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Zips to play in preseason NIT


ewbrooman1

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Heard Joe D mention Akron possibly playing Bradley in Vegas on the radio today.

I am guessing that Akron is using some of the money set aside from last year when they didn't participate in any post season trouney's. Could be a very fortuitous move by KD and the AD.

I would assume the unfounded, paranoid internet rumors of Robotham's transfer would be put to rest with a scheduled Zips game in his home town?

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I believe the Dec. 20-23 Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic at the South Point Arena is the pre-Christmas event in LV where the Zips will be playing. I think the Zips have played at this venue in the past, and it's a great place to showcase Noah as he still has many fans in LV who would be cheering for the Zips. Last season UC Irvine beat Green Bay in the championship game and Arkansas Little Rock beat Bradley in the consolation game. Teams haven't yet been officially announced for this season. But Bradley has played there the last three seasons so it would be no surprise to see them back there. Green Bay included the following quote when they announced being in last year's tournament:

The South Point Holiday Hoops Classic is run by Sport Tours International, a Milwaukee-based company.

“We know how hard it is for really good mid-majors like Green Bay to get good non-conference games,” said Bret Seymour, Tournament Director of Sport Tours International. “We are always sensitive to that at Sport Tours. We had this event last season and we knew with all the success Green Bay has had recently it would be a great fit in 2014. While we can’t get good mid-majors home games, we do offer the opportunity for them to play similar teams in a fair, neutral site environment in a popular destination like Las Vegas. Hopefully this gives teams like Green Bay a chance to play good competition without having to travel to another team’s arena.”

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According to this site, host teams include Can't State, Penn State, SMU and Colorado with the 4 visiting teams TBA.

That's a different tournament held at the Orleans Arena with 8 teams and a mix of mid- and high-majors. I doubt they would invite both Can't and UA. The Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic is held at South Point Arena and has traditionally consisted of 4 mid-majors.

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Gary Trent and the Bobcats won the preseason NIT in 1994, it was good exposure. How's this for a tournament lineup- @Ohio State, @#14 Virginia, then George Washington and New Mexico State @MSG in NYC. Side note- the rest of Ohio OOC that year was @Kentucky(L), @UC-Irvine(W), @Iowa(L), Wright State(W), @Xavier(L), West Virginia(W), and Duquesne(W). Heck of a lineup.

Looks like a great opportunity for the Zips next year. I think the MAC in on the verge of having a team earn an at-large bid and a strong OOC schedule is a crucial. Good luck.

I agree that this event will be a great opportunity for the Zips. I just wish it was still like it was in 1994, namely you win and advance, you lose and you go to the consolation rounds. In the new format the semifinalists are already named and guaranteed before the event begins and no true mid-major is going to be one of those given a free pass.

For what its worth... while I don't like them playing in tournaments with this type of discriminatory format if the Zips have to play in one this is probably the best one to be in given the level of competition you will play. Now if it could be on neutral floors that would be even better.

I'm not knocking KD or anyone for getting Akron in this event. It should be a great experience for the team and fans. I am just knocking the event organizers for changing their format.

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Here's a good story on the problems that caused the NIT Season Tip-Off to be reduced from 16 to 8 teams along with a proposal to fix the current flawed (from a mid-major POV) format:

Fixing The NIT Season Tip-Off: A Proposal

I think that format would be great. The odds would be stacked a little more against teams having to go solely on the road and neutral floors while others got a couple of home games but at least there is a way to earn advancement and the playing of top competition as well as some hardware attainment potential.

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The Zips are playing in the new format for one reason only. The chance to whack either or both Arkansas and Villanova.

If that's who we end up playing, and as a complainer of the schedule for years, I have to say great job Coach Dambrot. The opportunity to play both seems almost too good to be true, but time will tell I guess.

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The Zips are playing in the new format for one reason only. The chance to whack either or both Arkansas and Villanova.

Understood and I agree but in the old format preseason NIT you could've pretty much bet on playing two pretty good, probably P5, teams as well even if you lost the first or second game. It, along with the Maui Invitational, has always been one of the premier early season tourneys with a pretty loaded field.
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  • 4 weeks later...

The Zips are playing in the new format for one reason only. The chance to whack either or both Arkansas and Villanova.

Darn this guy knew something. Akron opens the season with a trip to Philadelphia and two days later plays

at Arkansas. This is tough, but, it gets worse. The Zips then travel straight to Wisconsin to play at Green Bay.

Fourth game as part of the preseason NIT for Akron is at home against Savannah State.

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If Coach Dambrot wants to play Villanova and Arkansas back-to-back on the road, it means he thinks he has a pretty good team next season. He would not schedule that tough if he thought his players weren't up for it.

Lets hope we can take 1, or both of them! :D

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I love that we are playing both Villanova and Arkansas. If we win those it would certainly look good on our resume at the end of the season even if we have no chance of winning the preseason NIT championship. Hopefully we can pull off these upsets and at least make them consider alternate 'tournament' formats in the future. I do wish the Green Bay game was at home though. I could see that game being a letdown game playing it on the road after playing two good P5 squads just prior to that matchup.

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I love that we are playing both Villanova and Arkansas. If we win those it would certainly look good on our resume at the end of the season even if we have no chance of winning the preseason NIT championship. Hopefully we can pull off these upsets and at least make them consider alternate 'tournament' formats in the future. I do wish the Green Bay game was at home though. I could see that game being a letdown game playing it on the road after playing two good P5 squads just prior to that matchup.

Eh, obviously not completely preferable, but you know what they say...You can't have your cake and eat it too! Zips are fortunate to have the NIT give them to chance to knock off last year #1 seed Nova (don't know anything about them this year) and last year SEC runner up (and I'd assume #2 favorite behind Kentucky) Arkansas. Losing doesn't really hurt us against those 2 if we don't lay eggs. There is such a thing as a good loss. I'm willing to trade that for Savannah St at home and Wisc-GB at their place (an opportunity to pick up a great mid major win)

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I love coach Dambrot, and I think he may have started this "travel to Penn State" excuse, but I think I've heard enough now.

Nobody was complaining that we were fatigue when we won 3 out of 4 games in 5 days this past March, while playing something like our 40th game of the season. So, I can't buy this when it's November.

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  • 2 months later...

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