Game 1- South Dakota State

[Let'sGoZips94]

2 hours ago, LZIp said:

South Dakota St beat Boise St last night. That win is really going to look good IMO.

 

AT Boise, too. I don't know who Boise returned from last season, but they won the MWC, which has Nevada, San Diego State, etc. 

 

First of all, I 100% agree our win over South Dakota State is going to look really good. Second of all, props to South Dakota State for their schedule. Their first 4 games all had significant postseasons last year...

 

Akron (NCAA Tournament near upset over UCLA)

Boise (Won MWC, 8 seed in NCAAs, lost to #9 Seed Memphis)

St. Bonnie (Lost to Xavier in the NIT Semifinals)

#10 Arkansas (Elite Eight)

 

Their 5th opponent is Stephen F Austin, which has had a ton of success in recent years and despite not making the NCAA or NIT last year, still posted a 22-10 record). 

 

After that, they have Valpo and James Madison, before going on the road to KSUcks and Bama (back to back days - 12/2 & 12/3). 

 

If they tread water through their OOC schedule, they could run the table in conference, as it's pretty weak. This will probably prove to be the OOC win we've needed to boost our seeding resume. 

[zippyfan34]

7 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

AT Boise, too. I don't know who Boise returned from last season, but they won the MWC, which has Nevada, San Diego State, etc. 

 

First of all, I 100% agree our win over South Dakota State is going to look really good. Second of all, props to South Dakota State for their schedule. Their first 4 games all had significant postseasons last year...

 

Akron (NCAA Tournament near upset over UCLA)

Boise (Won MWC, 8 seed in NCAAs, lost to #9 Seed Memphis)

St. Bonnie (Lost to Xavier in the NIT Semifinals)

#10 Arkansas (Elite Eight)

 

Their 5th opponent is Stephen F Austin, which has had a ton of success in recent years and despite not making the NCAA or NIT last year, still posted a 22-10 record). 

 

After that, they have Valpo and James Madison, before going on the road to KSUcks and Bama (back to back days - 12/2 & 12/3). 

 

If they tread water through their OOC schedule, they could run the table in conference, as it's pretty weak. This will probably prove to be the OOC win we've needed to boost our seeding resume. 

I believe Toledos leading scorer in their first game was a transfer from Boise but we know they will implode come tournament time.

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 hour ago, zippyfan34 said:

I believe Toledos leading scorer in their first game was a transfer from Boise but we know they will implode come tournament time.

 

Not to mention he was probably illegally recruited by Kowalchoke.

[clarkwgriswold]

Greg Tribble's missed layup is #1 on the Not the Top 10 on ESPN SportsCenter this morning.  Sigh.

 

God bless the kid for getting back out there and pulling it out in OT!  The kid has heart.

[kreed5120]

10 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Greg Tribble's missed layup is #1 on the Not the Top 10 on ESPN SportsCenter this morning.  Sigh.

 

God bless the kid for getting back out there and pulling it out in OT!  The kid has heart.

Any publicity is good publicity, right?...or so they say

[Blue & Gold]

Why, O why didn't he dunk it?  That would have been SportCenter's #1 Top Ten and one of the greatest endings to a basketball game ever 😭

[LZIp]

Typical ESPN. Have a chance to highlight a student athlete persevering after a forgettable moment, but elect to pile on.

[Blue & Gold]

Btw, great crowd for the home opener. Do you think the opponent was the reason or are our fans still excited with the way last season ended?

 

Given those two options, which way would you lean? Would we have drawn that well if the game were against a Baldwin-Wallace-type opponent.

 

KSUcks opened with Baldwin-Wallace and their crowd was P.A.T.H.E.T.I.C. 🤣🤣

 

Edited November 11, 2022 by Blue & Gold

[LZIp]

Just now, Blue & Gold said:

Btw, great crowd for the home opener. Do you think the opponent was the reason or are our fans still excited with the way last season ended.

 

Given those two options, which way would you lean? Would we have drawn that well if the game were against a Baldwin-Wallace-type opponent.

 

KSUcks opened with Baldwin-Wallace and their crowd was P.A.T.H.E.T.I.C. 🤣🤣

 

I know one thing, the win will carry momentum for attendance.* How could you attend that game and not want to go back?

 

*Excluding the Muskingum type games...those are debatable to even be worth watching at home.

[Blue & Gold]

1 minute ago, LZIp said:

I know one thing, the win will carry momentum for attendance.* How could you attend that game and not want to go back?

 

*Excluding the Muskingum type games...those are debatable to even be worth watching at home.

Indeed. If that was anyone's first exposure to a Zips game they'll certainly be back! 

[kreed5120]

7 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

Btw, great crowd for the home opener. Do you think the opponent was the reason or are our fans still excited with the way last season ended?

 

Given that binary, which way would you lean? Would we have drawn that well if the game were against a Baldwin-Wallace-type opponent.

 

KSUcks opened with Baldwin-Wallace and their crowd was P.A.T.H.E.T.I.C. 🤣🤣

 

 

I thought it looked pretty empty considering we're coming off a tourney appearance, we had a banner unveiling, and we were playing a team that also made the tournament last year.

 

Edit: I'm not saying I'd expect a sell out, but from where I was sitting in the JAR I'd guess the place was only ~30 full

Edited November 11, 2022 by kreed5120

[Blue & Gold]

23 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

 

I thought it looked pretty empty considering we're coming off a tourney appearance, we had a banner unveiling, and we were playing a team that also made the tournament last year.

 

Edit: I'm not saying I'd expect a sell out, but from where I was sitting in the JAR I'd guess the place was only 30-40% full

I was gauging by how full the end zone sections were because until MAC play starts you can usually count the number of spectators in those respective sections on one hand.

Edited November 11, 2022 by Blue & Gold

[Let'sGoZips94]

9 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

 

I thought it looked pretty empty considering we're coming off a tourney appearance, we had a banner unveiling, and we were playing a team that also made the tournament last year.

 

Edit: I'm not saying I'd expect a sell out, but from where I was sitting in the JAR I'd guess the place was only ~30 full

 

Given the state of college athletics and their coinciding low attendance in general, I thought it was a good crowd. The blue chairbacks left a bit to be desired, but the crowd noise sounded great and the views of the upper levels were surprisingly nice given it was the first game of the season. 

[LoyalZIP]

If you weren't already a season-ticket holder, a Zip die-hard, or someone who attends a few games per year, I don't think the game was marketed very well. We don't currently have a marketing department or anyone to run it, which I understand. But there's got to be some better way to get the word out. I don't want to have the discussion about promotions and different marketing strategies. But I put myself in the shoes of Joe Akron and really thought about it, did the U do anything to go to the general public to inform them? I don't think so.

 

With that said, I do love the fans who show up. That place can get loud! I don't see the energy of the old days where the Zips could go on a little run and everyone would get on their feet. It takes quite a bit to sustain that type of energy these days. But moving the students to where they are now has brought new life to the lower bowl. I've adjusted my expectations from 10-15 years ago and I realize we won't be getting 3-4k for most games, and we'd be lucky to hit 2.5k a lot. It's a shame, the product is so worth it. 

[akzipper]

23 minutes ago, LZIp said:

Typical ESPN. Have a chance to highlight a student athlete persevering after a forgettable moment, but elect to pile on.

 

A kid making a steal, in a tied game with seconds left on the clock is an awesome play. He saved the game for us and that's the most infuriating part. If it was a random missed layup in the first half, fine we can have a few chuckles about it. But we're really supposed to laugh at that play? Give me a break. 

Edited November 11, 2022 by akzipper

[Blue & Gold]

While I'm working I've had the game on in the background a few times now and it still gets me pumped up the way the entire team immediately rallied around Greg Tribble after he missed the layup. Almost gives me chills. You couldn't ask for a better reaction... from the ENTIRE team!

[kreed5120]

30 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said:

If you weren't already a season-ticket holder, a Zip die-hard, or someone who attends a few games per year, I don't think the game was marketed very well. We don't currently have a marketing department or anyone to run it, which I understand. But there's got to be some better way to get the word out. I don't want to have the discussion about promotions and different marketing strategies. But I put myself in the shoes of Joe Akron and really thought about it, did the U do anything to go to the general public to inform them? I don't think so.

 

With that said, I do love the fans who show up. That place can get loud! I don't see the energy of the old days where the Zips could go on a little run and everyone would get on their feet. It takes quite a bit to sustain that type of energy these days. But moving the students to where they are now has brought new life to the lower bowl. I've adjusted my expectations from 10-15 years ago and I realize we won't be getting 3-4k for most games, and we'd be lucky to hit 2.5k a lot. It's a shame, the product is so worth it. 

This is all very true. My disappointment is more where college athletics attendance is heading. Short of being ranked or making a Sweet 16 run I just expect this to be the new normal. 

[LZIp]

41 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

While I'm working I've had the game on in the background a few times now and it still gets me pumped up the way the entire team immediately rallied around Greg Tribble after he missed the layup. Almost gives me chills. You couldn't ask for a better reaction... from the ENTIRE team!

Agreed. If that's not a sign of a special team with a great leader, I don't know what is.

[clarkwgriswold]

I think the bump in attendance was in large part due to the student attendance.  They not only filled their regular section but helped fill in some of the ends quite a bit.  The reserved season ticket seats were disappointingly empty.

 

I too was quite impressed by how the team reacted to Tribble after the missed layup.  That's TEAM-ISM.

[Hilltopper]

Greg is still shaking off the rust from a preseason injury that prevented him from participating until just a few weeks ago. 

[kreed5120]

SDSU knocked off the Bonnies tonight.

[LZIp]

Just now, kreed5120 said:

SDSU knocked off the Bonnies tonight.

Watched the end. They have one of the ugliest floors in CBB, and at times, camera view was the basketball equivalent of what we get at Infoscision. Glad they won though, and not by more than 7.

[LZIp]

SDSU just played St Bonaventure at home last night. Tonight, they’re down in Arkansas taking on the #9 team in the nation. What a killer start to the season.

[LoyalZIP]

The Jackrabbits fall to 5-8 and 0-1 in Summit League play after losing at Oral Roberts 79-40. Holy smokes. They’re not nearly as good as we all thought. 

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 hour ago, LoyalZIP said:

The Jackrabbits fall to 5-8 and 0-1 in Summit League play after losing at Oral Roberts 79-40. Holy smokes. They’re not nearly as good as we all thought. 

 

We crushed their spirit.

 

That's what I'm gonna tell myself.