kreed5120

Miami after last nights action currently sits at #58 in NET. Akron slightly improved to #48. On paper this has to be one of the best mid-major matchups of the season across all of college basketball. It's a shame that it wasn't picked up for TV. Edit: It was also a failure on the MAC's part as they should have made sure these schools played twice. There aren't many opportunities to pick up Q1 & Q2 wins in conference play. The MAC should strategically schedule to maximize the opportunities.

I think next year is the first full season that UMass will see that financial commitment for football they have talked about. Even then with the state of the program it will probably take them time to compete. Basketball is a different story. IMO Frank Martin is a washed has been who the game has passed by. His tough coaching style doesn't work in today's player empowerment era. Not to mention despite having an NIL budget that is 2-3x+ most MAC schools he seems to struggle at evaluating talent as his roster is on par with several MAC schools who are shopping TJ Maxx and Walmart clearance bins for players.

Both those teams have had a very up and down season. Hard to know which team shows up for each of them, Jekyll or Hyde.

OU @ CMU game on ESPN+ right now. Sloppy play by both teams.

It doesn't really make a huge difference who wins between Miami or BG IMO. One is ranked 79 and the other is 82. The metrics the committee uses views them about the same.

Season tickets are down to $53, which is an incredible deal for 8 home games. The Kent game alone tickets start at $25 so you pretty much get tickets to 7 other games for $28.

For those of us without ABJ subscription can you summarize?

BG is at home and Miami is missing a key starter. Not to mention a lot of pro gamblers use advanced metrics or have their own. Looking at Kenpom and NET both are viewed as about equal. On a neutral court it would pretty much be a coin toss.

It will be important that we run them off the 3-pt line. I feel we're the better team, but the 3-pt line is the great equalizer in basketball and they're good enough to make us pay if we leave their shooters unguarded. Especially since this is @ Miami.

Iona just lost by 7 to the team that entering today was #326 in NET. Not great for us since that is our best win this season.

Ball State must be playing Sisters of Charity School for the Blind as they were up 48-8 at the half.

They offered discounted season tickets as stocking stuffers. Even if we were slightly under 1k season ticket holders at the start of the season we have probably added a few dozen since then.

I would have to imagine Akron has 1k season ticket holders and has had that for quite a few years. Even if they don't show they will still appear in the official attendance.

In grand scheme it doesn't really matter. We play them in a week. If we win they will no longer receive votes.

UA announces deal to privatize dorms. https://www.cleveland.com/akron/2025/12/university-of-akron-announces-deal-to-privatize-dorms.html?fbclid=IwdGRjcAO2w6xjbGNrA7bDcmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHod-6BB1D_UKaiWzJ-BZHjciiRX12WX8ISOOXAw3qQP4R4JuJ5iEnuz8sXE1_aem_EksRhrSQigqDDhQeRNFCjA

I guess it depends on how you measure it. Ohio has 13 D1 teams, 7th in state population, and has 3 schools in power conferences. Not to mention Dayton who is an elite mid-major. Realistically, given the size of the state and the number of teams it should be producing at least 1, more likely 2, top 25 teams per season.

Can't wait to shed the dead weight.

Yes, I would imagine since they're hosting the next round they will be the favorites in most of these matchups.

Yes, it's definitely a big loss. He was 1st on the team in minutes, 2nd in points, and 2nd in assists. Not to mention he was an efficient scorer. Their ceiling today is definitely lower than what it was before, but like Akron their strength is in their depth so they are better positioned to absorb this loss than other MAC teams would be. I wouldn't be surprised if they still find their way into the MAC finals.

Typical American, wanting to spend others money but not their own. He makes $7.5 million currently. How about he takes a pay reduction to $2.5 million and instead of needing $20 million he would only need $15 million.

I more just doubt they have 12-15 quality players worth building around, but time will tell. I do agree it's a winning formula if you have a solid foundation in place already.

I'm sure it's cheaper and easier to retain your own players than getting into bidding wars for others. It's probably the better long-term building strategy assuming you can bring in players that are capable of being developed. That said, UMass appeared to be a mid-tier FCS caliber roster last year. One would think if they have the deep pockets they claim to have they would at least try to jump start this rebuild by bringing in a few day 1 contributors. Someone on UMass board says they plan to spent $3 million in NIL for 2026. Without some outside talent I'm not sure how that money is going to get spent. Do they just plan to grossly overpay their current roster?

I watched the NFL games today instead of the bowl games. I'm not sure what the powers that be hope to achieve by expanding the playoffs. Unless you're a fan of the teams playing, who is going to watch JMU-Oregon over Packers-Bears? The more they try to expand the playoffs, the more games that will overlap with NFL time slots.

I certainly hope not. I like him there and Tod at Toledo. Two fewer teams that we have to worry about come March.

That's how I interpreted it as well. It definitely seemed like we had fewer breakdowns defensively. Nearly every 3-pointer EMU shot a Zips defender had a hand in their face.