wrote this is wildbill's thread, may as well copy to here:
Akron has won 17 straight, longest streak in the nation. Despite this, they have largely played down to the level of their opponents, just getting by against teams that they are much better than.
Akron's coach has described ND St's style of play as kind of a combination of Princeton and Wisconsin, meaning slow and methodical wihile stressing Defense. I think that is telling because Akron has played Princeton as well as Eastern Mich. In both games Akron struggled until pulling both out late. In both games Akron failed to cover this first half line.
Brian Walsh, Akron's statrting 2 guard and most reliable 3 pt shooter WILL NOT play after rolling his anlkle in practice. He is also a really good rebounder, for a guard. His loss carries a lot of weight because Akron is expecting the Bison to play a lot of packed in zone to force the Zips to shoot over it. Akron does have a couple of 6'7" freshmen that have good ability but have been inconsistent. Either could go off for 17 and both could be shut out. No way to tell what McAddams and Kretzer bring until you see it unfold.
Akron should enjoy a large size advantage which should get them some 2nd chance pts in the paint. Marshall and Treadwell can be a load and difficult to defend. W/O looking, I think Nd St's biggest starter is 6'8"
Akron is a very poor FT shooting team and walsh is probably the best they have when it comes to closing out games. This is an important factor
I initially thought the line might be a little light but given the factors above it is difficult to say. I'll be attending and so far I have made a play on the first ten minute and first half under. If the number moves up I will probably back the Bison in a first half play and possibly make a move at the half depending on how things look on the floor.
Gl
