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Zips Collapse: What’s your theory?


LoyalZIP

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I tend to go into each game independently, but this has simply become a trend and I know we’re all tremendously worried, and can kind of feel where this is going. 
 

My theory on the matter has changed quite a bit since it’s started, but I’m zeroing in on what I think the problem largely is. While the defense has been abysmal for about a month now, and it certainly has been a big issue during this stretch, I think the problem right now is the stagnant offense. Since Ali missed a bunch of easy ones to start the OU game, nobody on the offense can seem to get it going. Late in the first half today, Trimble got pulled and was on the bench for most of the end of the half. Guys like Trimble and Ali have been reliable all year on the perimeter offensively, and since they’ve gone cold they’ve begun missing plays on defense. So as the offense has hit a wall, it has shown up at the other end even worse in some cases. Nobody can get into a rhythm offensively and I think they’re carrying that to the defensive end. That says a lot about this teams mental strength against last years. Just my two cents. 

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11 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

1.  Ali, Freeman, Trimble, and Dailey aren't Cheese, X, Riak,and Banks.

2.  Pulling a new team together in this environment has to be nearly impossible with no Summer bonding or a pre season.

3.  This season sucks for everyone.


Agree on all points. Perhaps the first 15 games of MAC play winning was deodorant for Akron. As was hitting shots and playing some solid D. But as everyone else has figured the game out they’ve passed by the Zips. And it was all a lie. 

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2 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said:


Agree on all points. Perhaps the first 15 games of MAC play winning was deodorant for Akron. As was hitting shots and playing some solid D. But as everyone else has figured the game out they’ve passed by the Zips. And it was all a lie. 

Wouldn't say it was a lie but definitely a panacea.

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It's defense. We were never an offensive juggernaut in half court. Now that we aren't getting stops, we're getting into situations that aren't ideal for our team. Stops and transition points were the key to our good MAC start and both of those have disappeared

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The only important season starts next week.

 

I have all kinds of ideas of what's gone wrong but at the end of the day my *** is sitting in my recliner in Tallmadge instead of in the bleachers above the Zips bench.  From that perspective I watched the bench intently with an eye on how the players and coaches were interacting and you could tell a lot about the team.   No such luck this year.  These kids seem to enjoy each other but I can't imagine a team having more chemistry than last year's squad or the perfect mix of personalities to encourage, cajole, joke with and admonish each other they had.  That type of mix helps a team to overcome slumps and limit the damage.  I'm not sure this team has that. 

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6 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

The only important season starts next week.

 

I have all kinds of ideas of what's gone wrong but at the end of the day my *** is sitting in my recliner in Tallmadge instead of in the bleachers above the Zips bench.  From that perspective I watched the bench intently with an eye on how the players and coaches were interacting and you could tell a lot about the team.   No such luck this year.  These kids seem to enjoy each other but I can't imagine a team having more chemistry than last year's squad or the perfect mix of personalities to encourage, cajole, joke with and admonish each other they had.  That type of mix helps a team to overcome slumps and limit the damage.  I'm not sure this team has that. 

With Toledo losing and Zips making that 20 point come back and OU having COVID issues (allegedly) you just never know.  I hope this long slog for the Zips and the adversity will carry them through next week.

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12 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

I'd buy this if we were getting better and not regressing

Akron has had a tougher schedule.  They talk about Buffalo winning 7 of their last 8.  They lost Toledo by 10 and then beat EMU and NIU before handily beating Ohio and beating Zips by 2 with what could say was a 2nd half collapse by the Bulls.  Buffalo and Ohio both had a few weeks off here and there.  Since 1/9th Zips have had one game postponed and 7 out of last 10 on the road.  And Ball State's been sitting at home for a couple months?  screw that.  Let's get everyone on an equal playing field then start seeing what's up.

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5 hours ago, zipsrule said:

Assuming that the OU vs Kent game will not be made up, a win on Friday should get us no worse than the 4 seed.  A win and a Kent loss would get us the 3 seed - if my math is correct. 

As @NWAkron pointed out in another thread Akron is the 3 seed with a win.  The loser of Kent vs. Buffalo falls to the 4 seed.

 

Just win Friday and all is well.

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The starters except for Freeman have not played well.  LCJ hit about 30% of his shots today and made his last 2 three balls.  Ali and Trimble have been terrible the last couple of games.  It seems like these guys play tough defense the first 8 minutes of the game and their offense sucks.  Because this team is built on transfers, these guys have not played a whole season and might be getting tired and not used to the grind.  The bench players played much better than Ali and Trimble and I think it is time to let the bench play more.  Let Trimble and Ali come off the bench and see if that helps. 

 

 

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It seems teams have figured out how to attack our defense. When we were playing our best basketball, we had the #1 defense in the MAC. The defense has really faded over the last month or so. We were still able to squeeze out some narrow victories early when our defense first regressed, but now those narrow victories have turned into losses. 

 

We still have the best player in the MAC so we certainly have a fighters chance in Cleveland. The offense has just been too inconsistent to make me to think we can rely solely on it to win 3 straight games. We need to get back to playing defense like we were in January.

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We still have the best player in the MAC so we certainly have a fighters chance in Cleveland. The offense has just been too inconsistent to make me to think we can rely solely on it to win 3 straight games. We need to get back to playing defense like we were in January.

 

ACTUALLY:

 

We have the 10th leading scorer in the COUNTRY

We have the 46th leading rebounder in the COUNTRY

We have the 47th leading shot blocker in the COUNTRY

 

And if The Walk On had 11 more shot attempts he would be the #1 percentage shooter in the COUNTRY

(and all his stats are for just about the lowest MPG of any of the leaders).

And that does not include the Buffalo game, which may move both up a bit in the standings.

 

Now if only the other three guys would contribute.

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