a bunch of easy shots last night? If so, missing from one foot away is much worse than missing from 15 feet away with foul shots.

Blocked shots, we were forcing things against Whittington. I envision many OU and Can't State fans in the past 4 years seeing "missed layup" against Zeke. WMU played a lot like our teams with Zeke.

[Quickzips]

Game was a microcosm of our season. We can look really good at times and really bad at other times. We can hit a lot of 3s in a hurry, but can rarely sustain it. Our offense goes into a shell when teams extend their defense and pressure the ball. Most importantly we can't hit our foul shots when we need to.

Won't spend too much time on the FT issue. That was pretty obvious.

The last 10 minutes showed exactly why you need a solid PG to win at this level. Western threw quick double teams at us every time Q or Tree got the ball. I don't think either one of them ever looked to pass out of it. Both guys wanted to put the team on their back, stop the bleeding and get us the win. I get that, but when the double comes it means that the rest of the squad is playing 4 on 3. You've got to move the ball out and either find the open man or force the D to start scrambling.

I've said it before, and will say it again. Nick Harney is such a waste of natural talent. If he had half the passion that Tree did he would be an all-MAC first team player. There is clearly still some issues left over from the suspension. He was disinterested all weekend. His performance last night was as miserable as I've seen out of a Zips player in 10 years. 9 minutes, 5 fouls, one travel and not a single point. Frankly, I wouldn't be disappointed at all if this guy decided not to come back for his senior season. Give me guys with a little less talent who actually want to play.

If I could give one gift to one Zips player this off-season it would be good health for Jake Kretzer. After the year he went through this year to see him take 2 or 3 more really hard hits last night was cringe-worthy. Jake's game lends itself to those sorts of things. Hopefully as his career goes along he can learn to be an effective player without exposing himself to those types of situations as much.

[johnnyzip84]

Although the Zip half-time lead was more pronounced this time, there are really a number of similarities between last night's game and the earlier 57-54 loss in K-Zoo.

1. Brown struggles from behind the arc, but manages to score his points in other ways.
2. Harney is basically a no show.
3. Tava and Whittington provide their usual solid stat sheets.
4. Jake and Reggie score 3 and 5 respectively (I understand Jake having to play sparingly last night, especially after hitting the floor hard. But I sure wish Reggie played more.)
5. Tree and Q are forced to take a lot of shots to score.

The biggest differences are Kwan and Deji exchanged roles as major contributors AND we actually shot a decent FT % (75) in the first meeting.

I agree with Quickzips regarding last night being a microcosm of the season. We all foresaw the game where missed FTs would sink the Zips and I think many of us foresaw (as the 2nd half progressed) giving up the big lead last night.

[Dave in Green]

@Quickzips, you weren't the only one disappointed by Nick's performance last night. Nick didn't lose the game by himself. But even a slightly below average performance by him would have won the game. That got me to wondering how much he'd improved over the last 3 seasons. When I looked at his season-by-season career stats on StatSheet.com, I was stunned to see little improvement in most areas. Even worse, his shooting performance has actually deteriorated. Look at these numbers arranged from his first year through this season:

FG% -- 52.2, 47.3, 47.9

3FG% -- 36.4, 23.5, 18.5

FT% -- 73.4, 67.4, 61.4

If that trend continues, it's unrealistic to think that he could be the solid 5th year senior the Zips desperately need next season. I think we were all dazzled when we first saw Nick's raw talent on display at the JAR and expected him to grow into a great Zips player. The lack of growth is terribly disappointing, especially given the fact that Nick is such a nice person. Very frustrating.

[Quickzips]

@Quickzips, you weren't the only one disappointed by Nick's performance last night. Nick didn't lose the game by himself. But even a slightly below average performance by him would have won the game. That got me to wondering how much he'd improved over the last 3 seasons. When I looked at his season-by-season career stats on StatSheet.com, I was stunned to see little improvement in most areas. Even worse, his shooting performance has actually deteriorated. Look at these numbers arranged from his first year through this season:

FG% -- 52.2, 47.3, 47.9

3FG% -- 36.4, 23.5, 18.5

FT% -- 73.4, 67.4, 61.4

If that trend continues, it's unrealistic to think that he could be the solid 5th year senior the Zips desperately need next season. I think we were all dazzled when we first saw Nick's raw talent on display at the JAR and expected him to grow into a great Zips player. The lack of growth is terribly disappointing, especially given the fact that Nick is such a nice person. Very frustrating.

I'm struggling to remember one game this year that Nick made a significant impact in. Maybe there was one or two early in the year that I'm forgetting about. By and large he's been a no show all year. Based on raw talent alone he should be one of the 2 or 3 best players on the team. That he was arguably the 6th or 7th best player on the team this year speaks volumes.

You win ballgames with guys like Tree, Kretzer, Q and McAdams. You lose ballgames with guys like Nick Harney.

[Dr Z]

it's unrealistic to think that he could be the solid 5th year senior the Zips desperately need next season.

Use the Jawanza Moore senior theory.

[UAZip0510]

Akron scored their 47th point at the 10:33 mark. They scored their 48th point at the 2:34 mark.

Over the course of that 7:59, they were 0-3 from the line, 0-5 from the field, and turned the ball over 3 times.

They had 3 assist in the entire 2nd half.

[GP1]

Akron scored their 47th point at the 10:33 mark. They scored their 48th point at the 2:34 mark.

Over the course of that 7:59, they were 0-3 from the line, 0-5 from the field, and turned the ball over 3 times.

They had 3 assist in the entire 2nd half.

The thing about confidence and momentum is you can lose it just as fast as you get it. I had no idea it was this bad.

[zippy5]

We had no answer for the 3-2. They doubled the sideline and rotated up.. The open man would be in the far corner. It took us 8 minutes to figure out to skip pass/go for the alley oop. Hawkins had a great gameplan the 2nd half, KD didn't adjust well.

[Balsy]

Well look at the Brightside everyone...we're in good company of those that have been completely and utterly slammed by WMU. The Broncos put up nearly 100pts on Toledo.

[Dave in Green]

I didn't watch the game, but from the final score (98-77) it was a real thrashing. David Brown went off for 32 points, which says something about the D the Zips laid on him last night. That beatdown just makes me feel all the worse knowing that if the Zips had gotten by WMU they would have had a great chance against the Rockettes.

[tomzip]

Well look at the Brightside everyone...we're in good company of those that have been completely and utterly slammed by WMU. The Broncos put up nearly 100pts on Toledo.

How does this make me feel better? Zips should have walked away from wmu, and seems to me faired well against Toledo. Poor coaching, poor shooting, and poor officials have us at home for the post season

[GoZips88]

Players: Grab someone to shag makes and misses and practice free throws until you consistently make 7 out of 10. 61% is incredibly unacceptable and should be personally embarrassing. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Akron women step up to the line and confidently and in good form make 8+ out of 10 three games and days in a row in the MAC tourney (13-16, 81.2%; 22-27, 81.5%; 12-15, 80%).

Coaches: Come up with an offense that includes more ball movement and movement off of the ball. Watch video of WMU or even the Akron women.

Terribly disappointing, especially after watching the women take care of business today (bending but not breaking the last 10 minutes of their game) and WMU smoke Toledo.

[skip-zip]

I didn't watch the game, but from the final score (98-77) it was a real thrashing. David Brown went off for 32 points, which says something about the D the Zips laid on him last night. That beatdown just makes me feel all the worse knowing that if the Zips had gotten by WMU they would have had a great chance against the Rockettes.

I never had a doubt that we played great defense against these guys last night. Just needed a few more free throws or a couple more baskets.

[Derrt]

How does this make me feel better? Zips should have walked away from wmu, and seems to me faired well against Toledo. Poor coaching, poor shooting, and poor officials have us at home for the post season

Mainly poor coaching

[Balsy]

Makes you feel better because WMU is the real deal. They didn't beat us on a fluke. I understand everyone is upset, but we were thoroughly outplayed in the second half. Though I feel like throwing up, still to this moment, there have been numerous times that we have outplayed teams and beat them as well in the second half (like every single one of the OU games in the past two years).

Our loss to WMU wasn't because of some fluke shot that went in, it's because we lost a competitive game against a competitive team. yes it sucks, but it sucks a whole lot worse when it's a terrible team. WMU is not a bad team to lose to. Hopefully Tree, Harney, and the rest of the team will be hungry after watching the team they should have beat, slamming Toledo to win the Championship. That could have been them, should have been them, but wasn't. That's can be a powerful motivator for next year. Hunger worked for the 2013 team. It worked for the Lady Zips this year.

[Dr Z]

Makes you feel better because WMU is the real deal. They didn't beat us on a fluke.

I have never understood this rational.

[Balsy]

^ Because it's a rather rational way to look at it, taking emotions out of the picture.

[zippy5]

What's the point in taking emotions out of the picture? That's what makes sports, well, sports.

[mivid12]

I have never understood this rational.

me either...17 point lead...8 min scoring drought and 6-16 from the line....the team should find the nearest mirror and there they'll find whom to blame

[GJGood]

me either...17 point lead...8 min scoring drought and 6-16 from the line....the team should find the nearest mirror and there they'll find whom to blame

I agree, but we also could not stop Whittington. His size, speed, and agility hurt us and we had no one who could adequately match up.

[Hilltopper]

We held WMU to 52 points in regulation. That was a very good defensive effort. We lost the game on the offensive end.