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Quite frankly, for all the SOS talk with them, this is the best case scenario in terms of at-large and exactly what the "Last 4" games should be. Give teams a chance to prove themselves vs throwing in $$$ P4s.

If Miami makes the tournament as last 4 in that would be a heck of a consolation prize for them. Getting to play a winnable tournament game just ~1 hour away from campus in what would have a home game atmosphere.

For those that might trouble seeing it, Akron is listed as a 11 seed in the lower right quadrant. Miami is also an 11 seed but listed as an at-large. I am good with this scenario. 😁

When I first started following Zips athletics they were one of the best teams in the MAC. Bonzi Wells 🔥🔥

Forget everything bad I've said about Lunardi. This guy knows ball.

And NIUs coach leaves just before they make their transfer.

I remember when Ball State WAS more than a decent MAC program under Majerus, Hunsaker and MCCallum... I believe all 3 won MAC titles.

I think I read on the Toledo forum the MAC is going to a 22-game schedule next year. In fact, it's doubtful Miami's run would have happened if the league were still in divisions. That would guarantee Miami would have played Akron-Kent-Umass-Ohio Buffalo twice each. Then one game each vs. all MAC West teams except two, likely Ball State and Toledo. Credit Miami with weathering a perfect storm.

Zips favored by 13.5 with O/U of 146.5

A few teams have tried enforcing contracts. I know Mensah ended up settling with Duke that way he could transfer to Miami. I'm not sure what kind of compensation Duke ended up receiving. I'm also not sure if we've seen one of these contract disputes make it all the way through the legal system to see what the higher courts decide. There should be some sort of uniformity in these contracts and some governing body to enforce them. Having to fight legal battles everytime a player decides to leave school A to go to school B because school A pays him $50k while school B promises him $100k frankly clogs up the court system and costs taxpayers unnecessary money. We're both paying for the schools additional legal team needed to fight these cases and paying for the judges who have to hear them. The only real winners are lawyers and their billable hours.

Random thought: it seems like schools are having players sign contracts. Generally speaking, most players coming to Akron don’t have opportunities elsewhere. Why wouldn’t we 1) require players to sign multi year contracts, and 2) require players to pay us x percentage of NIL/revenue sharing they receive at new schools they are leaving us for if they break their contract?

March 6th against NIU is the last home game and senior night. https://gozips.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule

Why is there no mention of senior night? I assume it's the last home game.

Who would pay $100 for an Akron t-shirt? If you want to advertise the value at least mention what something comparable in the team shop or book store would sell for.

This ad seems very random. All for the free shirts, but I simply don’t understand what message the printer girl is trying to get across with this

You may be correct. And Stef's future may (or may not) be playing a forward, attacking position.

I think the Miami discussion can be simplified pretty easily: 1) They are a very good team, and winning as much as they have is very difficult to do. 2) Their run was made possible in part because of one of the easiest OOC schedules in the country and a fortunate MAC schedule (no game at Akron, only one game vs Kent State). Both of these can be true at the same time.

A sad reality of modern college football.There was a run in the 2000s where Zips pro days included multiple prospects and were very well attended. It was an exciting and inspirational time for underclassmen too to see their teammates getting evaluated for their shot and what the future could hold for them if they worked hard and did the right things. Those days are gone.

Why would we play 10 conference home games and 8 conference road games as you propose in your scenario? OU wasn't even a good team last year. They finished #195 in Kenpom. You can't just simply state well if you eliminate all the games we lost we would be undefeated. Well no crap. The game was played and we lost. We also didn't have to play @ Miami, who was clearly the MAC's 2nd best team last season, but nobody talks about that. The fact is over a long season you have slip ups. We had many last year. Milwaukee, Princeton, and Ohio were all teams that we had no business losing to, but still did. That great UB team a few years back should have beaten NIU by 20+, but lost. If Miami goes 18-0 in conference play this might be the only undefeated (in conference play) MAC team any of see in our lifetimes. If the MAC expands to 22 games that feat becomes even more challenging. No team will be able to easily replicate their run.

There are 37 at-large bids in the NCAA tourney. Miami currently sits at #22 in the AP poll. If they only lose in the MAC tourney they should still be in the top 37 ; not saying they wouldn't get significantly snubbed however. As things stand now, if we meet them in Cleveland I believe they would be favored.

I see both sides. You're right—it's very difficult to run the table (MAC play), but Akron could have done it last year. If you replace the game at OU with a home game vs. Eastern, the Zips could have run the table too. Now juxtapose that against Miami not having to come to Akron this year.

I was a college housemate (Sumner and Gage Streets) of Jack Patterson’s son John. I’m still very good friends with him today. I attended Jack’s funeral, and John’s eulogy he told a neat story about his dad. John’s team made the intramural finals at Stow high school. They couldn’t break a press, so he asked his dad for help. Jack was the beat writer for Ohio State at the time. During a road game trip Jack pulled OSU coach Eldon Miller aside in a hotel lobby and asked him how to break a press. Eldon took Jack’s notepad and drew it out. John’s team won the game. Not sure if they were pressed at any point, but they were prepared. 😊

If Miami doesn't get an at-large, Miami only has themselves to blame. They knew they had a really good team this year and still rolled with one of the worst OOC schedules in D1.

Yes, I'm still not penciling Miami winning out this regular season, but the pathway looks more manageable now. The last team to go undefeated in MAC conference play was Miami in 1958. Back then the conference season was only 12 games. People act like Miami has created this path that is easy to replicate. The fact is it's not easy to go undefeated in MAC play if it takes 70 years to happen. We've experienced some fantastic MAC teams, several even objectively better than this Miami team, and none of them were able to accomplish the feat. If going 18-0 in MAC play was easy we would have already achieved it under Dambrot or Groce.

Any Zips player who has pro aspirations is long gone from Infocision by the time their senior season rolls around.