Zips @ NIU 1-21-15

[Dr Z]

Attendance: 957

Nine hundred and fifty-seven?!? From the looks on tv, there couldn't have been 200 people there. 35 had to be family.

Mac basketball

[skip-zip]

We shot poorly because our shot selection was poor. With the way we ran our offense last night, the game should not have even been that close. It was close because we actually have MUCH BETTER players. It sucks to lose games when your players are much better.

The road woes continue. I think at this point, I will be happy if we can just pull out a couple of road wins in our conference between now and March.

We should be fortunate that the Q in Cleveland is actually a semi home court.

[clarkwgriswold]

Welcome back to the teeth grinding hair pulling foot stomping 2014-15 Zips.

[blueandgold]

How do you lose to NIU? I can understand in football, but never basketball!

[Captain Kangaroo]

We're young, and we don't have a go-to scorer. If Tree were baggage-free, the road is where we really needed him.

Ibitayo needs more minutes.

Kretzer's injury is a concern. He's had head injuries in the past.

Big Dog's hand must still be hindering his production. We need someone to help Forsythe today, not tomorrow (to quote Bowden). Hope we aren't talking about Dog as one of the "Conyers Award Winner's" one day.

2014-15 Conyers Award Winner - Nyles Evans

[Dr Z]

How do you lose to NIU? I can understand in football, but never basketball!

Lack of intensity in my opinion. The Zips get lazy for long spurts. They play with intensity where they seem to move their feet and the ball, then they get lazy and give up on the offense and just chuck up threes. I'm not so sure that, they shouldn't make the three ball 90 percent of their offensive game plan, and just throw it inside when someone is WIDE open. Play outside in. I recall two times last night where they passed it inside, and it came back out. The most overused BS line in our offense is that we play "inside out." BS. Even at the beginning of the season I was impressed how the team was moving away from the ball and cutting to the hoop. The team has reverted to standing around. Maybe the bus fumes made everyone dizzy and sleepy.

PS If my team is playing the Zips and I see 23 in the game, I'm getting the ball down low and going right at him. I also hustle the ball down the court when he is in and play 4 on 5 with quick passes cutting to the hoop.

[zippy5]

Lack of intensity in my opinion. The Zips get lazy for long spurts. They play with intensity where they seem to move their feet and the ball, then they get lazy and give up on the offense and just chuck up threes. I'm not so sure that, they shouldn't make the three ball 90 percent of their offensive game plan, and just throw it inside when someone is WIDE open. Play outside in. I recall two times last night where they passed it inside, and it came back out. The most overused BS line in our offense is that we play "inside out." BS. Even at the beginning of the season I was impressed how the team was moving away from the ball and cutting to the hoop. The team has reverted to standing around. Maybe the bus fumes made everyone dizzy and sleepy.

PS If my team is playing the Zips and I see 23 in the game, I'm getting the ball down low and going right at him. I also hustle the ball down the court when he is in and play 4 on 5 with quick passes cutting to the hoop.

Yeah, I'd play a pick and roll game too. He couldn't hedge and stop anyone last night. I recall one time the guy came off the pick and went to the hoop and I think he was still standing at the top of the key

[Dave in Green]

Quote of the day from the ABJ:

The Zips didn’t lose any players to injury. Wingman Jake Kretzer suffered an undetermined injury early in the game forcing him to exit and he did not return.

WTF? If it was a head injury as CK mentioned, it's a huge concern based on what we saw with Jake at the end of last season. I believe it was said at that time that Jake had a history of concussions going back to HS. But I can't find any written confirmation anywhere that says it was a head injury last night, so hoping for the best.

Jake is so valuable to the team in so many ways beyond just scoring that it's not unrealistic to think his loss so early in the game by itself could account for the difference in a 3-point loss. The ABJ just had a GT feature story on Jake that started with the following:

Akron’s Jake Kretzer said he feels like a coach on the court these days.

That’s a good thing because his younger teammates are going to need the junior wingman’s guidance to tackle the road trip facing the Zips this week.

[Big E Zip]

Last night Frenchy said it was a blow to the head that caused Jake to have blurred vision. Major concern. If this is correct, I doubt he'll play Saturday against WMU.

[RowdyZip]

Jake got popped pretty good. Seemed eerily similar to the play @UB where he got a concussion last year. At least this time he wasn't called for a foul on the play. He was clearly woozy as he was helped off the court by the training staff. If this is another concussion, I would not be surprised if his career was over. I recall an article a while back where Jake said he had a couple concussions back in high school in addition to the injuries here in bball. At some point it just isn't worth it.

[Warriors4life]

So, can some one tell me why is so hard for us to get a road win??? I just don't understand how we can dominate at home ...but struglle on the road.

[akronzips71]

The two Jacksons should not have been on the Court when we got close. Too much freshman choke.

And when Pat got hurt, Big Dog never came back in. What's up with that?

And Reggie did not get that many minutes, the guy who hit for 31 the other night.

I admit, I never played HS or College hoops, so I am uninformed. But I don't understand the lineups or subs at all.

[Dr Z]

I don't understand the lineups or subs at all.

One of the biggest questions on ZN during the KD era. Wouldn't it be nice to have thought bubbles over KD's head as substitutions are being made.

[akronzips71]

One of the biggest questions on ZN during the KD era. Wouldn't it be nice to have thought bubbles over KD's head as substitutions are being made.

And I don't claim to know more than him. I just don't understand it.

The only thing that comes to mind is he is focused on the tournament and needs to get Jackson and Jackson and Gladden ready to play, so he gives them playing time now.

Deji and Reggie and Kwan should have been on the floor for 40 minutes last night. Along with Robo.

But hey, I am just an Internet keyboard warrior.

[Sportsjunkie330]

So, can some one tell me why is so hard for us to get a road win??? I just don't understand how we can dominate at home ...but struglle on the road.

Welcome to the MAC

[Dave in Green]

... The only thing that comes to mind is he is focused on the tournament and needs to get Jackson and Jackson and Gladden ready to play, so he gives them playing time now. ...

I was just thinking the same thing. This team isn't built to win the MAC regular season championship or come remotely close to an NCAA at-large bid. The only other prize left is to win the MAC tournament. No coach has been better at the Q over the past decade than Coach Dambrot. He knows his veterans are up for a run at the Q but needs his freshmen to contribute as well. Nothing like throwing his rookies into the fire in a close game on the road to get them seasoned for what they'll face at the Q. Trading a few regular season losses for a better shot at winning it all at the Q is not a bad long-range vision.

[zippy5]

The MAC isn't anything special. UA has already waxed two of the 4-1 teams. I disagree that they aren't built for a regular season championship.

[cjapsu]

Welcome to the MAC

Welcome to 90% of college basketball teams. Home court advantage is pretty rampant throughout most conferences. Only the really top tier teams go out and dominate on the road as well as home. At least, that's what I've learned playing ESPN's Streak for the Cash.

[Balsy]

4-2 in conference play isn't too bad. Especially since OU is down this year, we should expect that we'd lose a couple of games in the MAC anyways. We're gonna be okay. I was upset while we were losing, but unless we're in the middle of a giant win streak that could mean us getting nationally ranked, I'd rather take a few losses now than in the MAC tourney. Injuries killed us this game, otherwise I think we would have won. Hopefully this team has a bitter taste in their mouths.

[skip-zip]

4-2 in conference play isn't too bad. Especially since OU is down this year, we should expect that we'd lose a couple of games in the MAC anyways. We're gonna be okay. I was upset while we were losing, but unless we're in the middle of a giant win streak that could mean us getting nationally ranked, I'd rather take a few losses now than in the MAC tourney. Injuries killed us this game, otherwise I think we would have won. Hopefully this team has a bitter taste in their mouths.

I said earlier that I would be satisfied at this point to pull out a couple of road wins. If we do that, and can win at home, we can get to 21 wins by my count, heading into the MAC tournament. I think that would be great for this team after losing their best player. Of course, that also assumes that we can continue our excellent play at home.

[Sportsjunkie330]

4-2 in conference play isn't too bad. Especially since OU is down this year, we should expect that we'd lose a couple of games in the MAC anyways. We're gonna be okay. I was upset while we were losing, but unless we're in the middle of a giant win streak that could mean us getting nationally ranked, I'd rather take a few losses now than in the MAC tourney. Injuries killed us this game, otherwise I think we would have won. Hopefully this team has a bitter taste in their mouths.

I said earlier that I would be satisfied at this point to pull out a couple of road wins. If we do that, and can win at home, we can get to 21 wins by my count, heading into the MAC tournament. I think that would be great for this team after losing their best player. Of course, that also assumes that we can continue our excellent play at home.

Yes & Yes

[Dave in Green]

4-2 in conference play isn't too bad. ...

I agree that 4-2 wouldn't be too bad. But to get to 4-2 the Zips will have to beat a vengeful WMU in Kalamazoo as right now the Zips are 3-2 in the MAC. Lose to WMU on the road and the Zips would be a not-so-swell 3-3. Big game.

[Zipsbabie]

I know as zips fans we are used to relying on Kretzer, but has anyone checked stats? The younger guys have been putting up the same or more numbers with a lot less time on the floor.

[Hilltopper]

I know as zips fans we are used to relying on Kretzer, but has anyone checked stats? The younger guys have been putting up the same or more numbers with a lot less time on the floor.

What Jake brings to the game , doesn't always show up in the stat sheet.

[Big E Zip]

Jake played 33 minutes in the game against CMU. IMO we needed him to play all of those minutes. His physical presence, hustle, and defensive skills are quite valuable.