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I just got home. I am: 1) hoarse from screaming; 2) exhaausted; and 3) damn proud to be a Zips fan. We had an obnoxious Kent State fan in front of us rooting for Miami who about 8 minutes on said it was over. As the clock expired I leaned in, grabbed him by the shoulder, and said "I thought you said it was over about an hour and a half ago." It very mush enjoyed that.

Groce should at least give his brother a good birthday present this year.

Can I say, okay, I'm saying it here and now! I've watched Akron Zips basketball since the late 1960s, and THIS is the best Akron team of them all. This team has much of the same talent level, athleticism, physicality and grit as the legendary 1972 NCAA College Division national finalists, but I have to think the mental toughness and strength of Groce's squad is unprecedented. These guys are "no ka 'oi". They da bes' brah!

ZipsNation, we are off the NCAA Tournament. I don't want to post an individual game thread because this is the year we go beyond one game! Here's hoping for a regional site that's easily travelable. I'll be out of town the next couple of days so I wanted to get this thread up so you guys could get rolling. Go Zips!

Amani Lyles was a man in this game. I think his three pointer in the second half started the confidence and his rebounding was superb. Great outlet pass for the game winner. Incredible poise and determination by the team in the second half. They took the best punch Miami had and recovered. So much resilience.

My drunk self has convinced me that we're about to mount a comeback

I really hope the MAC has a serious conversation with ESPN. If there are too many conference championship games happening simultaneously then we should consider our options. The biggest game of the MAC season and ESPN is bouncing us around for most of the first half. I find it to be unacceptable.

My drunk self intuition is perfect.

Oh look, all the Suckeyes fans converted to Akron fans this weekend.

Also ran into Romeo Travis on the concourse and told him I loved him and Doug Penno is a bitch.

I get what you're saying but getting an ESPN2 slot at 7:30 on championship Saturday has always seemed like a steal for the MAC

Amani’s rebound was so huge, here is why. He boxed out Woolfolk and still had him climbing up his back. If Amani loses the handle on the ball, maybe the MAC refs call the over the back foul. Maybe not. Say Amani goes to the other end and hits both free throws and we are now up by 2 points. Miami would still have had 8 seconds to tie or win it with the last possession. The final seconds could not have played out any better.

In this transfer portal era of college basketball, how great was it seeing three guys recruited out of high school to Akron and developed by the staff make the winning plays. Tavari with the D, Amani with the rebound and outlet and Nate with the bucket!

How much did Amani grow this year? His game went through the roof. His on court maturity blossomed. His body went through an impressive transformation. He found his shot. I couldn't be more proud of that kid. One thing overlooked in that amazing ending is Nate's state of mind after the basket to jump into defense mode and pick up Ipsaro and actually force him to regather to get off his heave. My question is how is the ball in Ipsaro's hands as the clock winds down and not Suder's?

1. pre-game I thought Miami and Travis needed a 2007 moment and then come back very strong next few years. 2. Akron had the experience and steeliness to win. 3. At halftime, I thought "12 points" is doable, but I didn't think Miami would collapse like so many others have. 4. Watching replay, the game seems much closer than it was in person. The announcers were giving credit to the Zips the entire time, saying Miami had to be wary of the Zips going off on a huge run. Instead of huge run it was a slow bleed from Miami. 5. TAVARI, AMANI, AND NATE ARE MUTUAL HEROES. AMANI EFFING BOXED OUT AND GRABBED THAT REBOUND. TAVARI'S DEFENSE PREVENTED THE MIAMI BASKET. AMANI HAD THE ASSIST OF THE YEAR AND HIS LIFETIME.

MVP!

I thought the final last year was one of the most remarkable games I’ve seen live in my life. Any team, any sport. This thing tonight was off the chain. Props to the Zips fans. Huge numbers and they were totally into it. amazing night

Consider 2007 avenged.

The Zips held Miami to just 7 points in the last 10:50 and just 4 points in the last 8:32.

Everybody, it was an absolute honor to watch this game with all your drunk asses.

All we need is Enrique to suit up and go for 24/21 again 😉😂

Who ever mentioned NIT earlier should be drawn & quarterd!!!

Zips prevail 4-2 on PKs. Stefan Dobrijevic, Caleb Borneo, Tyler Morck, and Maximus Barboto scored their PK’s. MSU GK saved one. Zips’ Stud GK, Mitch Budler, saves 2. No need for MSU to take their final pk once Maximus put us up 4-2. Great seeing Mitch back. He had an outstanding game besides the PKs. Happy to be there to see it.

Could someone tell the lady with the ZIPS cereal boxes how much Zips Nation appreciates her! I think she was there the time I witnessed the event in 2003, and every time I see her I know it's time for an @Akron Zips Men's Basketball title run! She's a true CLE tradition!! Our version of John Adams. 😄

Adding to this, Akron is top 10 in 3PA and 3PM per game. Arizona is in the 300s for "allowed" in both categories. This game is literally all about making our shots. Arizona will not be able to keep up if we do.

According to ESPN, their 7'2" C hasn't played since December. They have a 7' sophomore that averages 9.5 ppg. Otherwise, they're heavily guard dominant. They are 247th in the country in 3P%.

I read the comments on the Miami Board and was surprised about 2 things. How they complained about the refs and how many F bombs were on that board. It just showed me how our administrators do a great job in keeping this board civil.

No thanks. We're at least a 13 and our chances of an upset increase dramatically in the 12/13 range vs 14. Send us wherever. We're getting our first tourney win this year.

So this is what it feels like to be a Yankees fan. I can live with this. The Akron aura and mystique is building.

Alabama State won their conference title game, meaning 3/4 ABC participants won their conference's championship and are going dancing, while the 4th finished runner up. Incredible.

They think the refs and announcers we're against them. Of course, every fanbase thinks that, but we're the only ones correct about it.

You clearly haven’t been to Akron in a long time. No one wants your Applebee’s North Carolina crap in a downtown area. We have Montrose and Howe for that, or we could move to Columbus. Like I said, there are plenty of surface parking lots if you want to build more generic apartments with thin walls and floors. We already have some of those with 22 Exchange, 401 Lofts, and the Depot, but we could use more. We need Quaker to go back to what it was before the University ruined it, and that’s what we may be getting. Something for those who live an hour+ away to have a reason to visit for. Yes, when I was a kid, we lived 2 hours away from Akron and visited Quaker Square as something to do. Anyway, we’re going dancing, so go Zips.

From ESPN...

Ironic, how many times last year did Groce pull Tevari for bad defense. In the last possession Tevari played his best defense of the game. A quick outlet and Nate was off to the races. That is 2 games in a row that we won the championship in the last seconds of the game. Was anybody else having nightmares when the Miami player hoisted a prayer from beyond half court? Now lets win our first NCAA game.

Check the thread...I was a believer the whole time...even in the middle of the first half. In any case, great win! That's the kind of game winning teams and winning programs find a way to come out on top.

What. An. Absolutely. Remarkable. Comeback.

Those last 2 possessions sucked. We came all the way back. Move the ball!!!

I just ran into her at halftime and read her your post. She could not have been more tickled.

How was that not a trip?!

We just need to get around 10 by the half and play better in the 2nd half. This team can get back into the game very easily. We started slow and they started hot. Just need to turn it around.

Every team looks good when they have a hot shooting hand. When they cool off, they won't have any options, then we get transition baskets off rebounds.

So I guess they are just going to make every shot this entire game. Cool.

Jesus this is embarrassing.

They can't stay this hot all game.

It is on ESPN+ And ESPN News

Seems you don't know what Quaker was, it literally was a multi use facility with food, shops, and other events lmao.