Saturday, September 17, 2011

Week 3 Preview: Cincinnati

It won't be much of a preview this week. For the last few years, the Akron/Cincinnati matchup has been close and exciting. That's not happening today.

It has been anything but a solid start for the Zips this year, who have been outscored 83-3 over the first two weeks.

83-3.

Unfortunately for Akron, Cincinnati has this interesting concept called "offense". Let's compare some of the stat leaders:

Passing:
AKR-Clayton Moore-18/42, 246 YDS, 0 TD, 2 INT
CIN-Zach Collaros-33/53, 364 YDS, 6 TD, 0 INT

Ouch.

Rushing:
AKR-Jawon Chisholm-25 CAR, 89 YDS, 0 TD
CIN-Isaiah Pead-21 CAR, 242 YDS, 3 TD

Wow.

Receiving:
AKR-Marquelo Suel-5 REC, 110 YDS, 0 TD
CIN-D.J. Woods-13 REC, 170 YDS, 1 TD

Today we may see a little more Patrick Nicely, as Moore has just looked miserably uncomfortable in his first two starts. There's a decent chance that the Zips will get some offense going, but this Akron defense (which hasn't had a sack or an interception in its first two games) is going to be slaughtered by the Bearcats.

For masochistic Akron fans like me, the game will be shown on ESPN3 at 3:30pm.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Week 2 Preview: Temple

Game 2 of the three-game season-opening nightmare is upon us. The Zips open InfoCision Stadium/Summa Field today against the Temple Owls, who blew away Villanova 42-7 last week.


Temple has a potent offense led by the resurgence of junior running back Bernard Pierce. Last week, Pierce carried the ball 20 times for 147 yards and 3 TDs. We're likely to see at least two touchdowns from him today,  unless quarterback Mike Gerardi's passing game does what most do against our (lack of) pass coverage. Gerardi was 14-20 for 235 yards and 2 TDs last week.

As for the Zips, it's still impossible to say. Clayton Moore looked miserable under center last week (I know, I know, it was against Ohio State), but he did lead the team in rushing...with 32 yards. After this week, we'll have a little better basis for judgement.


As for Temple's defense, I'd like to believe that our Zips are better offensively than Villanova, but in all likelihood it's probably not by much. We're likely to see a pretty similar scoreline to last week's 42-7 scrubbing of the Wildcats.

For coverage, the game will be aired exclusively on ESPN3. If you're fortunate enough to have an affiliated Internet provider, head over to WatchESPN to see it.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Football Season Preview, Part 1: Offense

The season is upon us, ladies and gentlemen. In two short days, you will be able to watch your Akron Zips tremble before the might of the Ohio State Buckeyes on national television. Dare I suggest we see the first major upset of the year with this game? A boy can dream, right?

Let's kick this season off with a preview of...

The offense.

It can't possibly get worse than last year, can it? Out of 120 teams, the Zips ranked 108th in passing offense, 101st in rushing offense, and 118th in points scored. Yeesh.

Quarterback:

This year we have a serious quarterback battle on our hands, folks.

1) Patrick Nicely, a junior, and last year's starter. He struggled under Rob Ianello's new pro-style offense, completing only 49.4% of his passes for 1,753 yards, 10 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. See those horrible offensive rankings up above? This guy was a huge part of those. Through the first half of the season, Nicely showed everything but the promise of his freshman year. He rarely threw the ball well downfield, and consistently scrambled straight into a defender. Closer to the end of the year, however, he started to look a little more comfortable.

2) Clayton Moore, a JUCO sophomore, originally signed to Ole Miss. He looked a lot more composed than Nicely in the Spring game, but that's hardly a suitable method of identifying who the better quarterback will be.

3) Zach D'Orazio, a freshman that looked equally impressive in the Spring game.

Running Backs:

We will likely see Broderick Alexander carry the ball early on in the season as the only returning running back. His statistics weren't very pretty in 2009 (59 carries at 3.4 yards per carry) and he missed all of 2010 with an Achilles injury. Freshman Jawon Chisholm will almost certainly see some carries as well this year. He ran 14 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns in the Spring game.

Wide Receivers:

You probably just heard me sigh. Jeremy LaFrance is gone. Jalil Carter is gone. We're left with Antoine Russell (13 REC, 221 YDS, TD), Richard Hall (16 REC, 149 YDS, TD), and a whole bunch of nothing else. Whoever grabs the quarterback spot this year is going to need some serious help.

O-Line:

Jake Anderson and Zac Kasparek return to lead a not-as-terrible-as-every-other-position offensive line. Unfortunately, injuries throughout the Spring have left the rest of the offensive line very thin.


Monday, August 29, 2011

Roo News 8/29/11

It's that time of year again. The Akron Football Zips take to the field on Saturday to take on the *gulp* #18 Ohio State Buckeyes, and the Zips Sports Blog is back in action.

There are a few changes to the blog this year. For starters, since I've graduated from the University of Akron and can't attend all of the games in person, I will no longer be able to cover soccer or volleyball like I have in the past. The good news is that I can cover football and basketball with a little more detail. You can expect a preview and a recap for each televised game this year, and I will do my best to make it to the non-televised games. Last but not least, I will be double-blogging, writing over at Akron Sports Now. Most of my posts will be duplicated there, but not all of them.

A football season preview will be up within the next couple of days, so stay tuned.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Zips Football Preseason Q&A

For those that aren't aware, I was recently involved in a preseason Q&A with College Football Zealots. Check out the full article for more in-depth coverage, but here is the Q&A session itself:

In Ron Ianello's first year, Akron went 1-11 last year including an OT loss to Garner-Webb. What are your overall thoughts on Ianello and what does he need to do better this year?

I'll start by saying I was personally against the firing of previous head coach J.D. Brookhart. The man was a mastermind at adapting to situations (many Zips alumni have set records at positions that they didn't start at). He recruited very well, but he didn't recruit very deep; so when star quarterback Chris Jacquemain was dismissed from the team for an unknown repeat violation, All-MAC wide receiver Deryn Bowser broke a leg, and bruiser runningback Joe Tuzze and backup quarterback Matt Rodgers found themselves in similar situations, there was no possibility of adaptation, resulting in a 3-9 record. However, when the vast majority of the fanbase called for Brookhart's head on a platter, the athletic department was forced to do something.

I had originally thought that Rob Ianello was perfect for the team; he was a Top 25 Recruiter, and came from a solid Notre Dame squad. A lot of the horrid record is a result of a Zips squad that Ianello didn't recruit. Jacquemain, Bowser, and Tuzze, who were almost all of Akron's offense at the beginning of the year before had all graduated. On the other hand, the rest of the record is a result of terrible decision making and ridiculous playcalling; the most questionable was Ianello's decision to go with proven-terrible kicker Igor Iveljic as opposed to promising Sophomore T.J. Marchese. Had Iveljic not shanked twoextra points during the Gardner-Webb game, that spirit-breaking loss would never have happened. Another choice was a switch to a pro-style offense as opposed to the spread being run by Brookhart. In order for a pro-style offense to work, a team needs a quarterback that is comfortable in the pocket and a running back that can run straight up the middle to pick up yards. The Zips had neither of these. In order to improve, Ianello is going to need his recruiting class to fit his offense; and it wouldn't hurt to throw away those 3-yard flat routes during a 3rd and 10.

The Zips scored 15.6 points per game last year which placed them 118th out of 120 teams. Who needs to step up this year on the offensive side of the football to help get this fixed?

To say Sophomore Patrick Nicely was disappointing last year would be an understatement. Injuries and experience from the year before kept him in the top spot, but he was clearly uncomfortable passing in the pocket, and didn't show much improvement throughout the year. He ended the season with 10 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The good news for the Zips is, somebody is going to step up this year, whether or not it is Patrick Nicely. Zach D'Orazio and junior college transfer Clayton Moore both looked solid throughout Spring practices. Newcomer running backs Jawon Chisholm (14 carries for 142 yards and 2 TDs in the Spring Game) and Marvin Staten also looked great throughout the Spring against a solid Zips linebacking corps, and if they too can step up, we'll see some offense in 2011-2012.

Akron was in the bottom 20 of the Nation for pass defense last year. Who are some newcomers that you think can come in and make an impact on those numbers?

Devonte Morgan and Johnny Robinson, fellow Glenville Tarblooders, are two very promising defensive backs in this year's recruiting class. I don't expect the pass defense to improve much this year, but with a (hopefully) improved offense comes more time of possession and less time the defense spends on the field. If the Zips can start converting some third down plays this year, that alone will improve the pass defense.

Looking at the schedule, what are the most important games this year?

The Zips start the season with three grueling games against Ohio State, Temple, and Cincinnati. Even if all three of those are lost, winning the next three against VMI, Eastern Michigan and FIU would leave them with a 3-3 record and a winning streak to carry them into heavy conference play. The Akron team we saw at the end of last season would do more than hold their own against any of those three teams, so a win in all three isn't much of a stretch for the imagination.

What is the one game on the schedule that the fanbase wants to win the most this year?

Kent State. No question. If you attend a social event on the Akron campus, at some point throughout the night you will hear one person shout the time, and the rest of the room shout back "And Kent State still sucks!" The Battle for the Wagon Wheel is an intense, heated, fairly even rivalry that will make or break a season. Although if you ask some of the Zips fanbase, they'll agree that it would be nice to win a bowl game.

What is your gut feeling on the final record for the 2011 season and what makes the season successful in your eyes?

If the Zips can sweep the three-game streak against VMI, Eastern Michigan and FIU, they can end with a 6-6 record and possibly make a bowl game. If not, they are a 3-9 team. There's no way we'll see another 1-11 season, but the Zips are not yet a contending team under Rob Ianello; there are inexperienced players at every position that are going to be severely tested this year.


Friday, June 10, 2011

LeBronCenter


Hey everybody, how's it going?

First things first: I apologize for the complete lack of updates this summer. There are two reasons for this; one is that my specialties are Akron football and basketball, and I didn't (don't) know enough about the baseball team to write good articles on them. The other is that I graduated early in May after the busiest and toughest four months of my life, then had to relocate and be ready to start my new job just two weeks later. Now that all of that has been accomplished, and I've acclimated myself, the blogging will resume.

Anyway, for news.

There is none.

Well, none that I'm happy with, anyway. When I originally heard that men's basketball head coach Keith Dambrot would be on Mike & Mike in the Morning earlier today, I was stoked. How often do the Zips get a chance on national television? Unfortunately, it hit me as soon as the program started; he's only on there to talk about LeBron.

ESPN makes me sick. Watching SportsCenter today is like being drilled in the teeth. It all started after the Cavaliers' playoff loss to the Boston Celtics last year. LeBron himself nabbed the first 27 minutes of airtime discussion on SportsCenter the day after, and the trend has continued and possibly increased thanks to the Heat's long playoff run:


via awfulannouncing.com


This so-called sports news program seems to have forgotten a few things. For one, the Stanley Cup is also in progress, a dead-even 2-2 series between two teams that absolutely hate each other. The "highlights" of these games last about 2 minutes each day on SportsCenter.

For another, the USA men's soccer international team trounced Canada in the first game of the Gold Cup earlier in the week. 97% of you reading this right now are wondering what the Gold Cup is. Case in point.

The Gold Cup is a rather large soccer tournament between teams in North and Central America....well, it's a big tournament for all but one country. "Sports"Center gave a whole 15 seconds of airtime to the USA victory, squeezing in the final score during a Top Play.

Back to Dambrot...don't take this the wrong way. I love the guy. He's an incredible basketball coach. There are very few college basketball teams that have the distinction of winning 20 games each of the last six seasons, and even less that can claim five consecutive conference championship appearances.

BUT.

Keith Dambrot, head coach of the University of Akron men's basketball team, went on a national sports talk show, and talked about LeBron. Defended LeBron.

I get it...he was LeBron's basketball coach in high school. I understand that. Head to the Mike & Mike in the Morning homepage to hear the interview if you want, but I can describe it to you here:

Q: What's up with LeBron only scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter through this entire series?
A: Jason Terry's too quick.

Or something like that.

For as well as the basketball team has done in the last few years (including putting up a fight against Gonzaga and Notre Dame in two NCAA tournaments), the head coach just received more airtime in one show talking about LeBron James than he has talking about his very successful mid-major basketball program in five years.

That is legitimately disappointing.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Roo News 4/17/11

Football:

Playing under a special scoring format, the Akron Zips offense defeated the defense 82-36 yesterday. It was a little more of a blowout than I expected, but the fact the offense outperformed the defense doesn't surprise me at all. The Zips have never had a shutdown defense, generally allowing the opposition to pick up a few first downs before having them punt it away.

All three quarterbacks played very well:

Last year's disappointing starter Patrick Nicely threw 7-11 for 103 yards. Junior college transfer Clayton Moore was 11-14 for 122 yards with a touchdown, and Zach D'Orazio threw 5-8 for 127 yards and a touchdown.

It looks a tad better for Moore (D'Orazio's yardage is a little misleading; one of his five passes was a 77 yard touchdown) than the others, but Nicely's experience is the most important item on his résumé.

I would point out how great it is that the quarterbacks combined completed 23 of 33 passes for 352 yards and two touchdowns, but we all saw how miserable our pass defense was last year.

Here's some better, less misleading statistics:

Jawon Chisholm (who?) was named the offensive MVP...for his 14 carries, 124 yards, and two rushing touchdowns. Last year's rushing defense wasn't nearly as bad as the secondary, and with the worries over the rushing game, this is very good news. On top of Chisholm, freshman Marvin Staten ran 14 times for 50 yards.

On the defensive side, safety L.T. Smith had 10 tackles, and cornerback Bill Alexander had eight. Last year's team leader in the tackling department, Brian Wagner, only had four; a testament to the performance of the offensive line and running backs.

Men's Soccer:

When did Lee Jackson Field become Cub Cadet Field? I completely missed that one.

The men's soccer team tied Xavier 2-2 yesterday in a Spring Exhibition game at....Cub Cadet....Field. That sounds awful. While we're at it, why don't we rename Jacob's Field to Progressive Field?

The Zips goals were scored courtesy of Darren Mattocks and Scott Caldwell. Mattocks ended the day with four shots and three on goal.

I know these are just exhibition games, but the ties are worrying me. With seven new starters, and the results to date in the Spring schedule, I hold no hope of a repeat championship, and I highly doubt that the team will make it back to the College Cup.

Valparaiso is next up on Wednesday, at 7:30pm, at good old Lee....Cadet Field.


Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Roo News 4/5/11

Alright, we're back from a hiatus and ready to get back into some Zips sporty goodness, or something like that. I vow to have a new post up every couple of days, so keep checking back.

Men's Basketball:

From Matt Sussman over at Hustle Belt:
As you can see, the loss of Brett McKnight, Darryl Roberts, Steve McNees and Mike Bardo is going to hurt the team in terms of last year's performance. However, based on Keith Dambrot's track record, I highly doubt that the Zips' losses will correspond with those red boxes. This is the most likely lineup for next year (at this point):

C - Zeke Marshall
PF - Nikola Cvetinovic
SF/SG - Brett McClanahan
SF/SG - Quincy Diggs
PG - Alex Abreu

With as much playing time as Diggs and Abreu received, most notably in the MAC and NCAA tournaments, this lineup doesn't worry me one bit, and very well may end up being more effective than this year's. The big worry is the bench. Other than Euton and Egner, nobody on next year's bench will have received more than a miniscule fraction of playing time.

As for transfers Chauncey Gilliam and Brian Walsh, I'm assuming that both will begin on the bench and work their way into one of Dambrot's many starting lineups when the team hits conference play.

Football:

The team has now had 8 Spring practices, and has been working on execution of the 2-minute drill. Here's Offensive Coordinator John Latina's take on it:


Random Oddness: Our Offensive Coordinator's last name means "a female from Latin America" in Spanish.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Roo News 3/29/11

Football:

The team has now been through four practices, and play their Spring game on April 16th. According to head coach Rob Ianello, the coaching staff is being smart about how hard they work the limited number of both offensive and defensive linemen.

Men's Soccer:

Now 3-1 in their Spring exhibition schedule, the Zips took down Michigan and Oakland, both 1-0 victories. The goals were scored by Chad Barson and a new transfer from Loyola-Chicago, Kayvon Afsarifard. I am only slightly worried that the only goals came from defensive players, as teams are not nearly as aggressive in exhibition play.

The "new Zips", with 7 new starters, play a home exhibition against Maryland on Saturday at 2pm.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Roo News 3/17/11

Sorry for the delay, folks. Research project and blogging logistics...you know, the usual.

1) You've heard about it by now, but the Zips won the MAC Championship game and have advanced to the NCAA tournament, the only team from the MAC to do so. They've been seeded #15 and play the #2 seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish tomorrow at 1:30pm on TBS. It's going to be a long shot, obviously, but as Kevin Garnett would say...


One of those moments that almost make you like the guy, until you remember he's a complete and total idiot on the basketball court.

2) It's amazing what a single 9-block game will do for a guy. Zeke Marshall went from being a completely overrated pickup for Akron, to a "major talent", who Akron "hit it big" with. Now, looking at this as a huge Akron fan, I'm kind of pumped; but from an unbiased perspective, I'm not so sure he's a major talent at this point. In two years, yes, and I absolutely can't wait to see it. But when a 7-footer averages just 3.9 rebounds a game....

3) Here's a neat read on the Zips men's soccer picks in the MLS SuperDraft. I was really surprised to see Ampaipatakwong go so low, but I really hope the system fits him at San Jose.

Friday, March 11, 2011

No Title Can Describe That Game

Keith Dambrot and the Akron Zips deserve an accolade for yesterday's 82-75 double OT victory in the MAC Quarterfinals. Nothing was going the Zips' way.

Akron started the game with incredible defense, leading 26-10 halfway through. Miami shot a lousy 4-22 in the first half, setting a new MAC tournament record for fewest points scored in the first half. The Zips started the second half with the same intensity, quickly increasing the lead to 20 points. That was when the Redhawks began to pick it up, shooting 15-27 the rest of the game. With over 8 minutes left to play, Nikola Cvetinovic fouled out by lightly breathing on Julian Mavunga, the MAC's version of an NBA superstar. Zeke Marshall also had 4 fouls at this time.

Speaking of the Marshmallow, give him some serious credit for the way he played yesterday's game. Dambrot was forced to play him with Cvetinovic out so early on. He played with tremendous poise, avoiding the fifth foul until 1:20 remained on the clock.

Now before I get to the end of the game and the two overtimes, I need to point out exactly how bad MAC officials are. There were plenty of horrendous calls throughout the game, but the worst of those all went towards Miami and LeBron Mavunga. Or maybe Julian Wade. Amar'e Stoudevunga? (By the way, he shot 19 free throws in this game).

1) Mavunga, under the hoop, shouldered Mike Bardo so hard it dislodged him from his position. The result? Two free throws for Mavunga.

2) Brett McKnight, standing behind Mavunga as he shot a layup, reached up and pulled the ball out of his hands. The ball rolled back to him. The only way this could have happened is if McKnight had made contact with the top of the ball. Mavunga's hands, obviously, were on each side. The result? Two free throws for Mavunga.

3) In the second overtime, McKnight stole the ball from a Redhawk player underneath the Akron basket. He immediately went for the layup. Miami's Quinten Rollins slammed his arm down in the middle of McKnight's arms hard enough to send the 6'7" power forward careening to the ground, nearly head-first. The slap was nowhere close to the ball. Intentional foul, right? That's two free throws AND possession to Akron, right? Nope. That's a normal foul. That kind of stuff is normal. Happens every day.

Now that I've vented my frustration for basketball officiating as a whole...

After a back and forth first overtime, the Zips found themselves down 75-74 in the second with 3:21 to play. After Mavunga bricked two free throws, Alex Abreu was left wide open for a three, which he promptly drained. After two more Miami misses, and two more Miami missed free throws, Brett McClanahan sealed the deal with another 3-pointer, putting the Zips up 80-75 with :32 left.

McClanahan finished with a team-leading 20 points, a team-leading 9 rebounds, an assist and a steal. I am so glad we have this guy next year.

Brett McKnight also had an incredible game, with 16 points, 6 rebounds, an assist and 2 steals. He finished the double-overtime game with only 2 fouls. I am not glad we don't have this guy next year.

Cvetinovic ended with 10 points and 7 rebounds. I'd have loved to see his stats if he hadn't fouled out 18 minutes before the game's end.

The Zips play Western Michigan at 7pm tonight on STO. I'm a little worried about the fatigue level through the rest of this tournament, but the good news is Cvetinovic and Marshall are better-rested than the rest of the Zips, thanks to fouling out early.

Watch out, Western Michigan. Akron is a heckuva lot better than a 6 seed.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

MAC Quarterfinals

Alright, this is getting hectic. Here's a quick recap/preview of Tuesday's/today's MAC First Round/Quarterfinal game.

I said that the Zips would defeat Eastern Michigan if they had a passing game. The Zips had a passing game. They won. Alex Abreu led the team with 5 assists, and it was a very well-played team game all-around. Four Zips players were between the 10-13 point range. Zeke Marshall grabbed 9 rebounds to lead the team in that department, along with 3 blocks.

Also of note, the appearance of Steve McNees in Tuesday's game placed him at the top of the list in career games played, with 137 (he ties Chris McKnight).

With that win, the Zips advance to the quarterfinals, in a televised 2:30pm match with Miami (Ohio). Akron lost on Miami's home court earlier this season, but made up for it with a 17-point beatdown at the JAR just a couple of weeks ago.

The good news is, Keith Dambrot is a tournament master with the Zips. Not only are the Zips 3-0 in opening round games under Dambrot, but 13-5 overall. Their record in the MAC tournament without him under the helm? A measly 1-7. However, that tournament mastery seems to end with the title game, as the Zips have dropped 3 of 4 MAC championships.

Tune in to STO in just a couple of hours. Or set your DVR. It's gonna be a good one.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

The MAC Tournament Begins

Akron has grabbed the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament, earning a home first round game against 9-21 Eastern Michigan. If the Zips win, they advance to the second round (hosted in Quicken Loans Arena) to play the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks.

When these two teams met in the season, the Eagles took a 60-56 victory. Nik Cvetinovic grabbed a monstrous 16 rebounds, but the Zips were out-assisted 17-7 (very typical). If Akron can actually get a passing game going, this game will be a no-brainer.

The game is at 7pm, untelevised, so head out to the JAR for a good game.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Thus The Winning Streak Ends

The men's basketball team did a marvelous job of stopping Nick Kellogg and Tommy Freeman from three-point range yesterday, holding them to 0-4 and 1-6, respectively. However, they forgot all about D.J. Cooper, who went off for 8-13 shooting (7-10 from beyond the arc) to lead the game with 25 points. Oh, and he also had 9 assists.

I guess I forgot the mention that the Zips lost 80-55 TO THE BOBCATS! What is it about these guys? They're 17-13 yet they've managed to steamroll us through both games this year, not to mention taking the MAC Championship out of our hands the previous season.

Alex Abreu led the Zips with 11 points off of 4-6 shooting (3-3 from 3-pt range). Unfortunately he forgot how to pass the ball...0 assists, 5 turnovers.

Brett McKnight followed with 10 points, from 4-9 shooting (2-6 from 3-pt range). No other Zips scored more than 8.

Zeke Marshall had a decent 8 points off of 3-5 shooting, and also sent 3 balls into the stands to set the school block record in a single season. Congratulations, Zeke. Now get some rebounds.

Speaking of which, Brett McKnight and Quincy Diggs led the team in rebounding yesterday with...3 rebounds each...and facepalms ensue. The team as a whole was outrebounded 40-21. That's just embarassing.

Just in case I haven't done a well-enough job of describing exactly how bad this game was, here's a line from GoZips.com recap:

The Zips would begin to crawl back into the game after trailing 54-24 with 15:38 to go. Akron used a 7-0 run over the next three-plus minutes to cut the OU advantage to 54-31 with 12:20 on the second-half clock. The Zips would not reduce the lead any further.

The next Zips game is Friday against Kent State. It will be televised nationally on ESPN2 at 7pm. Tune in to watch KSUck.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Roo News, 3/1/11

1) The full football schedule has been released, although since the non-conference schedule was already out, there aren't any real surprises.

Sat, Sept. 3 @Ohio State
Sat, Sept. 10 Temple
Sat, Sept. 17 @Cincinnati
Sat, Sept. 24 VMI
Sat, Oct. 1 @Eastern Michigan
Sat, Oct. 8 FIU
Sat, Oct. 22 Ohio
Sat, Oct. 29 Central Michigan
Thu, Nov. 3 @Miami (Ohio) ESPNU
Sat, Nov. 12 Kent State
Sat, Nov. 19 @Buffalo
Fri, Nov. 25 @Western Michigan ESPNU

Other than the quick Thursday away game (after a home game just a few days before) the schedule looks great. The team will almost certainly start 0-3 (although it's always a close game with Cincinnati), but if Ianello can keep them focused after those three games, what should be easy wins against VMI, Eastern Michigan and FIU follow. A 3-3 Akron Zips team at that point is a very realistic possibility. After that it's a matter of taking control of the home games against Ohio, Central Michigan and Kent State. Three wins there (or during the three late away games) would make us bowl eligible for the first time since 2005.

Also, why is this the year that the only televised games are away games? For three years I've gotten into games for free for being a student, and almost all of the televised games have been home games. Now they switch? Criminal.

2) For the second time this season, Nikola Cvetinovic was named the MAC East Player of the Week. He's been marvelous lately, shooting 66.7% from the floor and an incredible (compared to the last two years) 88.2% from the free throw line (15-17).

3) Speaking of the men's basketball team, they take their 7-game win streak to Ohio today at 7pm. This is going to be a great game, so it's a real disappointment that it's not being televised. The Horizon League televises its games for free online. Hear that, MAC? Probably not.

The key to this game will lie in the matchup between Alex Abreu and Ohio's D.J. Cooper. These two are both flashy point guards, and last time Cooper completely outplayed Abreu, dishing out a ridiculous 15 assists.

As much trouble as the Bobcats generally give us, our three-point defense has improved tremendously from the last matchup, when Nick Kellogg and Tommy Freeman together shot 11-17 from beyond the arc.

4) The women's basketball team also has a big game, coming tomorrow at home against Kent State. Even though KSUcks, their women's basketball team currently stands at 19-8. Kara Murphy, the Zips' only senior, will be honored at halftime.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Charlie Coles Is Hilarious

In yesterday's post, I said the keys to the game against Miami (Ohio) would be defending the three-pointer and keeping Julian Mavunga out of the paint. The Redhawks were held to 5-23 (21.7%) shooting from beyond the arc. Julian Mavunga scored just 14 points, only getting to the line 6 times (in comparison with 15 the last time these two teams met).

The Zips won 72-55. And they look like the Zips that we've seen for the last few years.

Nik Cvetinovic once again gets my game MVP award. 21 points, from 8-11
shooting (5-6 from the line), 9 rebounds, 3 assists (and 3 turnovers), and just 2 personal fouls in 30 minutes.

Brett McKnight was a bit shaky in the post, but finished with 15 points on 6-12 shooting and 6 rebounds.

Alex Abreu's stats don't look too flashy (8 points, 3-4 shooting, 3 assists), but he single-handedly brought the Zips into this game. Akron missed 10 out of their first 13 shots and just looked groggy until Abreu sank two three-pointers.

Brett McClanahan had a bad day, shooting 0-4 and not grabbing a single rebound. Quincy Diggs started rough, but made a clutch steal near the end that kept the momentum in Akron's favor.

Lastly, Miami head coach Charlie Coles is flippin' awesome. I think I'm in love with that old codger.


Not only are the Redhawks a well-coached, well-disciplined team, but even in the midst of losing badly near the end of last night's game, Coles was fist-pumping and joking around with the AK Rowdies during a "Charlie!" chant.

The next men's basketball game is home Saturday against Buffalo at 7pm. Seniors Brett McKnight, Darryl Roberts, Steve McNees and Mike Bardo will be recognized.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Jam The JAR

The Zips are returning for two home games this week at the perfect time; riding a 5-game win streak. The first game is tonight at 7pm against Miami (Ohio).

There are still plenty of tickets available, so come watch the Zips fight for a first round bye in the MAC tournament. The first matchup between these two teams resulted in an 84-76 loss, but this is a completely different Akron team. The key will be defending the 3-point shot and keeping Julian Mavunga out of the paint. He shot 15 free throws in the last go-'round.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Creighton's Been BracketBusted

The Zips capitalized on a poor-shooting game from Creighton to grab a 76-67 victory yesterday, in ESPNU's BracketBuster shindig. That makes 5 wins in a row for a team that was rather inconsistent just a few weeks ago.

Brett McKnight stepped up in a big way, shooting 9-13 for 21 points and a steal. Strangely enough, that did not come with a single rebound.

Nik Cvetinovic has been the team MVP this year in my book. He's not always there offensively (in terms of percentage), but his defensive effort and intensity never go away. He finished yesterday 7-14 for 19 points, with 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. He was also 5-6 from the free throw line, an area he struggled greatly in last year.

Another solid game from Alex Abreu: 2-4 shooting, 5-7 from the line, for 9 points, 3 assists and 2 steals, all in just 14 minutes.

And then there's Zeke Marshallow....that's probably enough said, but just in case you don't believe me: 1-6 shooting, 2 points, 3 rebounds (HE'S 7'0"!!!!), an assist, a block, and a steal. And 5 personal fouls. In 13 minutes. Holy cow.


The Zips are at home Wednesday against Miami (OH).

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Zips Defeat Ball State. Twice.

Men's Basketball:

The Zips have looked like a good team for the first time this year recently, and reinforced it yesterday with a 75-60 victory over Ball State. Five Akron players scored at least 10 points and Mike Bardo stepped up in Zeke Marshall's absence, who was in foul trouble for most of the game. Only playing 12 minutes didn't stop Marshall from setting the new Akron sophomore block record, now with 60 on the season.

Steve McNees led the team in scoring with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. He also scored the first points off of an aggressive drive, which really set the tempo for the rest of the game.

Nikola Cvetinovic played another excellent defensive game, grabbing 8 rebounds, but also put up 13 points and nabbed 2 assists.

Brett McKnight played another game with less than 20 minutes, but scored 12 points on 3-6 shooting (3-5 from 3-point range) and grabbed 3 rebounds.

Alex Abreu was only 2-7 shooting, but played an aggressive game and ended at 7-8 from the line, with 11 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.

Ball State was a one-man show. Jarrod Jones scored 19 points off of 9-14 shooting and grabbed 8 rebounds. They had 14 turnover's to Akron's 8.


Women's Basketball:
My DVR decided to record a grand total of 0 minutes of this game, instead of 3 hours, and I'm still feeling a bit salty about it. Not only did the lady Zips grab a 78-65 victory over Ball State, but Taylor Ruper set a new Zips record for three-pointers in a single game with 8. She shot 8-10 from beyond the arc, and 9-13 total to finish with 26 points, tying her career high.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Zips Basketball Saturday

For those that don't know (because I haven't posted it...d'oh!) there's a Zips doubleheader going on today. Both the women's and men's basketball teams will be playing Ball State at home. Both games are being televised on SportsTime Ohio; the women at 5 and the men at 7:30.

Also, time for a rare Cavaliers sidenote. Go. Cavs. Holy cow, that was a great game yesterday. I sincerely hope LeBron was watching that game. Very few teams in the NBA (and definitely not the Miami Heat) are able to draw 20,000 people a night on a 20+ game losing streak. Some of the best fans in the league are in Cleveland. Enjoy your time in South Beach, LeBron. I'm sure it's worth it.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Roo News 2/3/11

1) The men's basketball team lost yesterday's game at Eastern Michigan 60-56. It was a poor shooting night for both squads, with the Eagles shooting 40.8% and the Zips just 30.6%.

Eastern Michigan's Brandon Bowdry was the easy MVP of the game, shooting 9-15 for 25 points and 12 rebounds.

Nik Cvetinovic had a monster night on the boards, pulling in 16 total (10 offensive!). He also had 13 points. Zeke Marshall led the Zips in scoring with 15, to go with 7 boards.

The Zips travel to Toledo on Saturday.

2) The women's basketball squad dropped another conference game to Toledo, falling to 2-7 in conference play. Rachel Tecca had yet another double-double (her 10th of the season...so does that make it a double-double-double?). To be fair, the Rockets are leading the MAC at the moment. The lady Zips next head to 9-13 (3-6) Northern Illinois for a 4pm Saturday matchup.

3) The football team signed 23 total players to the squad. It breaks down to:

5 offensive linemen
4 defensive backs
4 defensive linemen
3 running backs
3 quarterbacks
2 linebackers
1 wide receiver
1 kicker

And a partridge in a pear tree. What does this all mean? Well, we at least know we have some depth at quarterback now. Maybe having his job threatened will help make Patrick Nicely a better passer. Probably not.

The large number of linemen and running backs is also a great thing. The linemen because our offensive line was so horrid last year, the running backs because, well...we don't have any good ones now that Alex Allen is gone.

The 1 wide receiver worries me. We were really stretched last year halfway through the season.

We'll see if Rob Ianello lives up to his reputation as a top-25 recruiter. Heck, dare we hope to win 2 games this season?

You can see a more detailed summary and player profiles for this year's recruiting class here.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Defensive Domination on National TV

After six MAC games, the Zips had the worst three-point defense in the conference. Yesterday evening, Central Michigan was held to 29.4% from beyond the arc; and hey, whaddaya know! We won 63-43!

So let's get down to it. All in all, the Zips played phenomenal basketball. They took their time on the offensive end (which is always when they're at their best) and let Alex Abreu run the show when he was on the floor. One of the strongest points of this year's team is that almost everybody on the team can sprint the floor on defense, and handle the ball well on offense.

The Great:

- Zeke Marshall. His rebounding wasn't great (only 3), but he stayed out of foul trouble and shot 5-5 from the floor and 6-8 from the line to lead the team with 16 points.

- Nikola Cvetinovic, the reason Zeke Marshall only grabbed three rebounds. The Serbian Wonder pulled in 10 rebounds along with 8 points.

- Mike Bardo; a season-high 6 rebounds in 12 minutes. I like this guy. Pure hustle when he's on the court.

The Good:

- Steve McNees. He finished with 9 points, all from threes (go figure) and led the team with 4 assists.

- Alex Abreu. He's just fun to watch. He's also going to be pretty darn good in the next few years. He finished with 6 points (2-6, 1-3 from three-point range) and 3 assists.

- Quincy Diggs played the sixth-man role perfectly, shooting 3-4 for 8 points and 4 rebounds. Unfortunately he also had 4 turnovers.

The Not So Good, But We Won So I Can't Really Call It Awful:

- Brett McKnight. I don't know what happened to him. He finished this game 1-4, 2 points, 1 rebound, a steal, and 3 fouls. I wouldn't think that missing 7 games would affect a senior this badly, especially the former Sixth Man of the Year in the MAC, but other than one 21 point game this year, he's been out of it.

That's all folks! No televised games for a while, but the Zips travel to Eastern Michigan this Wednesday for a 7pm matchup.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Roo News 1/28/11

1) The 2011 non-conference football schedule has been released. Here are the first four games of next season:

Sat, Sept. 3: @ Ohio State
Sat, Sept. 10: FIU
Sat, Sept. 17: at Cincinnati
Sat, Sept. 24: VMI

I like this. We all knew that first tune-up away game against a Big Ten team was coming. Cincinnati is a great team as well, but one that we generally play well against. That will probably be a 5-15 point loss. In terms of the home games, the rare Sun Belt/MAC matchup against FIU should be a good home opener, and as long as the FCS match against VMI doesn't turn out like last year's soul-crushing overtime loss to Gardner-Webb, we may see a 2-2 Zips team going into conference play.

2) The men's basketball team has another televised game on Sunday, so if you're not willing to pay the $15 to watch it live, tune in to ESPNU at 6pm.

3) Did anybody else watch the Knicks beat the Heat last night? Aaah, that's just good for the heart.


Thursday, January 27, 2011

It's a Bird! It's a Donkey! No, It's a MAC Official!

Another incredibly disappointing televised loss for the men's basketball team yesterday. I'll just cut to the chase. The final score was 83-74. Northern Illinois shot 44.4% while the Zips shot 41.8%. But the Zips connected on 5 more three-pointers than the Huskies, while winning that percentage battle by 8.4%. So why was the score this bad with stats like that, you ask?

It could have been due to the Huskies outrebounding the Zips 43-34.

It wasn't.

It may have been because of the following statistics:

Akron was 6-12 in free throw shooting for the game. NIU's Xavier Silas was 16-20. NIU as a team shot 29-40.

Read that again. Yep. Silas had 8 more free throws than the entire Zips team. The rest of the Huskies had an additional 20.

The announcers immediately chalked it up to the lack of aggressive play from Akron. I agree...that some of it was due to a lot of jump shooting from the Zips.

Folks, it may look bad on paper; it looked a lot worse on television. At the end of the game, five Akron players had 4 fouls, including Alex Abreu, who totaled 14 minutes on the court.

Whatever the issue, the Zips are now 2-4 in the MAC and need to get themselves going. Bad officiating happens (*cough cough* every game in the MAC *cough*). It's part of the game. The Zips need to play better than the refs if they want to make it to the tournament this year.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Roo News 1/21/11

1) The men's basketball team has been doing their usual MAC-play tanking, losing their last two to Buffalo and Miami (OH). They're now 10-8 (1-3 MAC) and play 8-10 (3-1 MAC) Bowling Green Saturday. The game will be on SportsTime Ohio at 7:30pm, so tune in. So far this year, the Zips have been controlling the ball incredibly well, forcing an average of around 4 turnovers more than they give away; however, the rebounding hasn't been pretty. Unless Zeke Marshmallow steps up again, it will more of the same story against Bowling Green.

2) The lady Zips have also been losing their in-conference games and are now 8-9 (1-4 MAC). They also play Saturday, also on SportsTime Ohio, at 5pm against 12-7 (3-2 MAC) Eastern Michigan. Anybody that has a ticket for the men's game gets into the women's game for free. So go. Or face the wrath of Zippy.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

A Day of Zero Wins

Ugh....

The Zips had won 6 of their last 7, and 4 straight home games; so it's only natural that the first game in this stretch I attended had a quite hideous result.

Ugh....

This was the worst Zips basketball game I have ever seen. In so many ways. Zeke Marshall once again countered a wonderful game with another one of his worst performances. The effort of the team in general was nowhere to be found for the first part of the first half. The officiating....oh, boy, the officiating....had the crowd leaning over the barrier, screaming at the referees just 7 minutes into the game; and it never got better. Steve McNees exchanged rather obscene words with an idiot AK Rowdie sitting one row ahead of me. The coaches and assistants (the coaches and assistants!) got into some sort of scrum just after the final whistle that involved athletic director Tom Wistrcill having to hold some people back. Nik Cvetinovic and Ohio forward DeVaughn Washington nearly attacked each other during above-mentioned scrum.

Ugh....

Oh yeah, did I mention the Zips lost to the 7-8 Ohio Bobcats 79-70 thanks to some horrible play, horrible effort, and horrible officiating?

The Great:

- The point guard matchup between Alex Abreu and middle-schooler-lookalike D.J. Cooper. Both made some serious eye-opening plays. The advantage on the night went to Cooper, who had just three turnovers. Abreu had seven, at least five of which bounced off the hands of his fellow Zips, including some behind-the-back brilliance to Zeke Marshmallow.

The Good:

- Ugh....

The Facepalm-causing Awful:

- Everybody's shooting. Let's see, 5-13, 3-9, 2-8, 2-7, 4-10...the Zips shot a tremendous 28.6% in the first half, following up with 41.5% in the second. Compare this to a Bobcat game percentage of 52.9%.

- Zeke Marshmallow's hands. Oh, and Mike Bardo's hands...and Quincy Diggs's...

- The aforementioned idiot AK Rowdie.

- Defense. Bobcats Nick Kellogg and Tommy Freeman shot 6-9 and 5-8 from beyond the arc, respectively.

- Probably anything else you can think of.

In slightly less disappointing news, the women's basketball team also lost yesterday, to the 15-1 Bowling Green Falcons. It's slightly less disappointing because there was effort involved. Four Zips finished in double digits, but nobody could handle Bowling Green's Lauren Prochaska, who shot 11-16 and finished with 28 points.

The men next travel to Buffalo for a 2pm Sunday game and the women return home for a 2pm Saturday matchup against the 9-7 Miami Redhawks.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Zip > Flash

1) Zeke Marshmallow no more! Why, oh why couldn't I have been at this game? The Zips men's basketball team pulled off a truly clutch 65-62 win over Kent State (KSUcks!).

The Great:

- Zeke Marshall and his late 8-0 scoring run to lead the Zips to the victory. He finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

- Brett McKnight's shooting. He was only 5/10 from the field, but 2/3 from beyond the arc and 7/9 from the line to end with 19 points.

The Mediocre:

- Everybody else aside from the three mentioned below.

The Come On, Man:

- The shooting of Steve McNees, Brett McClanahan and Nikola Cvetinovic, who combined to shoot 4/8 from the line, 3/13 from downtown, and 5/23 overall.

The next men's game is home on Wednesday against Ohio at 7pm. The Bobcats always put up a heck of a fight. I'll be there, dorkily keeping stats on the roster.

The women also won their game Saturday, downing the lady Bobcats 54-45. Rachel Tecca led the team with 19 points off of 8/18 shooting. Kara Murphy shot 6/13 for 13 points, and Taylor Ruper knocked in three treys for 9 points overall. The lady Zips face a challenge on the road against 13-1 Bowling Green on Wednesday.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Roo News 1/8/11

1) My moving is all done. Classes are starting again. Zips Sports Blog is back up and running. Oh yeah.

2) The men's basketball team has been rambling through the non-conference schedule while I've been gone. Of the last 6 games, the only loss has come to Miami (FL). The Zips now are 9-5. Their five losses have come to aforementioned Miami, #20 Minnesota, Temple, Cleveland State, and Dayton. If I (or anybody) had to pick the five games on the schedule that I would rather have the team lose, there's no doubt that those five would come to mind. Every single one of them is a tournament-quality team.

3) The women's basketball team is 7-6. They dropped their MAC opener to Buffalo, but take on 4-10 Ohio at noon today. The game can be seen on SportsTime Ohio.

4) The big game is today; so naturally I am going to miss it thanks to a poorly-timed soccer game. The men's team takes on Kent State at home later today at 7pm (Also on SportsTime Ohio). Kent State has a good team this year, similar to the team that drubbed us twice last year. Also, Dambrot doesn't do well against the Golden Flashes; his all-time record against them is 5-9. Look for tomorrow's celebratory recap.