The Zips (24-11) needed a week to objectively reflect on their 2007-08 season.
By then, the sting of a 68-63 loss at UMass in the second round of the NIT subsided enough to accurately evaluate Akron's third straight 20-win season.
The Zips took a 58-46 lead over the Minutemen with 8:36 to play and were outscored 22-5 to end the game.
"We ran out of gas," fourth-year Akron coach Keith Dambrot said. "It went right to the wire. We could have won the game. We made some bad plays the last five minutes."
Despite the collapse, the Zips proved to themselves and the college basketball world that Akron is among the overlooked Division I men's programs. They also proved that last year's NIT snub was a gross error.
After a frustrating loss to Kent State in the MAC tournament championship game, the Zips rallied 72 hours later to win 65-60 in overtime at Florida State. With two wins in the MAC tourney and the NIT win at FSU, the Zips met any reasonable expectations for 2007-08.
Furthermore, when factoring in the fluid state of the roster for most of the season, Akron probably overachieved. The loss of 1,000-point seniors Jeremiah Wood, Nick Dials, and Cedrick Middleton will create a huge void.
The challenge of getting to the NCAA Tournament is left for a talented group of underclassmen. They senio trio has no reason to hang their head -- they put Akron back on the college basketball map.
Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.
Hey guys, I'm trying to set up a sim league starting next season, where a simulator plays out the game and gives you realistic scores and stuff, and your Zips are still available! If you are interested or have any questions feel free to e-mail me at dosegorillaz@aim.com.
...(more)
just so everyone knows, we will no longer be looking at jim christian on the other side of the court. he decided to ditch kent and the mac for the big powerhouse of the west in TCU.
Although, we only got to the second round of the NIT, it was exciting to watch our guys play well and compete against quality non-conference teams. There is alot that has been said about Dambrot's philosophy on not scheduling bigger and better teams just because they won't agree to come to play in the JAR. Our RPI was well into the 100s just because of this philosophy, and i
lol... that made my day. They tied the record with 10 points in the first half which is the fewest since the shot clock era in college basketball... couldn't be anymore happy
With Kent doing so well and having a decent OCS could this be the year MAC gets two teams in? I figure if Kent losed in the MAC Finals they have a great shot of getting an at large bid into the NCAA tournament...what are your thoughts?
