NWAkron Posted February 11, 2017 Report Share Posted February 11, 2017 21 minutes ago, LZIp said: You guys are taking the only team that has beat us in conference play all year too lightly. Almost like you guys are going out of your way not to mention them lol. They seem to have found their stride without Campbell and Simmons straight up embarrassed us in Ahtens. OU and Buffalo are probably the 2 teams that worry me most in Cleveland. Well my taking them lightly won't hurt the Zips too much. We were hardly embarrassed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 5 hours ago, LZIp said: You guys are taking the only team that has beat us in conference play all year too lightly. Almost like you guys are going out of your way not to mention them lol. They seem to have found their stride without Campbell and Simmons straight up embarrassed us in Ahtens. OU and Buffalo are probably the 2 teams that worry me most in Cleveland. This was a one point game with a couple of minutes to go in Athens, which only looked worse with all of the technical free throws and intentionally fouling near the end, in a place where we historically have played poorly, and Big Dog only was permitted to play 21 minutes. And we had just blown them out in Akron a couple of weeks before. There's plenty of teams in this league that have played us better than that this year. Buffalo, Ball State, NIU, Central, BG, just to name a few. You have to go by what you see, and I don't see OU posing a threat to us in Cleveland based on the 80 minutes we played them this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 (edited) Every team worries me in Cleveland. Actually, the team that worries me the most is us. If we play like we played in Athens any team in the league can beat us. If we play our game, no team in the league can beat us. Most of all, 6'10, 320-pound Dog playing 3 games in 3 days worries me. Before this weekend my top 3 concerns were 1. Buffalo 2. EMU 3. CMU But given their recent struggles, I'm going to knock EMU & CMU off the list & say only one team truly worries me: Buffalo. If we play our best and they play their best, it's going to be a good game and could go either way. OU may be a distant 2nd now, but only because the league has so much parity behind us. And again, it's a d...i...s...t...a...n...t second to UB. Again, if we play like we did in Athens, we'd lose in the first round of the MACT... and deservedly so. Edited February 12, 2017 by Blue & Gold 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 At this juncture, they all worry me. I've been a sports fan from the Cleveland area for too long! Always looking for the performance letdown, contraband filled US mail delivery or bruised girlfriend just waiting around the corner... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 7 hours ago, Blue & Gold said: Every team worries me in Cleveland. Actually, the team that worries me the most is us. If we play like we played in Athens any team in the league can beat us. If we play our game, no team in the league can beat us. Most of all, 6'10, 320-pound Dog playing 3 games in 3 days worries me. This. If the Zips are playing their game and hitting shots, and staying out of foul trouble, no one touches us. Buffalo and OU are the only two that have a shot, in my opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadszip Posted February 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 1 hour ago, zippy5 said: This. If the Zips are playing their game and hitting shots, and staying out of foul trouble, no one touches us. Buffalo and OU are the only two that have a shot, in my opinion I 100 percent disagree with that. Buffalo already has proven they can stay with us, in Akron, under your scenario. They are, by far, the biggest threat in Cleveland (but hardly the only in a one-game tournament). Buffalo is a team that has everything that is the traditional Akron kryptonite ... long athletes who can get to the rim. Plus, they are starting to shoot the 3-ball better (it started with that 1-point loss at the JAR). It's interesting that the two schools have taken exact opposite ways to getting to an ends (the MAC tourney title). Akron has ran up 21-plus wins (by playing a weaker non-conference schedule in hopes that maybe if they go 27-4 they could squeeze out an at-large). Buffalo has gone the opposite route. It's a program that doesn't care about non-conference losses (or even early MAC losses) as long as it builds up to playing its best ball by Cleveland. The result has been about the same (with the recent nod to Buffalo since they are the two-time defending champs). The two teams have represented the MAC 5 times in the past 9 years; and I'm guessing one of the two will make it 6 in 10. While neither has won a tournament game, I think it's fair to say that Buffalo has been more respectable in its appearances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 Did DIG come back under a new screen name? Anyway, Buffalo played the game of their lives, shooting over 50 percent, and near 50 from 3. If I recall correctly, the 3 point percentage was a huge anomaly. On top of that, we were 11-31 from 3. Not exactly hitting our shots as I put it. I feel pretty comfortable if the Zips play their game, Buffalo won't beat them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 Buffalo was torrid from the outside early which set up penetration for the rest of the game. Even their big man was hitting from the outside which drew Big Dog out resulting in their more mobile big man going right around Big Dog. The Zips are the best team in the MAC. That being said, if they hit one of those nights where they go cold on the threes and their defensive effort is substandard, there are a lot of teams in the MAC that could take them with a good game. Buffalo has a long line of athletes that could give the Zips trouble, especially if they make some outside shots. CMU could rise up behind crazy nights from Keene and Rayson. Ohio U is always going to show up to play the Zips and NIU has a rare big that play with Dog. At the end of the day, if the Zips play their best, their best is better than any other best in the MAC, but odd things happen at the end of February and into March in NCAA basketball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 2 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said: Buffalo was torrid from the outside early which set up penetration for the rest of the game. Even their big man was hitting from the outside which drew Big Dog out resulting in their more mobile big man going right around Big Dog. Buffalo's big guys can dribble drive to the hoop. Period. It's the biggest advantage they've had on us lately. And we can't stop them very well playing man defense. And if Big Dog stays in the paint all night, he's still not a rim protector against those long guys who can who can extend and elevate to the basket. You can try to go Zone on them. I'm not sure how that would affect some of the other matchups that might be favorable/unfavorable for us. But I can tell you that I'd bet money that we can't beat them again if they score 90 points. But, that's why we have our own coaching staff to try to figure out how to get that done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWAkron Posted February 15, 2017 Report Share Posted February 15, 2017 I've probably been the biggest hand wringer about playing certain teams in Cleveland. But I also know how Cleveland plays out has much to do with "Luck" (someone named Ken said we are the best in the country in that area) and the seeding. Maybe it was the 2009 season when we got a real benefit falling to the 3 seed instead of having the 1 seed because we ended up on the Ball State side of things and the war of attrition really benefited us. The way things are going now the seedings of 1, 2, and 3 being Zips, Bulls, and Cats may/could be a real benefit to us. Is Buffalo better than us? Doubt it. Our last two games have been pretty much even. They are winning one way. We are winning our way. True believers at other schools may not see us as this sleek, athletic team but have to worry that we are finding ways to win. I'm sure the coaching staff would certainly be cheering if SUNY Canada gets knocked off in the quarters by Western Michigan. But you know our team has to be hungrier for it this year than any other team and as Coach said after the game "the law of averages" usually evens things out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 Just looking ahead a little to Cleveland it seems to me (as an example checking schedules Buffalo has only one road game left and CMU has two neither of which is too difficult) that the most likely top four will be the Zips at #1, Buffalo at #2, OU at #3 and CMU at #4. Wouldn't love a matchup with CMU but not that worrisome. Would love to see Buffalo and OU bang heads in the semis (or get eliminated before that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 Having to beat CMU in a semi isn't what scares me as I don't think they are that good of a team. What does scare me is the fact they play an uptempo style of play. That could create a lingering effect in the final as Big Dog and our jump shooters could have tired legs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted February 21, 2017 Report Share Posted February 21, 2017 Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorite authors and while this is a number of years old I often wonder why more teams don't try this. Hope none of the lesser MAC teams start it or maybe with our relatively deep bench we should be the ones to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWAkron Posted February 26, 2017 Report Share Posted February 26, 2017 Watching the Ohio/Kent game is painful on just about every level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted February 26, 2017 Report Share Posted February 26, 2017 Well our "friends" at PCCC have just given us the #1 seed in the MAC tourney and an NIT birth at worst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Akron Posted February 27, 2017 Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 The party of the first part, hereafter known as the party of the first part, in contract with the party of the second part, hereafter known as the party of the second part, as well as the party of the 3rd, 4th and 5th parts, shall jointly and severally agree to the following tiebreakers, hereafter known as tiebreakers... http://www.mac-sports.com/sports/2015/3/4/MBB_0304150307.aspx 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 Elton wrote a story on the current state of the MAC. He correctly points out that the Zips might not be the favorites at this point which perhaps is valid. However, his claim for the frontrunners are Western Michigan (who could very possibly not even get one of the top fours seeds - but I hope they do get #4 because it helps us) - or EMU because they have won two in a row convincingly after losing seven straight. They aren't even likely to get a home game in the first round. The East still beat the West 27-21 this year (and six of those West victories were over Miami), so I don't think the West has quite overtaken the East just yet. The Zips were 8-0 against the West. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 On one hand I can't say UA is the favorite.. On the other hand, if we aren't who the heck is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 3 minutes ago, zippy5 said: On one hand I can't say UA is the favorite.. On the other hand, if we aren't who the heck is? The field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gozips19 Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 Interesting info in EA's article that every team lost at home Tues on thier Senior night. That's unreal and a true sign of how watered down the conference is this year. Let's hope the Zips wake up on Friday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 My summary of the MAC season- The MAC sucks. The Zips have sucked the least. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zipgrad01 Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 2 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said: My summary of the MAC season- The MAC sucks. The Zips have sucked the least. You about summed it up. ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bUAkronG Posted March 3, 2017 Report Share Posted March 3, 2017 At the beginning of the MAC season, who would have predicted that WMU would be a 10 point favorite over CMU, even at home?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zipgrad01 Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Hall dominates big dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Did we just avoid OU/Buffalo/Can't until The Finals? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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