The one thing that Akron has this year (aside from really good bigs) that I haven't seen from them in past years is confidence. I read all the papers yesterday, and saw how Alex is talking. He thinks that we "stole" their rightful place in the Dance last year, and that OUr run was really the run that they should have been on. A little humorous.
Dambrot is comparing their program to VCU and Butler. Hmmm . . .
As previously noted, their fans think they're a Final Four caliber team (although to be fair, we have/had our fair share of those as well). Pump the brakes a little. Accomplish something first Zippies, and I'll be more willing to give you the credit you want.
The thoughts and opinions in this thread vary. I'm not quite sure that if we both play our 'A' games that we come out on top. I think it's extremely close, 1-3 points, but their post players are better than ours, and that will insulate them from a cold shooting night outside.
We had a balanced scoring attack - 4 guys in double figures. We got to the line more than they did. We converted at the line. We took care of the ball. If we would've know before the game that we'd have 4 guys with 10+ points, outscore them from the line, and have less than 10 TOs, most of us would have assumed we would win. Not so fast.
Somebody said it in this thread, and we've all talked about it all year: Walt. He's our X-factor. To me, the glaring stat was Walt's 3/13. While that wouldn't be a concern if he attempted 8-10 free throws, it is a concern, because he attempted only one. If he sinks one more 3 pointer and ends up 7/13 from the floor, we're looking at 9 more points, and we have ourselves a ballgame. We still lose, but it's very close.
So, in our next (hopefully two) matchups, it's clear we have to have a more efficient Walt. But where else do we make up those points we need to win?
1) Ivo could show up to the gym. That would help, IMMENSELY. Not only did he put up a goose egg, he was burned on the defensive end. Treadwell dominated him. I still don't get how he's listed at 6'9", and TJ is listed at 6'5". TJ looks bigger when he's on the court, he certainly plays bigger, and I thought he did a pretty decent job defensively when he was down in the post. I'm all for TJ taking some of Ivo's minutes if Ivo continues to go into the appropriately coined "ghost mode".
2) Rebounding. I agree with JSF's premise that we don't have to be a great rebounding team to win, but if we can even grab 5 more per game, that would help a lot. 11 2nd chance points for Akron could be cut to 5-6, and we're closer.
3) Better defense. Team effort. It was there for 12 minutes on Saturday, then it disappeared. I have to call out Coop a little bit. Alex burned him a few times. I don't expect that to happen again, though. Would like to see Green on Marshall for 5 minutes ini the next game, just to wear him down a little.
I'm nowhere close to panic mode. Alex and Zeke won't combine for 15/18 again. Treadwell though, could have a bigger game. They are a matchup problem, at least for us. The comment over on Zippyland that they want OSU gave me a laugh. That would NOT be a good matchup for them, at all. I don't think the Bucks are all that great this year, but they'd handle Zippy pretty good. The Zips are built to cause guard oriented teams without great bigs issues. Shooting can overcome that though, so it is very clear, we need to be 'on' in round #2.
Let's hope their newfound confidence turns more towards arrogance.