Districtballer Posted February 16, 2008 Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 Hey Zips fans, VCU will be playing our arch-rival Old Dominion tonight at the Siegel Center in a sold out house before a national audience on ESPN2, starting at 8 p.m. I welcome you all to watch the game and perhaps do some of your own scouting of the Rams before our game on the 23rd. It'll also give you all a taste of what to expect when the Zips come to Richmond next year. Just a little background on this rivalry. The ODU/VCU rivalry, otherwise known as "the War on 64" (the interstate that connects the two schools) is the biggest in the CAA and arguably the state (with UVA and V. Tech as the only other comparable one). This will be the 78th installment of the series and VCU holds a 39-36 edge coming into tonight's game. However, since VCU has moved into the Siegel Center, the ODU Monarchs have failed to win on our homecourt (0-8 so far). We hope to keep that streak going tonight. Hope you all can watch the game, and if you don't have a rooting interest, I would recommend the Rams! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted February 16, 2008 Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 Go Rams! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoZips88 Posted February 16, 2008 Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 Thanks for the reminder!My "Get-A-Life!" Saturday ...Noon - Georgetown at Syracuse (TV)2PM - Akron at Bowling Green (radio)3PM - Ohio at Can't State (TV)8PM - ODU at VCU (TV)Guys weekend at home (my son and I) - wife and daughter out of town visiting family. GO VCU ... GO Ca ... (can't say it) ... GO ZIPS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoZips88 Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 :blink: Anybody else catch the ODU/VCU game tonight? Uh ... VCU likes to run just a WEEE little bit, they contest everything, hit the offensive and defensive boards hard, and generally play very up-tempo, playground-like ball. It's going to be VERY interesting to see how the refs call the game here in Akron. If they call it close, it will definitely favor Akron. If they let them play like they are tonight, ... ... it could be a long night for Akron, especially if Wood is still out or not anywhere near 100% (doubt it). Could be that it's a rivalry game but VCU looks pretty good to me. Like I said ... very athletic and tenacious. Without any inside game, I think they're going to give our guards all they can handle. Bardo had better make his five fouls five good ones. Chris McKnight is really going to have bring his 'A' game. Very entertaining game - fan/student support looks and sounds fantastic. Great environment.Maynor seems a bit whiney ...WOW - ODU strips the ball with a couple of seconds left to preserve a one-point win, 67-66. ODU missed a couple of free throws just prior to that. Would guess VCU fans wanted a foul call on the strip - may have a case there but it's water under the bridge. Kinda glad VCU took it on the chin - deflate them just a bit before they come to Akron. Don't want them to be too full of themselves. Good team that just lost a close game to their rival. Would be interested to hear how any others on this board see VCU. Great draw in the Bracket Buster ... too bad we're leaking so much oil right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 I just got home and saw the last 7.4 seconds. It looked like Maynor (sp?) got fouled at the end there. Probably a tough foul to call. ESPN didn't have many camera angles on it and cut away as soon as the game was over to go to that stupid Dale Ernhardt movie. Man, we just need to get healthy. VCU looked very athletic - especially compared to out gimping, limping lineup. This season started w/ so much promise but we're a shell of ourselves; we're the walking wounded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 I think we can run with them.Even without J-Wood, the Mcknights and Bardo should be enough inside, the Mcknights can go inside/outside, so we can go small or big against them.With Roberts, Mcnees, Dials, and Middleton, we have enough depth I think to play their uptempo style, and throw in Linhart, I think we'll be alright.Bring em on!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipboy Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 Tough loss for VCU. I was hoping they would pull it out. I know that we have no chance of an at large, but the stronger our schedule, the better.I really hope this turns into into a longer series between the 2 schools. Both should have conistent RPIs between 50-75. Even splitting with each other at home and home would help both RPIs. Their conference is similar to ours and are tough at home. I wold expect that they have the same scheduling issues that we might. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZipAlumn Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 I think we can run with them.Even without J-Wood, the Mcknights and Bardo should be enough inside, the Mcknights can go inside/outside, so we can go small or big against them.With Roberts, Mcnees, Dials, and Middleton, we have enough depth I think to play their uptempo style, and throw in Linhart, I think we'll be alright.Bring em on!!!I am not so sure we want to run with VCU, they looked awful quick and athletic. They play a tough aggressive defense. Maynor looked fantastic, hopefully Linhart can slow him down. But no matter who wins this one .......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Districtballer Posted February 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 I think we can run with them.Even without J-Wood, the Mcknights and Bardo should be enough inside, the Mcknights can go inside/outside, so we can go small or big against them.With Roberts, Mcnees, Dials, and Middleton, we have enough depth I think to play their uptempo style, and throw in Linhart, I think we'll be alright.Bring em on!!!I am not so sure we want to run with VCU, they looked awful quick and athletic. They play a tough aggressive defense. Maynor looked fantastic, hopefully Linhart can slow him down. But no matter who wins this one .......... Gosh....we played our worst game of the season. Sorry to put up that performance for you guys. Hopefully our game will be better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 Well, we certainly will not have Wood back that soon. Remember, we have the depth to run with people, but KD chooses to play a little wiser than that. Teams that play that out of control have not had good luck against us. But, VCUs athleticism on the boards concerns me without J. Wood in there. We're just not a good rebounding team without him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 I think we can run with them.Even without J-Wood, the Mcknights and Bardo should be enough inside, the Mcknights can go inside/outside, so we can go small or big against them.With Roberts, Mcnees, Dials, and Middleton, we have enough depth I think to play their uptempo style, and throw in Linhart, I think we'll be alright.Bring em on!!!I am not so sure we want to run with VCU, they looked awful quick and athletic. They play a tough aggressive defense. Maynor looked fantastic, hopefully Linhart can slow him down. But no matter who wins this one .......... Gosh....we played our worst game of the season. Sorry to put up that performance for you guys. Hopefully our game will be better.Ha! Join the club. Talk about playing the worst game of the season, we're currently playing as poor of ball as we've played over the last 3 seasons! We've really gotta tighten things up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoZips Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 Seems like Maynor is not the only whiner connected with VCU.If Maynor charges into the Zips with his right knee high as he repeatedly did against ODU he is going to get it broken off at the knee. That maneuver is like watchingChris Singletary play. Let us see how good Maynor is with Linhart on his butt all night.VCU is a challenge, especially with Wood out. But, win or loss playing VCU is going to hurt our RPI. tsk, tsk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 We'll see how this one turns out. I think we have a chance if:1. Bardo and Chris McKnight box-out and get the rebounds2. Our guards shoot well3. We play shut down defense and don't let them enter the ball inside the paint4. We shut down Maynor and don't let him control the gameWe'll see though. Go Zips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Districtballer Posted February 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 Seems like Maynor is not the only whiner connected with VCU.If Maynor charges into the Zips with his right knee high as he repeatedly did against ODU he is going to get it broken off at the knee. That maneuver is like watchingChris Singletary play. Let us see how good Maynor is with Linhart on his butt all night.VCU is a challenge, especially with Wood out. But, win or loss playing VCU is going to hurt our RPI. tsk, tsk Where did I whine GoZips? Please enlighten me. :rolleyes: . You're so predictable, I can read you like a book. Akron should be the last team talking about being hurt by VCU. Aren't you still sub-100? Still don't think our game is a shaft job? I honestly don't know how our game will go...you're supposed to be very good at home, but you're without your best player and just lost to a sub 200 rpi team who had never won on the road all season. It will be an interesting matchup regardless. But if you try to contain Maynor, you have to contain Shuler as well. Maryland tried to do this with Maynor, and Shuler went off for 30. He'll burn you if you leave him open. But the key to this game for Akron is to contain the both of them. If you do that, it should be a very interesting game. It'll be a good game regardless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 Our RPI is 96 for the record...Not saying it's good, just sayin' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 Our RPI is 96 for the record...Not saying it's good, just sayin' hey, its better than 100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Districtballer Posted February 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 Our RPI is 96 for the record...Not saying it's good, just sayin' hey, its better than 100 Great! I wasn't aware you climbed back up into the top 100. That would be a nice win if we could pull it off. Keep winning until we meet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RACER Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 district i did watch the vcu game.im pretty sure that was a foul at the end.the problems most refs will not make a call at the end of the game.a foul is a foul and you guys got robbed.after our loss to niu most zip fans do not know what to make of our team.we are a banged up bunch,but managed to win at bg.i thought you guys had a really athletic team.the only way the zips win this is if we shoot the three lights out.with wood out this makes this alott harder since we have no inside game.good luck.at least both teams will get some airtime on espn.it may be early but airtime is airtime reagrdless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoZips Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 Woods is out? Woods wont play in the VCU game? You got to be kidding me. This is all a set up to suck VCU in. Woods plays, maybe 10-15 minutes.How pathetic to worry about the lame a$$ed RPI. Its a fracking sham. Play the game on the court.There was no foul at the end of the ODU-VCU game. Two referees had the best look of anyone in the house. Neither of them called a foul. Get over it. And, guesswhat, I reran the video of the Akron-NC State game for the fortieth time yesterday, damn if Harvey didn't score every single time. NC State LOST, deal with it.I believe in KD. He said the Zips can compete with anybody. That's ANYBODY, not somebody, anybody. Get it? No, of course you do not. To many its all about getting a good enough phony number. The hell with phony numbers, play the game. Lame and worn down, tired, dazed,confused, over matched, take it all in. Its just a game. Bragging rights? Who really cares? Now, if we were the Suckeyes it would matter. Wouldn't it? Naw, they suck, too.We have the AK-Rowdies. Be there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 I honestly don't know how our game will go...you're supposed to be very good at home, but you're without your best player and just lost to a sub 200 rpi team who had never won on the road all season. It will be an interesting matchup regardless. But if you try to contain Maynor, you have to contain Shuler as well. Maryland tried to do this with Maynor, and Shuler went off for 30. He'll burn you if you leave him open. But the key to this game for Akron is to contain the both of them. If you do that, it should be a very interesting game. It'll be a good game regardless.Districtballer,How would you scheme against VCU? What's Akron have to do to win next Saturday? To beat the Zips it seems as though you have to pressure our guards from the time they inbound the ball, always have a hand in their face, don't give them any open looks, and in the half-court game pressure them up high - push them about a yard out from the 3 point line. With our big stud Jeremiah out it's been a lot (a TON!) easier for teams to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Districtballer Posted February 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 I honestly don't know how our game will go...you're supposed to be very good at home, but you're without your best player and just lost to a sub 200 rpi team who had never won on the road all season. It will be an interesting matchup regardless. But if you try to contain Maynor, you have to contain Shuler as well. Maryland tried to do this with Maynor, and Shuler went off for 30. He'll burn you if you leave him open. But the key to this game for Akron is to contain the both of them. If you do that, it should be a very interesting game. It'll be a good game regardless.Districtballer,How would you scheme against VCU? What's Akron have to do to win next Saturday? To beat the Zips it seems as though you have to pressure our guards from the time they inbound the ball, always have a hand in their face, don't give them any open looks, and in the half-court game pressure them up high - push them about a yard out from the 3 point line. With our big stud Jeremiah out it's been a lot (a TON!) easier for teams to do that.GoZips non-sensical post aside...the key to shutting down VCU is containing Maynor and Shuler. They both have range out to 25-27 feet. They regularly knock down NBA-range threes. They are both tremendous offensive players. Maynor would probably be the top player in the MAC if he played there. That said, after that we haven't really developed a reliable 3rd scoring option, partly due to having 9 new faces this year. If you shut down the both of them which is an extremely difficult task, but possible, Akron has a good shot. If you're Akron, you want someone other than those two to beat you. 6'9 Larry Sanders is a tremendous defensive presence on the inside, the leading freshmen shot blocker in the country with a 7'7 wingspan and a standing reach of 9'2 and 3/4 inches. While he's a defensive monster, his offensive game hasn't come around yet to the point where he is our go-to post player. Luckily for us, Wood isn't in there, so perhaps he can assert himself and become a reliable third scoring option. But every team that has beat us this year has done it by shutting down our two star guards. As you saw last night, we run a full-court press all game long and we pride ourselves on our defense. We lead the country in 3 pt fg defense, with our opponents shooting 26.8% from three. I think the best way for Akron to succeed would be to attack the press and find the open man. This requires very good athletes with great conditioning. Not sure if Akron has players who fit the bill, but those are the guys you want on the floor. VCU runs, and usually runs teams out of the gym. Dambrot should try and rotate his players as much as possible, keep them fresh. Not sure about Akron's depth, but keeping your guys fresh is paramount. VCU is usually a slow first-half team, and they usually kick it up several gears in the 2nd half. Hope that helps a bit. I'm sure Keith Dambrot and his staff will have Akron well-prepared for the Rams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 As always, this is ONE basketball game in the course of a 30-game season. One team can play the best game of the season, or vice versa. You just never know.But..the fact is, we are hard to beat at home, regardless of whether we have our best player out, and two other starters hobbled. We'll see what happens. District Baller...just keep in mind...you are not North Carolina. You're a team from a "nothing" conference (in the grand scheme of things). playing in a tough environment. OD is no elite team, and they beat you guys. Just be thankful that the game time will mean that some of our crazy fans will still be asleep at gametime, or hung over from the night before.Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Districtballer Posted February 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 As always, this is ONE basketball game in the course of a 30-game season. One team can play the best game of the season, or vice versa. You just never know.But..the fact is, we are hard to beat at home, regardless of whether we have our best player out, and two other starters hobbled. We'll see what happens. District Baller...just keep in mind...you are not North Carolina. You're a team from a "nothing" conference (in the grand scheme of things). playing in a tough environment. OD is no elite team, and they beat you guys. Just be thankful that the game time will mean that some of our crazy fans will still be asleep at gametime, or hung over from the night before.Good luck.Thanks. Yeah...totally agree with you there, we know it will be a pretty big win if we can pull it off at the JAR. And no, we are nowhere close to North Carolina, and I never claimed we were. We are one of the better mid-major teams in the country though, and I'm proud of that fact. While I'm proud of my team, didn't I just break down my entire team and say they were centred around 2 players??? We are not a BCS level club that can put out 5 Maynor-quality players on the floor at a time. Old Dominion has played very well of late, they also just beat George Mason and are on a 3-game winning streak. While they are not an elite team, it seems like they are putting their pieces together nicely. They were very freshmen heavy, starting 3 freshmen and a sophomore. There freshmen are just starting to come into their own. Remember ODU was an NCAA at-large team last year. They are a very good program. Akron is a very good team at home, and while it may seem like I'm taking you lightly, rest assured I'm not...and you better believe Anthony Grant and the Rams aren't underestimating you either. After this loss I bet the Rams will be extremely fired up. It'll be a great game on national television. It's been a great year for the Rams on TV. I believe this will be our 4th ESPN2 game this season... Here's to a good, clean and exciting game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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