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Zips MAC Tournament- 2022


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3 hours ago, tomzip said:

Well you all can thank me, I am 0-3 in MAC championships in person, so I stayed home to win another! 😀

Thanks from all of us. you did your job well 🏆

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Last thought of the night. 

 

Don't let KSUcks fans use Jacobs' suspension as an excuse. He comes in for the second half, the game gets down to a 1 pt game, then Akron pushes it out to a 14 point lead from there and it never again dropped below. Akron owned Can't State all night (except for the first few minutes of each half). 

 

Jacobs and Insincere are juniors. Next year will be fun (not to look past the NCAA Tournament this year - WHICH WE'RE DANCING IN!)

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44 minutes ago, 1981 grad said:

Aren't you the same guy who compared the Zips to a sinking ship?  When did you become an optimist?  (LOL)

i say a lot of things.  hope for the best but expect the worst.  I kept remembering how Brian Walsh's missed jumper changed the course of Groce's career and ironically led him to Akron.  So when for once Akron didn't get shafted by a last second shot, i thought the tide just might have turned in favor of the Zips.

Edited by NWAkron
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USA Today

 

Freeman insisted the Zips weren't motivated by the video, but it would be hard to imagine it not inspiring them.

“We didn’t focus on any of that,” Freeman said. "I think we were off social media for the last 24 hours.”

Akron coach John Groce laughed at the comment and then chimed in.

“Their coach is a stickler," he said.

 

The Kent State and Akron campuses are separated by just 10 miles, and the animosity between the school's respective fan bases has no limits. They each booed the other's dance team during timeouts while alternating chants of “Let's Go Kent,” with “Let's Go Zips.”

Trailing by nine at halftime, Kent State got Jacobs back to begin the second half and immediately went on an 8-0 run. But the Zips recovered with three 3-pointers, two by Garvin Clarke, to get back up by 10.

Akron later went on an 11-0 spurt, triggered by Ali's 3-pointer to take a 56-39 lead with 7:53 remaining. The closing minutes were an Akron party inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse as the Zips extended their lead.

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2022/03/12/akron-rocks-rival-kent-state-75-55-for-mac-title-ncaa-berth/49928965/

Edited by NWAkron
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Surprised I never heard anyone mention this but... "Do you know how hard it is to beat the same team three times in a row?"  😉

 

I don't know for sure, but I can't remember either of these teams beating the other three consecutive times in the past 10+ years!

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28 minutes ago, Z.I.P. said:

Surprised I never heard anyone mention this but... "Do you know how hard it is to beat the same team three times in a row?"  😉

 

I don't know for sure, but I can't remember either of these teams beating the other three consecutive times in the past 10+ years!

 

Not within 10 years but We did it in 2006-2007, and then They returned the favor the next year

 

Didn't get to watch the game live like I'd hoped so I'm watching the replay now. Boy is it nice to watch knowing the outcome. 

 

I have to say, I don't know much about Can't, but Justyn Hamilton is a solid player. He seems the least bone headed out of their players. 

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2 hours ago, bUAkronG said:

 

Not within 10 years but We did it in 2006-2007, and then They returned the favor the next year

 

Didn't get to watch the game live like I'd hoped so I'm watching the replay now. Boy is it nice to watch knowing the outcome. 

 

I have to say, I don't know much about Can't, but Justyn Hamilton is a solid player. He seems the least bone headed out of their players. 

 

Hamilton is a Senior, the mean/median level of bone headedness in the program shifts more in favor of Carry/Jacobs after this season. 

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From the Ravenna paper "bothsiderism"

 

"To put this entire Kent State-Akron feud in context, it’s basically fan-driven. The coaching staffs are actually close. The players, for the most part, get along as well as Flashes can get along with Zips. The issues are mostly caused by inappropriate fan behavior on both sides. 

Kent State’s players, especially Carry and Jacobs, were sworn at, taunted and degraded by members of the Zips student section for the entire 40 minutes of the Feb. 11 game at Akron. After the Flashes won, Carry and Jacobs led a charge to that courtside student section, and both parties exchanged taunts and gestures. 

That started the series of events that led to the video. 

No one is ever totally innocent in these situations. But pinning all the blame on one side or the other, or on one individual from either side, is never fitting or accurate when it all shakes out. "

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@Let'sGoZips94 Let me be the first to congratulate you because I know how much this matters to you. I can promise you that next year the Zips, with an entire roster returning and some important new pieces will play in a better holiday tourneyment. Not sure how much better, but Groce likes to build on successes. So while we are all looking forward to the big dance, you can start dreaming about next year's OOC schedule.

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i have about 50 posts still in me. 

 

Zips had the formula 1.  stifling defense.  2.  solid 3 point shooting.  3.  solid free throw shooting.

 

A few of the "odds" and "betting" articles were pro-Akron because of the Zips ability to get to the line (huge advantage the 3 nights in Cleveland) and also the pace of play (350th?).  I watched the replay and the announcers were excellent in acknowledging Akron's stifling defense and grinding offense.  When Kent went up 11-2, Akron made a free throw and then maybe Freeman made a basket and then the pace slowed way down and the score didn't seem to move and next thing you know Zips were up by one.

 

 

 

Edited by NWAkron
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6 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

i have about 50 posts still in me. 

 

Zips had the formula 1.  stifling defense.  2.  solid 3 point shooting.  3.  solid free throw shooting.

 

A few of the "odds" and "betting" articles were pro-Akron because of the Zips ability to get to the line (huge advantage the 3 nights in Cleveland) and also the pace of play (350th?).  I watched the replay and the announcers were excellent in acknowledging Akron's stifling defense and grinding offense.  When Kent went up 11-2, Akron made a free throw and then maybe Freeman made a basket and then the pace slowed way down and the score didn't seem to move and next thing you know Zips were up by one.

 

Great points. I'm currently all out of likes. The pace of the offense being 350th in the country is so not Groce's style, but that shows you how he adjusts to his current team. Having a short bench he slowed it down to save their legs. Quite amazing.

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I could not be more proud of how this group represented the University of Akron.  This thing that makes me so proud is that this team did not do it with overwhelming talent but did it with overwhelming effort. I will always think of this squad's guile and determination when I see that banner in the rafters. I am by no means saying that group is unskilled but the difference maker was the team's determination.

 

Kudos to the coaching staff for getting those kids to buy into the system and give that effort. That type of basketball is not easy to play.

 

I will get up a thread for the first NCAA tournament game as soon as an opponent is announced.

Edited by clarkwgriswold
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1 hour ago, Illini Zip said:

@Let'sGoZips94 Let me be the first to congratulate you because I know how much this matters to you. I can promise you that next year the Zips, with an entire roster returning and some important new pieces will play in a better holiday tourneyment. Not sure how much better, but Groce likes to build on successes. So while we are all looking forward to the big dance, you can start dreaming about next year's OOC schedule.

 

Thank you @Illini Zip. It's already been announced. Cayman Islands. MUCH better.

 

https://caymanislandsclassic.com/

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11 hours ago, dre22era said:

I hope that kid didn't get hurt celebrating. From this video it looks like he did 

 

That was X and he tweaked a knee, or groin, or hammy, or something about 5-10 minutes earlier going for a ball on Kent's baseline. He fought through it the rest of the game and I think he was just letting his guard down, being a little melodramatic & nursing that (minor🤞) injury.  

 

EDIT: As I rewatch the above video, it looks like he may have simply had a charlie horse in the calf. 

Edited by Blue & Gold
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What a team, what a game, what a culture, what a program! That was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life. All it takes is belief and mental toughness and you can do special things. This season has been wild, and these guys have stayed the course and done it the right way. So happy, so proud, so thankful. 

 

Y'all are the best, let's savor this one for a while! Go Zips!

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44 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

I could not be more proud of how this group represented the University of Akron.  This thing that makes me so proud is that this team did not do it with overwhelming talent but did it with overwhelming effort. I will always think of this squad's guile and determination when I see that banner in the rafters. I am by no means saying that group is unskilled but the difference maker was the team's determination.

 

Kudos to the coaching staff for getting those kids to buy into the system and give that effort. That type of basketball is not easy to play.

 

I will get up a thread for the first NCAA tournament game as soon as an opponent is announced.

 

I say you make a Zips NCAA Tournament thread like you did for the MAC Tournament. Why limit it to just one game? 😉

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