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Took a look at the remaining schedules for the top 5, which I consider to be contenders for #1 seed, and locks for Cleveland. This game is a must-win for Kent, as they have by far the most difficult remaining schedule. The conference regular season is Toledo's to lose, however. They have the fewest games remaining, and by far the easiest schedule.

We're done punting. The Joe Mo era is here

And the best we could do was KJ Walton? Oof. In other news, Ohio State lost tonight. Beautiful.

Zips withstand 2nd half Bronco run and prevail 86-70! Zips led 63-37 at one point in 3Q and WMU cut it to 8 at one point I think.

Any conversation regarding the best all time bigs in UA basketball should include Bill Turner 63-67. Realize he was before almost all of you. 6-7 power forward/center, ranks 5th in all time scoring and 4th in all time rebounds ( please note he played with two other players in top 6 all time rebounds). Realize this was against smaller schools but did include Earl the Pearl Monroe among other top talent. He did make the NBA and play for 6 seasons.

Is Kyle Romenick no longer listed as a Punter on the roster. He was a 5* scholly player in 2019 class. He started all of the 2020 season. Then heard he had COVID the beginning of last season. Seen him punt in games and pre game and halftime. This kid can boom it. Would not be surprised to see him be the starter and rank at top of MAC

(2 recent game videos of Tavari Johnson, hIgh school senior year) I am linking to Hilltopper's post because the first video below is the third match-up of the year between Glenbard West and Tavari's (White jersey, #5 ) Lyons Township. I have to say the masks under the players chins make me laugh. But hey, they are technically wearing them and in compliance. I wish Tavari had a little more strength at this point, but he otherwise looks to have all the tools to be special. Groce has to be licking his chops. Go Zips!! Some inspiration for the Akron Rowdies: "I believe that we will win" Chant at the 1:12:40 mark. In this one, you get a quick mention of Akron at 1:08:00 and I noticed Tavari is able to drive and shoot lay ups with either hand. Then at the 1:12:00 mark you have a nice mid-range jump shot followed by a steal and dunk. "He's got what the players call bunnies".

Huge win tonight! Much needed to keep pace in the race to Cleveland, especially after a couple of tough home losses. This team has a lot of weapons that are pretty inconsistent, but they may just have the highest ceiling of any team in the league. On any given night, Dawson is an incredible scorer and rebounder, Bass can be dominant offensively and defensively in the post, Brewer runs an excellent point-forward, and any of Layne Ferrell, Corcoran, and Martindale can get hot from the perimeter. Akron has put together a squad that could be very dangerous at RMF in March. Just keep winning! Believe!

nice road win.

Zips lead WMU 50-33 at the half, shooting 72% from the field. 😮

I just read that Saturday night the Canton Civic Center is hosting a boys basketball double-header. Game #1 is Akron Buchtel -v- Lake, while the main even in game #2 is Akron STVM -v- Oak Hill Academy (VA). My dad used to take my brother & I to professional wrestling events at the Civic. You could stand on the floor as the wrestlers made their way to the ring. I patted Macho Man Randy Savage and the Road Warriors' Hawk and Animal on the shoulders cheering them on. One night we hung around for a while after the last match & Jake the Snake Roberts & the Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiasi (sp?) came out & talked to us for about 10 minutes. Those are some of my favorite memories as a kid. Akron needs an arena.

Got another walk-on kicker. This one is a 5-star Kohl's kicker from Georgia!

I think when all is said and done, Freeman’s numbers will merit a Top 10 all time ranking. He’s only going to get bigger and better. And he’s not going to do something stupid to curtail a great career.

Link on GoZips.com Basketball will finally get its own practice facility, as UA is converting the "blue courts" in the rec center to an athletics-run basketball facility InfoCision Stadium will be getting new turf after nearly 13 years of wear and tear The outdoor track will be completely renovated Swimming & Diving dry training facility

Sure but he was more of an offensive threat inside the paint than almost any center we've ever had. His layup and floater abilities were phenomenal.

It's 5:57PM, and @LoyalZip is still worried.

LCJ is top 5 if not top 3.

I'll be that guy,...Big Dog deserves to be in the discussion. He did win MAC POTY. I think it would be cool if we could somehow create a poll and rank our top 10, 15, 20 whatever Zips players and combine the votes to get the official ZN.o player ranking.

He was not announced as a scholly player or preferred walk on, but did post on twitter he was committing to UA. Noah Gettman, P/K, 6-5, 205, Mainland HS, Daytona Beach, FL, Sacred Heart transfer (1 yr. eligibility)

This is why I always tell people to pump the brakes on Enrique being an NBA prospect. I think he can get there, but if Romeo Travis never played in the league, I find it tough **right now** seeing Enrique playing in the league.

There will be a total meltdown in this thread the next time Akron doesn't defeat mighty Bowling Green, the program that Arth made his B**** for nearly his entire tenure at Akron. We should have been more grateful! How can you get rid of that guy?!?!?!?

To help perpetuate this thread I suggest someone, other than me, start a list of important dates in Arth's life (e.g., each date he coached a D1 win, the date he was hired to coach the Zips, his birthday) and every year on those dates each member of Zipsnation can contribute a post explaining why that date is special to them.

I believe those are the total records of the teams remaining on each team's schedules.

At least Father Berardi could kick those out in 20 minutes. The poor bastards at PCCC get the full 2 hour Latin Mass.

Zips swept them last year. And you know it's always hard to beat a team 3x in a season...so that could bode well for Cleveland, right? Take 1/2 a Tramadol tomorrow around 2pm. Looking at the MAC conference only stats, these two teams are quite even and are top 2 in DEFENSE (points allowed). Neither is high in the 3 point shooting stats. So Im thinking this will be a game in the 60s. side note: the winless Broncos have the highest scorer in the MAC.

2/7 outside of 40 is brutal in this day and age

Speaking of, that individual hasn't been around much now that things seem to be going well

I'm thinking in the 50% range, hopefully. I'm not sure what attendance figures have been announced as this year, but it's been rough, which is too bad but UA is certainly not alone. Kent games at the MACC have become about as well-attended as a midweek morning Catholic Mass, and there were only 1,700 there for the game in Kent according to ticket people I know between the two schools. Our students have been showing out, though, and even last Friday given the circumstances, there was a decent crowd. It'll feel great to have an atmosphere like this again, which would be on par with perhaps a late February game in the past with the Zips in first place, which at this point would feel like a 5500 sold out crowd. The students being where they are now could actually make an impact on the game if they get loud and into it, that would be awesome. As for the game itself, I will get more into the matchup tomorrow but I'm quite worried. The Zips are playing good-not-great and the Flushes seem to be running at their peak. To me, there feels like an elephant's weight of pressure to win this one to create some space between the two teams in the standings, and if the Zips have any prayer at the regular season title, they have to win out and get some help. Also, the biggest thing in my mind is being swept, which hasn't happened since 2010 I believe. Not only being swept, but being swept by an obviously inferior Kent team. I'm glad to have one more day to mentally and physically prepare. I care way too much about this S#!+

Having it televised, on a Friday night, doesn't help in drawing a crowd. But I'll agree COVID has killed our attendance. It'll take some time to get it back up post-COVID too. Sucks, because we may have our best basketball coach ever...and have seen two of the Top 10 Zips players ever...and perhaps the best Zips basketball team ever...and few fans will have seen them work their craft in-person.

What a world, you can go from 3 wins as a HC in college and getting fired, to an NFL job. Ive been doing life all wrong

After looking on the ticket website, there are currently 147 reserved seats left for sale. Some of the people who work in athletics were saying they are expecting a near-sell out. But my official prediction is about 55%

I think the newly created student section will be overflowing. I'd say about 60-70%. I asked some people, who used to come to the bigger games, if they were interested in an of the tickets floating around on here, and there were no takers. I think it's covid and getting out of the basketball routine.

This must be the rumored 5* from Georgia (wish he was a QB). Kohl's has him as a 5* and the 51st best kicker in the 2022 cycle. Pro kicker is down to 4.5* at the bottom of their top 25 and Chase is not in that list. Sounds like the Zips are going to be plenty deep at kicker this season.

Sucks to be an underclassman at Loyola

I like Smigel. He’s 14-16 inside the 40 in his 3 seasons…but only 2-7 from 40 and beyond. If one of the new kids has a big leg, and is reliable inside the 40 too, I guess they could take the job.

That place is so simple yet so effective as an arena. Canton is fortunate to have it and the Fieldhouse. Both places I love to watch hoops. Oh and "Ohhhhh yeahhhhhhhh!!!"

I spent a lot of time at the Canton Civic Center, after driving through Akron to get there. We went to a lot of indoor soccer games there BITD, I liked soccer and my wife liked the indoor game (and the Cleveland Force always disappointed in the playoffs). Then I went to Canton Charge games there before the Cavs moved them to CSU. It’s showing it’s age, but what an asset to the city. I think Akron would get a lot of use out of one. Having a downtown presence would do wonders for public awareness. Especially since the converted Quaker Hilton sits unused since the U bought it, shuttered the mall, and converted the hotel to no-longer-needed dorm space. I agree the sports facilities are buried, and in the winter a real PIA to get to. I would go to more events after work but after being on my feet for 12 hours, I just head home and listen on the radio.

Good for him. He's a good guy. I have no animosity towards him.

Thanks, NW. The family is now fully vaccinated and we had a mild wave of omicron go through the house 3 weeks ago, so logic states right now is as safe as any time to get back to 'normal.' This will be my youngest son's first rivalry game (he's 6) and he's definitely looking forward to this game and to the tournament in Cleveland. Go Zips, beat Kent!

Tavari Johnson update: Glenbard West Hilltoppers are #1 in Illinois crushing opponents by more than 25 points per game. Glenbard has 4 D1 college commits led by 6-9 forward and Gonzaga commit Braden Huff. In a big 32-team holiday tournament Glenbard was looking forward to playing Bolingbrook in the championship game. But behind Tavari's 28 points his Lyons team upset Bolingbrook. Glenbard overwhelmed Lyons in the championship game as Tavari is the only D1 commit on an otherwise mid-pack HS team. Led by Tavari Lyons is now 16-3 with 2 of those losses to #1 Glenbard West. Lyons is currently ranked #10 in Illinois despite limited talent behind Tavari.

That’s not a good example. Burrow wasn’t a good fit for Ohio State offense. Haskins had like the best QB season in Big 10 history & Burrow struggled his 1st year at LSU, he needed some experience & became a good college & Pro QB but Haskins decision at the time was not the wrong decision. Most D1 football players are good, 1st thing they need to do is be good enough in practice to get an opportunity to show everyone else they can play and then take advantage of the opportunity. It isn’t easy