Akron Zips vs. NC A&T Aggies

[RowdyZip]

I was gonna write this game up how I did on a couple previous ones, but I'm just a bit too lazy. Working retail this time of year tends to exhaust even the hardiest Zips fan. I did however look into the RPI a little bit. This would be a "Good" win for the Zips as NC A&T is 1-5 in Div1 games (5-5 overall) while playing the 36th ranked schedule in the nation. This translates to an RPI of 152 (SOURCE). Much better than the Zips current 175. That being said, I would guess this game will give us a better idea of how much B.S. is involved with the whole RPI ordeal. I'm interested to see some of the new fellas in there for some minutes, but I'm thinking there won't be much garbage time. I can't find a line for this one, but I'm guessing it'll be somewhere in the neighborhood of Zips by 10.Akron 79NC A&T 68Update: Just checked the Sagarin ratings and he has the Zips at 106 and NC A&T at 220. That's about as drastic difference as I've seen. Thoughts?

[The Hip Zip]

Looking forward to watching this one as defense is not the strength of the Aggies. All the major opponents have scored 80 + on them so it should be an entertaining affair. They did beat Depaul on their own floor so I don't take them lightly. One advantage for the Zips is that this will be the Aggies 2nd game on the road in three nights after getting pounded by a very good Mizzou team on Monday. There won't be a line on this one because they are not affiliated with one of the "lined conferences" but I'll call it Akron 86-71.

[jeaglet1]

I dont believe the non-D1 games count towards RPI...realtimerpi.com has A&T at 173 (S.O.S 54) while the zips are 167 (S.O.S 320)

[blueandgold]

This game is sort of hard to gauge. Depending on how much KD tries to get Roberts and B McKnight into the game I can see this game being a high scoring game or a rather average scoring game while the two try to gel with the rest of the team and get playing time in the rotation. With that being said, I can still see us pulling away and winning big.Zips 83NC A&T 59

[Wally B]

I can't see this game proving to be too difficult for the Zips, even though i honestly don't know much about NCA&T...... and i live about 30miles from the school. To be honest, UNCGreensboro and High Point are getting more local coverage this year, which is usually a good indicator of A&T's strength. All these schools generally receive moderate coverage in the shadow of nearby Wake Forest, Duke, NCSt, and UNC-Ch. Zips 68Aggies 50:cheers: Toss back a Red Oak after the game!!!

[ZachTheZip]

Zips win 88-70.Roberts and the younger McKnight both saw playing time, and from what I've seen they will both be solid contributors this season.

[ziptrumpet87]

my favorite quote from the A&T coach after the game:"I told my team before the game that this was a team we want to be like someday, to emulate," Eaves said of the Zips. "They're disciplined and they play their game, and that's a credit to their coach. They do what they're asked to do, and that's a credit to both their coach and their university. Where they are now is where I want North Carolina A&T to be one day."Greensboro News-Record article link

[Captain Kangaroo]

How NC A&T beat DePaul is beyond me. I guess it just goes to show, "On any given day...."I thought A&T was boarderline "thug." All their fouls were pretty hard...ask Wood and Middleton.I wonder what effect the Middleton foul had on his shooting? That's the worst I've EVER seen Ced's shoot....he wasn't even close after the first couple minutes.The Cavalry looks to be as good as advertised. I like how they played with confidence and defended aggressively.I thought Wood would get 20 rebounds..in the first half! He ate the lazy A&T big men alive.Dials found his shot. Hope that continues. Interesting that, in the post game, he attributed getting his shot back on track to practicing 1-footers? Linhart and Conyers seem to be an effective 2-headed monster...but Brett McKnight is going to push them. Especially if he can drain the three like he did last night.I think the "second 5" on this Zips' bench are better than most of Crawford and Hipsher's starting 5's? Remember when Brian Wood and Bryan Hipsher were battling for the starting #2 guard position? It was only 5 years ago!Funny that this Zips team has yet to hit on all cylinders, yet we're killing teams? Yes, the teams we've beaten aren't juggernauts. But we're still killing them. I can't wait for the Dayton and Miami games!

[Marty McFly]

My thoughts:A&T was a physical team, which should be nice tune up for the Dayton game and then MAC playThe 2 newbies - B McKnight and D Roberts were nice additions. Looked like Roberts took a little bit of time to get him feet combortable in the offense, and it might take him a couple of games to get back into the swing of thing. B McKnight comes in and hits a three on his first touch. That's legendary...Almost - Wait for It - Goddardique!Nice following by the A&T faithful. Nice to chat with some of them who live in the NE Ohio area.Seniors stepped it up one of their own was having a down game (C Mid). Thought that J Wood battled hard on the boards against a taller team (7 of their 16 were over 6'7''), and Nick Dails was hitting on all cylinders.A little bit nervous about the YSU Game tomorrow night. Not sure why, but I am.

[w00t]

* This has to be the deepest team we've had in ages (and we're redshirting two guys who probably could have seen good minutes)* Wood was an absolute glass monster* We made some FTs for a change... 16 of our first 20 before clanging 3 of the final 6* 23 fouls called in the first ten minutes of the 2nd half* We're 8-2 and drawing crowds of 1,500 (including all of 20 Rowdies)? Rather depressing.

[BirdZip]

Sometimes it's hard to hear the Rowdies from up in the bleachers, but I believe at one point when an Aggie was hurt, at least a few of the Rowdies were heckling him for being hurt. If you want to heckle someone for taking off a necklace, that's just fine and dandy. But cheering or laughing about an injury is classless and has no place at Akron.What was with the phone ringing the whole game. Does it always do that and I usually can't hear it, or is this something new? I found it quite annoying.How come I can hear a phone ringing but not the Rowdies?Brett McKnight looked good on the shot. I only got to see him take 4 shots in the pre-game warm-up, but they were all 3's and they all touched nothing but net. Then of course his two in the game were the same. I can't remember his name but I think he was #23, the athletic center for the Aggies. He's a freshman and he's going to be tough. Seemed like an awful lot of blood coming out of Wood in a little bit of time. Face injuries, I guess. Glas to see him come back and still a beast. Ced seemed to be a little dazed after his injury--not quite sure which direction to walk. Probably did have a lot to do with his shot.Seems to me this team is getting better by the game, as expected. I'd just like to see a little more of the killer instinct. If you have a 15-point lead, push it to 20. if 20, push it to 25. Enough with the second-half let down.Penguins are toast. Who would expect a penguin to have a chance against a kangaroo anyway?

[Zips Win!]

I would agree that this is the deepest team we've had in years...decades. But how good are we or better yet how bad were some of those previous Hipsher/Crawford teams?-Linhart gets way too many minutes. Like 20 more than he should. Can sometime tell him that there is this new invention- it's called a hair brush. He looks like he just rolled out of bed at gametime.-Milum gets way too many minutes as well. He has hands of steel on some of those interior passes. And stop shooting the three. -I absolutely hate the offense when it's the Dials/Middleton combo. Play McNees with one or both.-Conyers seems to be one of the odd men out. Still seems tentative and looking over his shoulder.-Is Chris McKnight now just an interior guy? Seems to be playing down low exclusivley-which I like.-Was is beginners luck with Brett M.? Was is the number he's wearing? (DP anyone?) Or is he as good as advertised? 10 minutes into his carrer and he looks like the making of a guy who will dominate the MAC. Hit the three, take it to the hoop and hopefully he will be able to develop a mid range game.-Wood is still a beast.-Finally, why the hell was Dials in the game with a minute to go?-