kreed5120

Playing international games is always a challenge 😉

Exactly, without NIU the MAC would have 12 teams. That means if you played each of the other 11 teams 2 times you would have to play 22 conference games. The MAC only plays 18 conference games.

I still don't see them running the table. They're good and deserve the recognition they're getting, but there have been much better teams in the MAC over the last ~70 years. If those teams couldn't do it, it would almost be a shame to see this team do it. That last Oates UB team was special. Had they achieved it I wouldn't be as disappointed.

Nate Johnson isn't the problem at Kansas State IMO. If you look at his numbers his FG%, 3P%, FT%, steals, and assists are all above last years numbers. His point total is down because his shot attempts are just down because he's Kansas State's 3 or 4th scoring option, not first. I actually don't think Kansas State is all that bad. I actually watched their game against Oklahoma St. the other night. They just play in what looks to be a very strong conference and have lost some close games OSU and Arizona State. Not to mention they lost to #7 Nebraska by 1. They can field a strong starting 5, but their bench looks underwhelming. Instead of giving Nate what they did they probably should have split that money adding 2-3 players instead. They would likely be in a better place.

https://tenor.com/view/woody-harrelson-crying-money-wipe-tears-rich-gif-16201471 Edit: Only a serious note, Nate was an outstanding player but any team desperate enough to give him $1.6 million or give Okonkwo any sizable sum probably wasn't going to go far regardless.

I don't really want to spend too much time looking ahead to next season, but my hope is that they're able to bring someone else in. Marvin doesn't have the size to play ~25 minutes a game. Barre, who I don't know if he even has remaining eligibility, is too much of a health risk. If Briscoe can't even get minutes with Barre injured I don't see him being a key contributor. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he transfers at the end of the season

I would agree the defense has improved since after the Murray State game. There were some breakdowns defensively against Ball State, but for the most part they were hitting contested shots. Many of those being mid-rangers or 3s with a hand in their face.

There were some objectively terrible Akron teams prior to Dambrot coming to Akron. That was before my time though. I would imagine the defense was worse on some of those single digit win teams. I do think it's lazy to just look at points allowed as the sole measure of a defense. Like your mentioned pace can inflate the numbers. I still think outside of Groce's 1st season this is probably his worst defensive team. Like you, I don't necessarily think it's all effort. They just often try to trap and then are slow in rotating. Not having a rim protector certainly plays a part, but I feel that would be something we could overcome if we boxed out better and defended the 3-point line better.

I don't know if it's factual or not, but it feels like there are much fewer charges called than previous years. Not just in Akron games either.

We've struggled all season in securing defensive rebounds. Way too many 2nd chance points.

Elmer hits a 3 off an offensive rebound at the buzzer to send this to OT.

It has me scratching my head as well.

I'm not thrilled or disappointed by the signing. He could be good, but couldn't display it as he was burried behind 2 great collegiate QBs. It's also possible that he isn't cut out for FBS football. Not really much tape to go off of. One would think he would have seen the field more in mop up duty, but looking at it Miami and North Texas pretty much played their starting QBs for nearly every snap.

I don't see it mentioned here, but apparently new rule was passed upping the number of games allowed to be played for a redshirt from 4 to 9. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/47601492/fbs-coaches-vote-unanimously-adjust-sport-redshirt-rule

It was the suspicious betting trends that did him in. Not the fact that he threw a ball or strike. The handle on micro betting is very small so if the typical handle is let's say $1k-2k on any particular pitch and over the course of a season a pitcher or batter has $200k bet placed on them 5-10 times then that will just stick out. If it happened just once then nobody would have probably noticed, but the trend repeated itself. That's why spreads are more commonly bet on. Those are more likely to go under the radar as a $100k bet on something that typically sees $2M-$3M in action isn't going to stand out as much as a $100K bet on something people rarely bet on. Still people get greedy and there are lots of mouths to get fed in match fixing. A $5k on that Kent - Buffalo game probably goes unnoticed. A $400k+ is a ton to bet on a MACtion game. A UNC-Duke game probably not so much.