NIU @ Zips 3-9-15 (MAC Tourney Rnd 1)

[UAZip0510]

- Northern Illinois won the only matchup between the two this year, a 64-61 win in Dekalb.

- The Huskies come into Monday riding a 4 game win streak with victories over Toledo, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, and Ball State.

- Before that win streak, NIU lost 10 of their previous 13 games.

- NIU is 4-5 on the road in conference play this year.

- The Zips last loss to NIU at home came on February 12th, 2008.

[Staton14]

Do we know the time and whether it is on ESPN or just the Zips video?

The time will be announced tomorrow after the women's game because depending on outcomes tomorrow, the women may also be at home Monday night.

[ewbrooman1]

Game time Monday is 7 pm.

[GJGood]

This will be a hard fought game and will probably go down to the wire. Zips need a big game from Big Dog and the two seniors, including staying aggressive on defense without getting into foul trouble. It is encouraging to see that Jake, Kwan, and especially Reggie are starting to really hit their outside shots with more regularity lately.

As much as I'd love to see the Zips make a deep MAC tourney run I think at least getting two wins may allow them to keep playing post-MAC tourney. I want these young guys to play as many games as possible this year in the hope that it will make the team even stronger for what could be a big season next year.

[roopride]

Any news on Pat?

[1981 grad]

I really like the way we played at Can't and I think if we carry that over to the game on Monday we should have a good chance at winning. I like how Antino was working the give and go with Big Dog. He fed Big Dog some great passes. Antino played a solid game and yes, he was the go to player a crunch time when we needed a basket. He seems to get better every game and that is encouraging.

Here are my keys to the game.

Reggie and Kretzer continue to shoot the ball well.

We get some inside scoring from Kwan, especially when Big Dog is on the bench.

Diji stays out of foul trouble. That T was just dumb. The offensive foul was a bad call since they were letting it go all night.

Antino continues to get better.

Go Zips!!

[akronzips71]

And they BIG question:

Why can't they play the entire game the way they seem to play the last 30 seconds? Forget the "winning" shot, I am talking about the tight defense and great come backs to ALMOST win.

[Dr Z]

Six and a half point favorite tonight.

Northern Illinois is the only MAC team that the Zips have not played in the conference tournament prior to tonight's meeting.

Akron is still 17-0 this season when leading with 5:00 to go in a game.

Two of Akron's three MAC Tournament Championships have come without receiving a bye (No. 5 seed, 2009; No. 6 seed, 2011).

With a win, Akron will advance to the second round of the MAC Tournament and would face the winner of the Ohio at Western Michigan contest on Wednesday, March 11. Tip off would be 30 minutes following the first game of the first game (approximately 9 p.m. ET).

More at go zips dot com.

[The Hip Zip]

I'm afraid of the dreaded "bounce" tonight. We're coming off of a sky high intensity level effort against our biggest rival. Kind of reminds me of the spot we were in about 15 yrs ago when CMU came in here and whipped us by a hoop as a double digit dog. I think that Chris Kaman was just a freshman that year. I still remember Dan Hipsher chasing down the refs at the final buzzer.

NIU is to be respected, They, along with BG and CMU, have greatly improved over last season. They are red hot and have taken down two of the top 4 seeds in Cleveland in the last couple of weeks. Anybody quickly penciling this in as an easy win may be in for a shock

[skip-zip]

Two of Akron's three MAC Tournament Championships have come without receiving a bye (No. 5 seed, 2009; No. 6 seed, 2011).

Just so we don't allow this to be misleading, we only had to play 4 games in that old format, and everyone else had to play at least 3 games.

In today's format, we'll have to play 5 games, and a couple of teams will only have to play as few as 2 games.

Playing the 2-game format to win the title was especially helpful to us in 2013 with the sudden loss of Alex. This year, the current format isn't going to be our friend.

[MDZip]

Just so we don't allow this to be misleading, we only had to play 4 games in that old format, and everyone else had to play at least 3 games.

In today's format, we'll have to play 5 games, and a couple of teams will only have to play as few as 2 games.

Playing the 2-game format to win the title was especially helpful to us in 2013 with the sudden loss of Alex. This year, the current format isn't going to be our friend.

Even though this year the format hurts the Zips, I actually really like the format and think other mid-major leagues should think of adopting it. It makes the regular season a lot more meaningful and you should give your top seeds a little more protection. They earned it. But thinking back to the Zips being 8-3 and the number one seed and then finishing 1-6 (sigh) does not give me a lot of hope for tonight. Zips are in a steep decline while NIU has really improved. I think the Zips season ends tonight.

[Dr Z]

Zips are in a steep decline while NIU has really improved. I think the Zips season ends tonight.

George writes the Zips remain confident.

Dambrot mentioned after the Can't State game that he can’t wait to see just how good his team is next year, a statement that may have raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t a concession regarding the current season. Not even close.“I still think we can win this year,” Dambrot said after practice at Rhodes Arena Sunday afternoon.

[cjapsu]

Honestly, at this point, all I really want is to continue the streak of 20+ win seasons. I think we're one of only, what, like 5 teams in the country with such a long streak like that? Need a win tonight, hopefully one in Cleveland or the first round of whatever horrendous post-season tournament we'll be invited to.

[skip-zip]

Honestly, at this point, all I really want is to continue the streak of 20+ win seasons. I think we're one of only, what, like 5 teams in the country with such a long streak like that? Need a win tonight, hopefully one in Cleveland

I agree. I still think we can possibly get to Thursday, where we would play a Ken+ team that we almost just beat on their home floor. That would get us 2 more wins, and 3 if we beat Ken+.

But after that, the mountain gets really, really steep in this format, and playing shorthanded with no rest would seriously be taking it's toll.

[The Hip Zip]

via twitter about a half hour ago.

Pat Forsythe ‏@pforsythe34 27m27 minutes ago

I'm not done yet

[GJGood]

Even though this year the format hurts the Zips, I actually really like the format and think other mid-major leagues should think of adopting it. It makes the regular season a lot more meaningful and you should give your top seeds a little more protection. They earned it. But thinking back to the Zips being 8-3 and the number one seed and then finishing 1-6 (sigh) does not give me a lot of hope for tonight. Zips are in a steep decline while NIU has really improved. I think the Zips season ends tonight.

I like the idea of rewarding the top teams with a bye as well but I'm not crazy about the format the MAC has now. There is too big of a gap between the 4th seed and the 5th seed in this format which seems like an odd place to put a great divide like that, especially if the difference between 4 and 5 comes down to a second or third tiebreaker scenario.

To me part of the beauty of the MAC was always that there is usually so much parity that somebody from down in the pack could win the tourney. The Zips won from the 6th seed the year after Ohio won from the 9th seed. I agree it should be tougher to do that than win from a top seed but this current format just about wipes out any reasonable chance that a true dark horse gets hot and emerges to represent the MAC in the NCAA tournament.

When is the last time, and how often in recent memory has, a #1 MAC tourney seed also won a NCAA tourney game? To me at least, it seems that MAC schools usually have a better chance of winning in the NCAA when they have strung together more than just a couple of wins in the conference tourney.

I hope you're wrong about tonight but I can see it going either way myself.

[zippy5]

I think we're gonna smoke 'em.

[Staton14]

I like the idea of rewarding the top teams with a bye as well but I'm not crazy about the format the MAC has now. There is too big of a gap between the 4th seed and the 5th seed in this format which seems like an odd place to put a great divide like that, especially if the difference between 4 and 5 comes down to a second or third tiebreaker scenario.

To me part of the beauty of the MAC was always that there is usually so much parity that somebody from down in the pack could win the tourney. The Zips won from the 6th seed the year after Ohio won from the 9th seed. I agree it should be tougher to do that than win from a top seed but this current format just about wipes out any reasonable chance that a true dark horse gets hot and emerges to represent the MAC in the NCAA tournament.

When is the last time, and how often in recent memory has, a #1 MAC tourney seed also won a NCAA tourney game? To me at least, it seems that MAC schools usually have a better chance of winning in the NCAA when they have strung together more than just a couple of wins in the conference tourney.

I hope you're wrong about tonight but I can see it going either way myself.

I have just never understood the point of the second round, with all the winners of the first round playing each other. Just eliminate that round and I think the format is really good.

[ZachTheZip]

Great story on Pat Forsythe today.

[skip-zip]

I have just never understood the point of the second round, with all the winners of the first round playing each other. Just eliminate that round and I think the format is really good.

I think we're sort of on the same page here.

I understand making this thing beneficial to the teams that performed best during the regular season, but I think it's totally unfair that the #4 Seed plays 3 games, and the #5 seed plays 5 games.

I don't know how they can get around that, but it's a huge difference.

[zippy5]

I'm torn on it. On one hand, it's great that the top teams get rewarded for their play through 18 games. On the other hand, a #5 finish isn't bad, and you have about a 5% chance of winning it all.

Though to be fair, you're kind of limited with bracket options with 12 teams if you want to do staggered byes.

[ZippyRulz]

free video stream: http://gozips.sidearmsports.com/watch/?Live=87

What You May Not Know About the Series

• Northern Illinois is the only MAC team that the Zips have not played in the conference tournament prior to tonight's meeting.
• The 31 games played in the series are the fewest of any MAC opponent for the Zips.

On the Line vs. Northern Illinois

• An Akron win will advance the Zips to the second round of the MAC Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
• A victory will give Akron at least one win in each of the last 11 MAC Tournaments.
• A win would give head coach Keith Dambrot win No. 250 at Akron, second-most in program history.
• A victory will give the Zips 19 wins for an 11th-straight season, becoming one of just 11 programs to do so.

[bigsix0]

@GeorgeThomasABJ: Murmurings about Rhodes Arena that @ZipsMBB center Pat Forsythe could play against the NIU Huskies tonight.

[Dave in Green]

I did a little more searching around for turf toe information and found the following on the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons website, which seems to be a little more promising on recovery time than the earlier info I found. As long as it's not a Grade 3 sprain, there is a chance that Pat could be able to play. Here's what the AAOS says about Grade 1 and 2:

Grade 1. The RICE protocol is recommended for this type of injury: Rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Taping the big toe to the smaller toes will restrict motion. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications may relieve pain and swelling. Pain is usually tolerable and an athlete can continue sports participation using a stiff-soled shoe. Orthotics, such as a thin, graphite shoe insert with a rigid forefoot component, can reduce stress on the plantar plate and provide stability.

Grade 2. To keep the MTP joint immobilized, a walking boot may be prescribed for up to a week if needed. Afterwards, these injuries are managed with a taping regimen and the Grade 1 treatments discussed above. Stretching and strengthening exercises can reduce joint stiffness. In most cases, an athlete with a Grade 2 injury needs 3 to 14 days of rest before returning to play.

[zippy5]

Rice fixed my phone after I took it for a swim this weekend. Magical stuff I guess