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As an Ohio fan, I can tell you our team has been wildly inconsistent. We are prone to scoring droughts, like the one last night that landed us in a 14 point 1st half hole to Ball St. One game we're blown out by Detroit then take Michigan to OT in the Crisler Center (a game we should have won) the next time out. Players transferred out that are key contributors to ACC and SEC teams and guys that transferred in have been inconsistent or just straight bad. As people say on our board, we can beat anybody in the MAC and we can lose to anybody in the MAC. Friday night will be a good measuring stick with Kent coming in.

Does make you wonder how much of a difference X would have made at Ball St.

As for last night, it would have been a perfect time for this team, who we can all agree has left a bit to be desired, to fold up and say "we'll be fine, we'll beat EMU Friday and be fine." They had two separate 9-point deficits in the first half, and a pair of 6-point deficits in the second half. It felt a bit like that Nevada game at times. Yeah, the Zips could have played better, but it was just the opponent's day to win. 13 won it for the Zips, though, with a good supporting "Cast". We missed his maturity and composure at Ball State in a big way. BG doesn't have a guy like that, if they did, the result may have been different. Great team defense in the final 2 minutes. Freeman getting to the line and making his first nine was equally as important. 9-10! After yet another rough start for him, he removed his head from you know where and began making smart post moves. It's like sometimes he forgets that schools have 3 years of tape on him now, and he just tries the first thing that pops in his head and fires up the layup or hook shot no matter how open he is or where he is. You can tell that Hankerson, though a great player, is not used to being on a winning team or in a winning culture. It's not his fault, he spent 4 years in basketball hell. But there are times where he takes plays or moments off, especially on defense, that lead to easy buckets. He's shooting it pretty well, but was a little trigger happy last night. Groce must have lit into Kobe as well for Friday, as he came out swinging at both ends. He's an underrated defender. Tavari was okay. I would say the limited minutes were more a result of Sammy coming to life. TJ hit his first one and did little else. At BSU, he was a liability. I don't feel that way about last night. And as for Sammy...welcome to Akron basketball! Please for the love of all that is holy do not let that be a flash in the pan. Continue to be aggressive at both ends, but smart. He made BG take a lot of tough shots last night, and credit to them for hitting a lot of them. 4-6 from 3, a perfect 3-3 from 2, and a perfect 1-1 at the foul line. A steal, a block, a pair of rebounds. The Zips won't lose much when he can contribute like that. Go Zips!!

Haven't there been a number of close games at BG over the years. Gladden had a tip in to win and didn't Harney do the same. 2 total bricks from that BG player.. Re: AKRON Quote Post by BGSU33 » Tue Jan 10, 2023 9:36 pm F'in Akron....I get so, so tired of losing to them. They have simply owned BG for two decades now. BG is just 5-34 since 2005 vs Akron! That is mind blowing! I never thought we'd see a conference foe dominate us like that. That kind of record is what you'd expect to be vs teams in the Top-25, not vs a fellow MAC member. SMH...

What was Groce thinking having X, Freeman, and Hunter all on the bench at the same time?

GT for ABJ: Enrique Freeman, Sammy Hunter lead Zips men's basketball to road win over Bowling Green

Outstanding win. X playing was a surprise to me, but very much a welcome one. We had X1.0, this is X2.0. Who will be X3.0? We need to keep recruiting X's. This team can do it. Groce teams can always do it.

As the game wound down, Zips had one advantage...they weren't being coached by Huger.

Ryan Beckman has entered the TP.

Owen Murphy entered the TP.

I'm fine with a replay of any win. I don't want anything to ever resemble a replay of March 9, 2008

Interesting play from the NIU game. https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/35423175

Yup. The official was Buddy Mayborg. He is now retired (pretty sure), but after that game, he didn't get Akron many more times. The Zips put in a strong effort at Buffalo that night, but let it slip away late. He was fed up with it all, and had to let it out. I asked Marquelle McIntyre about it the next day. He said coach just turned to the assistants and asked if he should do it, they assured him yes, and the rest is history. Groce has won 2 titles at Akron since that moment.

Harney won with a floater in the dying seconds in Akron's first ever trip to the Stroh Center, I believe a game after BG beat Groce's Sweet 16 Bobcats in the same building. Kent Roosevelt's Cameron Black tried to draw a charge (could have been called) but Harney drained a tough shot that nobody on this current roster could hit. BJ Gladden grabbed a clutch offensive rebound and put it in, a great call by Steve French that night. There are videos somewhere on the InterGoogle of both of those moments. In 2017 amid the Dambrot collapse, he lost at BG for the first and only time on a couple late FTs, that was a 9:00pm Tuesday tip. In a close game, BG's guard drove to the basket with no plan other than to slam into Big Dog and get a foul call, and he did. In 2018, Sina Gbadebo hit I believe his only 3 of the year in the first half, and Utomi came in the clutch, and Jimond Ivey hit a late bucket to win that one. A year later, Turner won it late for the Falcons. Lots of fun ballgames in that building, usually in favor of the Zips. One of the best Akron teams ever got blown out there in 2020. Tyler Cheese fouled out and was later suspended for the game at Buffalo for nudging a ref. I thought that team was collapsing, and I remember texting my friends that night about how I was glad we had the nice run but would settle to the 2 seed. Little did anyone know, the following 3 incredible games would help that team go down as champions. Beating Buffalo, OU, and Kent consecutively to be alone at the top was so sweet, it softened the blow of not getting to see them play in a tournament, just a little bit.

I wasn't joking when I wrote that in crunch time you want Groce coaching your team and not Huger.

What a game. Not a GREAT game in terms of actual performances, but X and Enrique were fantastic. Enrique I actually thought really struggled in the first half, but once he figured out Agars physicality he was fantastic too. Sammy Hunter was just INCREDIBLE tonight. Offensively and Defensively he made a few mistakes (two bad turnovers and a charge). But overall I am LOVING that Groce believes in him and the team is trusting him. The people I talk to say he often is the best player in practices, so I am pumped to see him put a game together. Tavari was not great tonight. I have been a big "Start Tavari" guy, but maybe move Sammy back in? Both of them seem to work better off the bench. Lastly, would LOVE to not rely on Kobe and play Garvin when he is back.

Wow. Huge win, could signal a turn in the right direction. Big shots in big moments, stops when they counted most. Road kill baby.

An ugly win is better than an ugly loss

It's a win on the road in MAC play. I'll take it.

We escaped.

To be a Zips fan....

Nice plan coming out of the timeout. Wasted your last timeout for that?

A turnover out of a timeout. ugh.

Did look like Johnson got all ball there.

On roller skates.

This is one of the better Bowling Green teams I've seen lately. But I'm counting on Bowling Green Bowling Greening. 😊

We might wear the most undershirts in the nation. X, Freeman, Hankerson, Lyles, Mitchell, and Tribble.

Zips finally take the lead, get a stop. Then X of all guys goes out of control and misses a layup, Freeman and Hankerson give no effort on defense and let a bottom 20 player in the league go coast to coast. To be a fly on the wall when Groce talks about the one during the film session…

You have to know there's a Bowling Green rally coming.

and PCCC blowing out Toledo. Dambrot had better teams on odd years. Groce has the better team on even years.

I hope to be proven wrong but this feels like an average MAC team. They didn't get enough to replace Ali/Bandaogo/Wynn then had the misfortune of losing Dawson and now Clarke.

I’d like to think my internet coaching heavily contributed to Hunter’s breakout half. 😉 He’s even moving his feet on D?! Keep it up big man!

Gilbert signed to the Bucs active roster. Maybe some reps in the playoffs..

This isn’t the Sammy Hunter Game* right?? Lot of stuff to work on. But they kept themselves alive for another half. It starts on defense. Go Zips.

They apparently do not have popcorn at the Stroh Center concession stands.

Bowling Green looks like they've never seen a trap before.

I gave up painting a bathroom for this?

I don't feel people are being as much negative as they are being realist. Groce would be the first to tell you that this team as of right now isn't ready to win in Cleveland and that they need to focus on continuing improving that way they can be playing their best basketball come March. If anything, I feel this board is a little overly optimistic that Groce will have the ship righted by March because that's what we're so accustomed seeing out of him. I don't know how any objective person could have watched the Zips the first 15 games of the season and be thinking to themselves right now that the Zips are the team to beat in the MAC right now.

The announcers were praising the attendance at this game. Are you kidding me? The Stroth Center seats 5,000 and there weren't more than 1,500 in the stands. Open seats everywhere. No pressure from the fans 'cause they weren't there. Good Lord, I hope we can do better when in league play at home.