Catching up on some leftover stuff from visiting the Akron Zips practice on Monday:

–Humpty Hitchens said his ankle feels much better. He did not practice Monday, but coach Keith Dambrot said that was just to take care of him. Hitchens said he should be fine on Thursday. "What I learned after that Tournament game," Dambrot said, "was that he's so fast when he's fresh we may as well get him fresh."

–Coach Keith Dambrot knows how good Gonzaga is, and can be. "They're beating the Pac-10 on players," he said. Two of the trees on the frontline are transfers – from Kansas and Arizona. "They're not really a mid-major," Dambrot said.

–Does Dambrot think this draw is too challenging? "We were going to play somebody good regardless," he said. "The hardest part of it is the trip. But we've been through enough stuff, it doesn't matter."

–Dambrot thinks Joe Carr, the psychologist he brought in to talk to the team prior to and during the MAC Tournament, made a big difference. "He calmed me," Dambrot said. "We're such good friends that he makes me look at things a little differently. H's not always right, but at least he makes me look at things different."

–Concrete example of the positive effect: Dambrot said he did not feel a lot of nervousness when his team fell behind against Miami. Instead, he and his team stayed calm and came back.

–Concrete example II: Carr talked with Chris McKnight at length about doing all the little things, especially rebounding. McKnight had two double-digit rebounding games after averaging ?.? for the season.

–Miami coach Charlie Coles said this about Akron after their regular-season game: "People better get 'em this year, because you won't be able to next year."

–The trip will be long, but Dambrot is confident his team will play well. Of 35 games this season. "That's an amazing number of road and neutral games, to win as many as they did," he said. "At times they've played better on the road than they have at home. Sometimes at home they probably play outside themselves a little bit. They have friends and family here. On the road, they play better as a team."

–The key to winning the MAC? "Our guard play was tremendous," Dambrot said. Backup Steve McNees earned some Tournament MVP votes for the way he stepped in for Humpt. "And Darryl (Roberts) was just as good," Dambrot said.

–Some coaches have very strict substitution patterns. Not Dambrot. His go totally by feel, or as he said "total gut." If it seems like organized chaos, well it's because it is. "I have a basic idea how I want to go to begin with, but then I go by feel," he said.

–This is why Akron should be able to stay in any game: The Zips gave up 58.9 points per game this season, 19^th best in the nation.

–But Gonzaga sounds like a confident team heading into Thursday night

–Not many folks who voted here think the Zips can pull off an upset.

–Gonzaga coach Mark Few concedes: "We're capable of losing in the first round." The same link has a nice rundown on Gonzaga's state of mind and state of the team as the game approaches.

This is a challenging day. I must try to figure where the Akron Zips might play in the NCAA tournament while trying to get over the shock that the parish where I grew up – St. James in Lakewood – is closing. It kind of takes a piece of yourself away from you. I reserve the right to blog more about this emotional occurrence at a later time.

As for the Zips, there was a lot of speculation last night after Akron's win in the MAC Tournament Final that UA could wind up in any of three places: Greensboro, Dayton or Philadelphia. But the committee also must put Ohio State in a nearby locale, and the Big Ten team is going to get the preferred low-miles road trip. So expect the Buckeyes to play in Dayton. Where Akron goes is anyone's guess.

The seed will be problematic. Most feel it will be a 13 or 14, but some worry that the Zips' RPI of 106 might doom it to a 16 seed.  That could set up a first-round game against Pitt or North Carolina.

I don't think Akron merits that low a seed, though. Winning the MAC should earn UA at least a 14^th seed, perhaps a 13. And many of the predictors agree … though they do have the Zips making a long road trip. EPSN has the Zips in Portland (Oregon) as a 13 seed playing Purdue. SI.com has them in Portland as well, also as the 13^th seed playing Washington. CBSSports.com has them in the same place with the same opponent. (Maybe somebody out there knows the definitive bracket predictor; if so, I invite them to post the link in the comments.)

It's really something that this Zips team won the MAC after it lost five 1,000-point scorers the last two years. This year's team didn't return a guy who averaged double figures. Expectations were minimal, at best.

It sounds trite, but this season's team showed the value of a team. The Zips had nobody who averaged a ton of points. They worked together, played together and played defense as if there was lighter fluid in their shoes. It relied on 10 players, three of whom are freshmen and three of whom are sophomores. They played together, and won together. And they did it that way in the tournament. Brett McKnight was outstanding. Humpty Hitchens helped win the first round game, and when he got hurt Steve McNees stepped in and played outstanding. Darryl Roberts contributed big play after big play. Nate Linhart was all over the court. (Linhart was named tournament MVP, but my vote went to McNees). Chris McKnight rebounded like a madman. So many helped.

Good for them, and good for coach Keith Dambrot and his staff.

Mike Rasor's outstanding blog on the Zips has some thoughts and emotions, and an excellent live rundown of the game, which of course at this point would not be live.

Ed Suba Jr. posted some outstanding photos from the game.

My column in the Beacon Journal is here.

Tom Gaffney wrote that UA "believed in itself when others didn't and proved to be a team of destiny."

The Plain Dealer's Elton Alexander wrote: "The 16 points delivered by sophomore forward Brett McKnight and the inspirational boost from freshman Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens' 10 first-half points were icing on the cake."

And Bill Livingston of the PD opined that "There are not a whole lot of happy stories in this area in this economy, and when one comes along, it should be savored. The roars from this game will echo down Interstate 77 for a long time."

Rodney McKissic of the Buffalo News correctly wrote that "Akron won this game with defense."

The Zips and their fans should relish this day. The tournament will make its bracket announcements at 6 p.m.

Nice win for the Cavs last night in LA. Yes it's the Clippers and you wish they'd have put them away early, but a win is a win is a win. A wise man once said that.

ESPN.com covered the Cavs pursuit of the overall home court playoff advantage. They also wrote about Mo Williams. Which makes me wonder — two ESPN.com stories from a Clipper game?

On a separate topic … it almost seems as if the Celtics are writing off home-court advantage in the East.

And on this night of crazy finishes … Akron's win over Toledo in the MAC tournament defies all belief, as Tom Gaffney pointed out in his story. Talk about exciting. Humpty Hitchens makes a three at the buzzer to send it to overtime, then Brett McKnight makes a basket off an amazing inbounds pass with less than a second left for the win. The inbounds pass came from Humpty as well, and was really something – especially given it came from the sidelines and had to go under the basket.

A while back my good friend Andre Knott (here he is … and it's hard not to say this page pretty much has him looking and sounding like a goober … and yes … who am I to talk?) and I were talking about Akron basketball, and all he said was: "Humpty."

I said something intelligent, like: "Huh?"

"Humpty," he said. "He makes them go."

And I have to say that Mr. Knott – a St. V guy – is right. Humpty is the key to the Zips. Just like Al Fisher is the key to Kent State's success. Point guards are the most important players in college basketball, and for a freshman to make that three and make that pass is quite something.

Here's the Akron highlights, with a parental warning that it's taken from the stands and there is some offensive language (thanks to zipsnation.org for this one):

As for Kent State, it sure seems like the Golden Flashes will go as far as Fisher will take them. He was almost single-handedly responsible for the last two wins – over Akron in the season finale and in the first-round game of the MAC Tournament over Northern Illinois. Fisher is an interesting guy. A year ago he was the MAC Player of the Year. Coach Geno Ford told me that his numbers this year were better, but the perception was that he wasn't playing as well. Ford's right. Fisher's scoring and shooting percentage are up (15.4 and 42 percent compared to 13.9 and 40 percent) and his assists and three-point shooting are the same. He's the reason I'd be very afraid of the Flashes in the MAC Tournament, because a senior point guard is so very valuable. (Can't find any video to post of the Kent State-NIU game … if anyone has it, send it along and I'll add it).