Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Akron 12/2/14

[Staton14]

Should be an easy win for the Zips. Although Pine Bluff did give Ohio a good game earlier this season. I'll take the Zips by 18.

[zipsrule]

I think they should win, but by how many? Does KD go in and play to win big? Or is he still working on the rotation?

[Staton14]

I think they should win, but by how many? Does KD go in and play to win big? Or is he still working on the rotation?

I think they should be able to do both.

[zipsrule]

I think that could be the case if the Zips come out and start the game with a purpose. Playing with a lead gives you a lot of options. If they come out lethargic and not shooting well, KD may not be able to work on the rotation.

[Dave in Green]

Coach Dambrot is not interested in winning non-conference games big. He's more interested in preparing the team for conference play. There will be more tinkering with the lineup and combinations of players to see which groups work together best at which times during the game. Keep your eyes on who plays with who, when they're on the floor and how many minutes each player gets.

UAPB is on another early season death march -- 13 straight games on the road to earn enough money to keep the athletic programs funded at a poorly funded traditional southern black university playing in the SWAC. After UA, they'll head up to Michigan to play #20 Michigan State. They will lose most of these games, but they will play hard and they will play tough, and the Zips will get a good workout. They play a helter-skelter game and force a lot of turnovers while having a high number of turnovers themselves. It will not be a pretty game.

I have a lot of respect for SWAC schools because I have a good idea of the economic challenges they face. I'm glad that UA contributes every year to the budgets of one or more SWAC schools. I love to see the heart these kids play with. I hope the Rowdies will go easy on them. They deserve our respect.

[Staton14]

Coach Dambrot is not interested in winning non-conference games big. He's more interested in preparing the team for conference play. There will be more tinkering with the lineup and combinations of players to see which groups work together best at which times during the game. Keep your eyes on who plays with who, when they're on the floor and how many minutes each player gets.

UAPB is on another early season death march -- 13 straight games on the road to earn enough money to keep the athletic programs funded at a poorly funded traditional southern black university playing in the SWAC. After UA, they'll head up to Michigan to play #20 Michigan State. They will lose most of these games, but they will play hard and they will play tough, and the Zips will get a good workout. They play a helter-skelter game and force a lot of turnovers while having a high number of turnovers themselves. It will not be a pretty game.

I have a lot of respect for SWAC schools because I have a good idea of the economic challenges they face. I'm glad that UA contributes every year to the budgets of one or more SWAC schools. I love to see the heart these kids play with. I hope the Rowdies will go easy on them. They deserve our respect.

They don't play any non-conference home games and do not have a home game until January 3.

[Z.I.P.]

Watched UAPB play three games in Hawaii to start the season. This is the best Pine Bluff team I have ever seen. Akron by 15.

[Blue & Gold]

Hope Big Dog & BJ get a lot of PT.

[Dr Z]

Coach Dambrot is not interested in winning non-conference games big.

Since there is no line, he doesn't have to worry.

Central Michigan beat them by 32, while OU beat them by 9. I would guess we will fall somewhere in between.

[zippyfan34]

Crowd looks sparse so far during intros

[Dr Z]

Video here.

[zippyfan34]

Frustrating half. Noah will be a great player for us but needs to work on moving feet on half court defense. He also plays oley defense on the fast break. I would like to see a charge or standing his ground sometime. Also coaches need to adjust full court pressure and have Cheatum not guard man until they get to 3 point line. Their players are to quick for him

[akronzips71]

They need to stop screwing around. They act like they are playing a high school team, which happens to be playing like a ranked team, hitting three after three.

[zippy_ua_00]

Crowd is still sparse. Playing like trash. Too many turnovers. cant make free throws. Big dog cant hold onto a ball when passed to him down low. Good news is we played turrible and are only down 1 at the half

[Dr Z]

Best part of the game so far is listening to Frenchy and Dunn's open mics during commercial.

[Dave in Green]

Just like the OU game. UAPB led early in the 2nd half and were tied with 4 minutes to go.

[zippyfan34]

Deji should be shooting our technical free throws

[Dave in Green]

No lineup experimenting in the 2nd half.

[zipsrule]

Best part of the game so far is listening to Frenchy and Dunn's open mics during commercial.

I know. They just talk about anything and everything.

[zipsrule]

Much better second half. Shooting the ball well.

[akronzips71]

Finally got some chemistry going.

Kwan is a beast. Tino still making very bad passes. Can NOT do that in real games.

Deji WOW, just WOW. Where has he been for the last three years?

And Reggie finally figured out where the basket is LOL.

[ZippyforPresident]

5 assists, 11 turnovers in the first half. 13 assists, 3 turnovers in the second half. I think that pretty much sums it up.

Kwan had a nice game with 17 points and 11 rebounds, his first double-double I believe.

[Dave in Green]

If anyone wondered how the Zips would perform when Noah was having an off night, they adjusted pretty well. Noah was an uncharacteristic 2-7 from the field and 2-5 from the free throw line. But he still distributed the ball well with 6 assists to 2 turnovers. Thanks to good ball movement, especially in the 2nd half, scoring was really balanced with 5 players in double figures.

Kwan is looking better and better in all phases of the game, adding 4 assists and 2 blocks to his double-double. Noah (34 minutes) and Kwan (32 minutes) were the only players on the floor for more than 21 minutes, so it appears they are the most indispensable players on the team. There's more depth at the other positions for more frequent rotation. But we'll probably be seeing Noah and Kwan playing long minutes in most games.

As expected, it was a fast-moving, physical game with some sloppy play. If nothing else, the Zips put UAPB away a lot sooner and with more emphasis than the Bobkitties did. As mentioned earlier, those 2 teams were tied with 5 minutes left and OU only won by 8.

[Hilltopper]

Crowd is still sparse.

There was a wreck on Rt8 that snarled traffic.

[1981 grad]

We finally had a good second half. We figured out how to attack the zone by getting the ball to Kwan at the free throw line who fed it to Pat underneath and he was scoring. Reggie finally found his shot and hit some open 3 balls. Pine Bluff could not score in the 2nd half. There coach did not complain the entire game and then went ballistic when Kwan blocked a shot and the ref did not call a foul. Would have love to see a replay. Could not tell if it was a good block.

Worst play of the game: Kretzer had an open layup. Instead of taking the ball to the hoop he threw it 2 rows into the stands. He needs to take the ball to the hoop and finish.

Best play of the game: Noah had a fast break where he had 2 spin moves and finished for a layup. Deji had a great dunk on a Reggie miss. (Reggie had a contested layup but chose to move away from the basket and take a 5 foot jump shot). Reggie needs to take the ball to the hoop and finish.