Villanova

[The Hip Zip]

That is horrible news about Jake, Just hope it's not a season ending thing.

I think we just flat out hit the wall after a strong first 15 minutes. While a tad disappointed, I'm not at all discouraged at all by this performance. I like this team and we will get better,

[feetg10]

It was Pat with the broken Ribs. Jake had a racing heart.

[phil]

The Nova coach was very complimentary of our team and was surprised how well and how quickly we shot the 3. We got beat up in the paint and were outscored something like 38 to 8. They were a lot quicker than we were and were able to get to the basket. I think we made a good showing but we need Big Dog and Kwan to make some foul shots. I think they were a collective 1 for 8 from the foul line.

I also heard the post game show and I thought KD indicated the Pat may have broken his rib and that is why he did not play in the 2nd half. He was taken to the hospital. Does not expect him to play on Tuesday.

[ZippyforPresident]

Coach D said in the postgame that Pat may have a broken rib. He said that Jake came out of the game because of a rapid heart rate.

[LoyalZIP]

From now on this season, go Wildcats. Injuries are starting to pile up, but is Akron ever at full strength? Beat Green Bay.

[Buckzip]

Does anyone know when Noah is expected back?

[Blue & Gold]

Does anyone know when Noah is expected back?

Last I heard not till after Christmas break... at the earliest.

[mes102]

[wadszip]

Well, that was the best team we'll see all year, and unfortunately we were short handed in the spot (guard) that a team is going to have to be strong at in order to hang with the studs they have in the backcourt.

Outside of foul shooting, the good today was the play of Big Dog and Kwan. While Kwan was 2 of 6 from 3 (still not the percent you want for so many attempts), I thought he did a nice job of playing inside and out. If he is playing inside, I can can certainly live with him taking open 3s. He got some good looks out there, just have to knock a couple more of them down.

Big Dog was a force down low (when Akron went down to him). The one thing I really like about his improvement is he is no longer a black hole when he gets the ball down there. He is seeing the kickouts, and had a nice assist to Aaron Jackson out of the post on a cut to the rim from Jackson. Big Dog also did a nice job on the glass and defending Ochefu (Pat also rebounded and defended well on Ochefu as well). With Pat out for what could be an extended period, its time for Big Dog to continue his strong play.

Obviously, Big Dog and Kwan have to do a better job at the line. I'm not sure Big Dog will ever be more than a 50 percenter, but Kwan has a nice stroke. No reason he should be a sub 70 pecenter.

I also thought Aaron Jackson played some quality minutes. With injuries are what they are, he will have a big role for the foreseeable future. I'm rooting for him to take advantage of this opportunity.

I'm not going to dwell on the negatives since this was a legit top 10 (and maybe top 5) team, and it was a game at one of the toughest places to play in the country.

[wadszip]

hi folks, I really like your team. Really strong, great shooters, very well coached and no fear. I was nervous about this one.. The difference so far I think is depth and we're able to run a lot more folks in at you. We do wear folks down. Glad the game is at nova as i would imagine it would be tighter at your gym.

Thanks for stopping by. Akron was just way too injured in the backcourt to really hang around with what may be the best backcourt in the country. Akron only has four true guards and two were out, and the third, Josh Williams, is still probably not 100 percent. He essentially missed the Arkansas game.

In a perfect world, I would've liked to have seen Akron at full strength against you guys.

But it is what it is, and I think this may be the best the best Villanova team since that Randy Foye, Kyle Lowry, Alan Ray team of about 10 years ago. This backcourt, IMO, has the same type of potential as that group. I'm rooting for you guys from here on out. Good luck in what looks to be another very strong Big East.

Even with the loss, this was nothing but a great test for an Akron program that is looking to take the next step into being a team that can win some games in the tourney.

[ZachTheZip]

A 100% healthy Akron is a top 25 team. Too bad it'll never happen. Can someone explain why several players miss multiple games every year with back spasms? Is it their lifting techniques? Why can't we just be healthy?

[phil]

Everyone on this board always talks about getting to the next level in Akron Basketball and this was it. We stayed with a top 10 team for about a half but could not stay with them the 2nd half. I think we had a chance to beat this team but the following must happen:

Shooting: This team loves to shoot the 3 and we shot 33 three balls at Nova. In Arkansas, we shot 47% at Nova we shot 33%. That is an additional 15 points if we shot the same rate at both schools. The shots were there at both games. Did Nova wear us down more than Arkansas? If we are going to beat a top school we need to shoot the 3 ball in the mid to high 40% in both halves.

Guard Play: 12 turnovers between our 2 guards with 8 by Antino. You are not going to beat a top program without exceptional guard play.

Foul Shooting: Kwan and Big Dog a combined 1 for 8 including missing the front ends of one and ones. Must do better than that.

Injury: Pat was 0 for 6 and you could tell something was wrong with his game. Needed his scoring in this game.

I was impressed that we could stay with a top 10 program at their house for a half. Hopefully, we are only a few steps away from the next level.

[Z.I.P.]

As I was watching this game, it struck me! Villanova is more than an ordinary "good" team. They're definitely top-10 material, and possibly final-four. So, I asked myself, ("Self...) is this the best team Akron has EVER played?" Trying to recall other games vs great opponents. I think Nova is better than the VCU team that wreaked havoc on us. I recall we played UNC in Chapel Hill a few years ago, but I think that was a "down" Tarheel team IIRC. I honestly think that at least three of VU's guards will be NBA players within a couple of years. We can be QUITE proud of how we played this opponent, and it should serve a huge learning experience in growing the team to earn an NCAA berth in '16.

[zippy5]

I think we played the Dejaun Blair led Pitt team that lost in the elite eight to none other than Scotty Reynolds and Nova. Probably the two best teams we've played in recent memory. Iowa State is up there with the ND #2 seed we drew.

[wadszip]

I think we played the Dejaun Blair led Pitt team that lost in the elite eight to none other than Scotty Reynolds and Nova. Probably the two best teams we've played in recent memory. Iowa State is up there with the ND #2 seed we drew.

That Iowa State team is immediately that came to mind. And that game played out pretty similar to the Nova game... In fact, I looked up a write up of the game to make sure I wasn't misremembering.

http://m.cyclones.com/mobile/ViewArticle.dbml?atclid=209348530&DB_OEM_ID=10700&

That's almost mirror imagine to the Nova game, except Akron was able to hang around longer in the second half against ISU (but actually lost by a bigger margin). That game was also on a neutral court, not on the road like Nova.

That ISU team beat eight ranked teams in the regular season, won the Big 12 tournament title and made the Sweet 16 where they lost a close game to eventual national champ Connecticut.

That Pitt team was also very good, and I recall, they also hammered us down there. I don't think Akron was ever in that game.

We'll see how the season plays out, but this Villanova team could be better than either of those teams.

Edited November 24, 2015 by wadszip

[The Hip Zip]

I attended the game in Pitt thanks to MD Zip.and yes, we really never were in it despite Bret McKnight having a monster game.Think we got beat by 20 -22 or so.

For the record, I think that 'Nova is better than that particular Pitt team and maybe considerably better. Time will tell.

[zippy_ua_00]

I attended the game in Pitt thanks to MD Zip.and yes, we really never were in it despite Bret McKnight having a monster game.Think we got beat by 20 -22 or so.

For the record, I think that 'Nova is better than that particular Pitt team and maybe considerably better. Time will tell.

Way better than that pitt team. This zips team beats that pitt team Edited November 24, 2015 by zippy_ua_00

[Z.I.P.]

As many probably recall, I was at the Iowa State game at the Diamond Head Classic two seasons ago ('long with my homeboy, Barack!). I honestly don't think that ISU team was quite as good as the Nova squad we faced on Sunday -- not just in terms of the starting five, but the depth of the Wildcats was/is final-four material -- ISU was perhaps top-ten quality, but I think Villanova should already be somewhere around #5-8, IMHO (why are we using that??)

The Cyclones had George Niang, the only remaining member still in college was probably two yrs ago already the best of the crew. He will have a good shot at the NBA. I don't think anyone else from that team is in the league. Melvin Ejim and Abdel Nader were strong wing players, but the guards were certainly not equal to Nova's -- DeAndre Kane was the only dangerous guard on their roster I think. On the other hand, VU puts Daniel Ochefu a 6-11 who can play facing or back-to-the-basket in the post -- I expect him to have an NBA career that lasst a while. And their guards -- Booth, Hart, Arcidiacono and Brunson I would put up against any team in the nation's. In fact, if there is a better freshman guard anywhere than Brunson, I can't wait to see him! I would give this year's Villanova squad a double-digit spread over the 2013 Iowa State team (which beat Akron by 22). The fact that we were able to stay as close as we did against the Cats is evidence that the Zips team has improved markedly in two years!

[zippy5]

Way better than that pitt team. This zips team beats that pitt team

Idk about that. I'd be happy to agree but they finished 31-5 and ranked 4th and 6th in the two polls. I think the Nova team that beat that pitt team is also better than the Nova team we just played