Akron vs. Miami - Running game notes

Men's basketball

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For those of you who have been asking, I got my grades back today. It have been freaking out about it for the past month. Anyhow, they turned out better than I could've hoped. Thanks for the support and advice.
Bowling Green beat Ohio today, 52-49. That's the surprise of the day. Also, Western Michigan beat Northern Illinois, 86-69.
The look on Steve Swiech's face is priceless when he's focused. It's the expression of a person who just jumped into an icy lake.
Now that we are 13 games into the season and Nick Dials is settling in at point guard, I think Akron should redshirt Ronnie Steward. I'll bet Keith Dambrot is thinking the same thing, but I'll ask anyhow after the game.
Attendance looks really good in the bleachers along the sideline. The baseline bleachers are better than normal. The most glaring hole is one of the student sections. The Rowdies have the other one filled.
The Miami people on press row are all wearing red. How cute.
Jimmy Conyers is starting in place of Chris McKnight. Unless the opponent has two post threats, I like this lineup more. Conyers is guarding Tim Pollitz. Nate Linhart will probably guard Michael Bramos when he comes off the bench.
Crowd noise is pretty good. Dials is doing his best to pump everyone up.
Steve McNees is guarding Eric Pollitz, and not very well. Even I could prevent Pollitz from penetrating.
Miami is really harassing Jeremiah Wood by double-teaminig him with both post players, rather than with a guard. The PD's Elton Alexander says that's the same method Kent State uses.
Knock on wood, but Pollitz and Bramos have been quiet. Miami's offense really hasn't found a rhythm.
I know I compliment McNees a lot, but I really, really, really love his shot. He just crushed the RedHawks with three consecutive 3-point swishes. Before the shot, Elton said the game is over if Akron made a 3, then stopped Miami, the game is over. Akron stopped Miami on the next possession. Now that the game is "over," Elton and the ABJ's Tom Gaffney have a 25 cent bet that the Zips win by 10.
These fans are going absolutely nuts. A fan just yelled to McNees to "shoot it from there" when he was crossing half court. The Zips finished the half with a 18-0 run. McNees had 14 of them. He's at a career high already with 17 total. I'm giving him a nickname: McThrees.
The halftime show was amazing. The Red Panda Acrobat rode an elevated unicycle and flipped cups with her foot onto her head. If I weren't so lazy, I'd make a public records request to find out how much the university paid to bring her here. It was probably worth it. The crowd loved her.
There might be a point in this game where Akron should let up. The Zips could play the RedHawks twice more this season. There's no reason to embarass a team and motivate them. Akron is slowing the tempo, so maybe that's what Dambrot has in mind.
Cedrick Middleton, Linhart and Dials are all having slow games offensively. I'm sure his knee is still sore, but Middleton has been inconsistent in scoring from game to game. He has not been a guy you can count on to get 10 to 15 points.
Miami is on a 9-0 run. I sort of expected the Zips to cool down and maybe get tired. While Miami rested this week, the Zips were in a double-overtime game against a top-25 team.
This just in: Jabari Arthur will play in the Hula Bowl. Nate Robinson will play in the East-West Shrine Game.
Miami is shooting 50 percent, yet still getting its tailfeather kicked. That is a unique statistic and one you'll usually see only for a careless, inexperienced team -- not one coached by a basketball purist like Charlie Coles.
The university is treating these fans to a great show. The atmosphere has been great. The sideshows were entertaining. The Zips are playing hard. I have a hunch a lot of these people will be back.
Buffalo is next for Akron. It's a road game and will start at 7 p.m. Saturday.
There are only three MAC games tonight. The other batch is tomorrow. Kent State is at Buffalo, Toledo is at Ball State and Central Michigan is at Eastern Michigan. My picks are Kent, Toledo and Central Michigan.
Final score - Akron 69, Miami 54