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Nope!! As an ISU alum I want no part of this. I have been to games obviously, but I don’t follow them like I do Akron. Still, I don’t want my loyalties clashing. I will say Redbird arena is pretty sweet and rivalry games against Bradley are always sold out and raucous.

Toledo is currently playing Troy in the Coconut Hoops event, down 30-36 at the half. Was hoping to watch this one, but it's on the dreaded FloHoops. UMass plays Oregon State in 30 minutes on ESPN+.

I've had a decent chuckle every time I watch this team dominate D1 competition or think about how we have 5 guys on the bench that would probably be starting or significant role players at the very least on most mid majors. What a job Groce, his staff, and Bud Wentz have done at building this program back up.

Get Illinois State into the MAC yesterday.

Cody Head would be getting 10+ minutes a game at most MAC schools. We redshirted him from the looks of it because he doesn't have a pathway to earn minutes.

Miami OH hasn't played anyone (nor will they until MAC play); they're still riding last year's success and the offseason hype, which infuriates me when some other CBB accounts have them ranked ahead of Akron for these reasons. Kent's schedule is weird because they've played some decent mid majors (Troy & UNCW) but only at home, losing to Troy and beating UNCW. They have yet to play a true road game and their wins outside of UNCW (who apparently was missing a player or 2) leave a lot to be desired. 2 of their next 3 games come against non DI opponents, with the lone DI opponent being a home matchup vs. Austin Peay, so we won't really know much about Kent until they play @Portland, @UMass, and @Purdue in back to back to back games (nice scheduling with coast to coach travel, Pinky). Buffalo has the nicest resume thus far among the 3. 5-0 with wins vs. Southern Miss (gave South Carolina a run for their money before losing by 4 and recently beat UT Martin who has had an incredible start to the season), Big East DePaul, and Vermont. VMI, Bucknell, and Canisius are their next 3, so losing one of those will hurt their solid start, but then they get St. Bonnie at home which will be a great litmus test. Long story short - the MAC has had a nice start to the season. Both Akron and Kent each play 6 teams on the current list - 3 MAC and 3 OOC each. There are two SBC schools on the list, both of which are available for Akron to play in February, so there could be a 4th OOC and 7th overall for Akron. Kent is less likely to add a 4th OOC and 7th overall at the moment having already played Troy. As much fun as the power conference games are for us as fans, these high mid major games need to be where Akron focuses the schedule going forward unless something changes in the power conference mindset or scheduling rules.

When Groce subbed-out the 5 on the floor and brought in next 5 to close out the game I said to my wife - "That could easily be a starting 5. They'd finish over .500 in the MAC." Anyone remember when we had a starting line up that featured Brian Wood and Brian Hipsher?🤨

I think everyone is right on this one. I am going with answer (D) All of the above.

The more teams we get to play on this list the better.

I mean if we're basing it off of early season results then it's well deserved. I still have trouble taking them serious as a contender, but it isn't unheard of for a MAC team to have an unexpectedly good year. I don't remember last years preseason predictions, but I don't believe Miami was picked towards the top.

Is that Buffalo ranked above Miami and Kent State? 🧐

Obviously when Akron played St Louis, it was very one-sided but that was also the best I've seen the Zips look offensively this season. Plus, St Louis was on the second game of a road trip (played Duquesne a couple days prior), so they were probably tired. They've had a good season so let's hope they can take down Bryant -- and that the Zips win, of course!

Mid Major Top 25 Here is a look at how some national people view Akron & Yale. These are two of the best mid majors on paper with very different styles. Yale is very slow but incredibly efficient. In fact, Yale ranks 320th with 68.8 possessions per game but ranks #22 in effective FG% (58.8%) and #2 in 3P% (45.8%) while averaging 84 PPG (#77 nationally). In contrast, Akron ranks 97th in possessions per game with 75.4 with the 37th best effective FG% (57.6%), 28th best 3P% (39.7%), and 25th most PPG (92.2). Both offenses are potent, but which method will prevail tonight? If Akron dictates the pace, can Yale keep up with efficiency? If Yale dictates the pace, can Akron become more efficient? Yale has some size but it's not a key part of their style. Only one of their two players above 6'7" plays double digit minutes (6'10" Aletan). As @clarkwgriswold mentioned, their team is essentially Townsend. There isn't much beyond him as Yale is only 8 deep. It will be crucial for Akron to control the pace of play as I'm not sure Yale has the horses in the barn to keep up for 40 minutes, unless Townsend is a heroic thoroughbred. Cannot wait for this game. Revenge Tour 2025 continues!

Smart money must have been as puzzled as I with the opening lines.

Now gone to Akron -2.5 on DraftKings.

Against the 4 DI teams Akron has beaten, their average margin of victory is 27. Purdue was up by 25 or so when their bench came in vs. ours. Their margin of victory dwindled down to 18 (and could've been even less). Let's not pretend like what we're witnessing with Akron is normal.

I see Akron -1.5 on my apps.

The line is appealing, but I have a policy of never betting on my teams. If anything if Akron was a huge favorite in a game I might pick the other team to cover. That way I hedge my happiness.

That was my thought as well. Also, I'm sure our bench guys are trying to play hard when they get a chance so they can earn more playing time. Groce has said several times MMK is getting minutes instead of Barre because he earned them with his effort and performance in practice. If you go out there during a game and half a$$ it you're certainly not going to work your way up in the rotation regardless of score.

All I’m hearing is good betting odds for the zips!

6' 2" 280 lb interior lineman from Indianapolis. Class of 2026.

ESPN analytics have us as a 61% favorite. So it’s expected to be a nail biter

That's a bit surprising to hear. Putting any Akron bias aside we've looked like the most dominate in the first two rounds of the tournament. I would have thought we'd be ~2.5 point favorites.

good teams with strong benches can run up scores against lesser teams just by being on the floor, no?

This is why we got Evan! I think groce saw what happened vs Peter Suder and said I have to get a guy who will shut him down. Townsend is an another great player with a similar matchup problem. I am excited for the foreshadowing and opportunity at revenge!