UAZipster0305

Bingo. There is no shame in losing three games to teams that were red hot with their deep shooting. The other two losses were on the road to two Top 25 teams. What a great season!

Troy was sharp shooting against us too. They were hitting everything.

OSU looks terrible.

At the end of the season, they were not the same team we lost to.

Zips' opponents Yale, Murray State, and Kent all lost in the first round of the NIT. Yale was even playing at home and had the lead most of the game.

SMU generally looked like they didn't want to be there. Their shooting and tactics were horrible, and there was little hustle or intensity overall. Several Akron teams of the past would have smoked that version of SMU. I was hoping Miami would lose, but seeing how terrible SMU was, I'm fine with Miami picking up a few million dollars for the MAC. SMU obviously didn't want it. Besides, Miami's first true test against top competition comes on Friday. There is now way Tennessee let's them shoot uncontested three's, so I expect Miami to struggle. And hey, if Miami wins, that's another few million dollars for the MAC: win-win.

Exactly how I was looking at it! And if they are going to lose, I hope they get blown out. That seems unlikely in a mostly even match up though. If they win, I think they will get smoked in the next round against Tennessee.

"Thanks, John." - Pat Summerall

85-73 Zips. Against weaker perimeter defense, our less contested outside shots will fall, and we'll pull away in the second half to then cruise down the stretch.

I'm not in the area and can't help you with a specific spot, but when I have a similar evening planned, I call ahead and ask. A lot of places will be accommodating if it does not interrupt a weekly theme night and if they know you are bringing others or will post to social media for them. Barley House isn't a good option?

Lyles' shooting rhythm is off. When he is up on his toes and bends his knees and has a whole body shooting motion, his FTs are good. Otherwise, he is stiff and flat footed and misses. If I were Kent last night, I would have used bench players to put him on the line. I hope his FT form is better tonight. In any case, I hope Groce tells him no 3's. Aside from his recent poor shooting streak, we need him under the basket for rebounds. His size and strength is wasted on the perimeter, and we have plenty of other sharpshooters.

While it may be highly unusual on an annual basis, we've been within one game of doing it two years in a row now, and had Miami come to our place, that would have likely been our win and undefeated MAC season, not theirs. Luck of scheduling in their favor. Also, as you say, yes, they were highly lucky in about eight games. Context matters. So do hypotheticals. As you said before, it's necessary when there are only about 35 at-large slots for 300+ teams. Justifying Miami's entry on WAB is almost as weak as their schedule.

You say it's impossible to project that while relying on the WAB metric to say that Miami is worthy. What I am saying that if that is valid, the opposite should be too, but it is not applied that way, which makes zero sense. I am also saying is that if the OOC schedule is essentially a bunch of scrimmages like Miami's, the team only really has to focus on the MAC schedule. In that regard, we have played the MAC schedule as well as they have. If our match up was in Akron, they likely would have lost and the MAC roles would have been reversed. Overall, there are virtually no differences between our results and quality of our team as compared to Miami. We aren't getting any at large talk, and they shouldn't either.

That makes sense. Thanks for sharing. However, I find the WAB metric to be highly unreliable because if Miami had our schedule (played at Purdue, vs. Yale, vs. Murray State, at Troy, and at our place), they'd have at least 3-4 losses, and they would not be anywhere near the bubble. Conversely, if we had their schedule, we'd have one loss or less as well. All I get out of that is that it is highly beneficial to schedule as weak of an OOC schedule as possible to rack up wins and then buckle down in the MAC part of the schedule.

If Miami gets in, it encourages creampuff scheduling. The selection committee is smart enough to know this. If Miami had our schedule, they'd have at least 3-4 losses, and there would be no discussion about an at-large bid.