kreed5120

I don't want to count the chickens before they hatch, but the Zips final stretch run doesn't look as challenging as it did 1-2 weeks ago. 4 of the Zips final games are against BG, who isn't good, and Ken+, who just lost their 3rd leading scorer, best 3 point shooter, and team leader in assists. A big blow for a team that has struggled from long distance even with Pollard. From there we have CMU, NIU, UB, and OU, and MIA. I'm ready to mark MIA down as a win and NIU has looked very exposed after a hot start. Our 3 most challenging games remaining are CMU, UB, and OU. All of which are at home. I don't expect Akron to run the table, but I feel we are set up nicely for a strong finish.

With how bad OU started, the Zips had an opportunity to put them in a much bigger hole heading into half, but I can't complain about a 7 point lead on the road vs. a solid MAC opponent.

Athlon Sports & Life is ranking Woodson the #58 QB of 2016. The 3nd highest ranked QB in the MAC behind NIU Drew Hare who lands at #44 and CMU Cooper Rush #22. http://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-pre-spring-1-128-starting-quarterback-rankings-2016 Edit: I incorrectly listed Woodson as #2 QB in the MAC when he is #3.

I could be wrong, but I just don't see semi-pro football team surviving in Akron.

OU has had points in MAC play where they have looked pretty good and others where they have looked extremely bad. I expect Akron to cover the spread and walk away with the W 72-66.

Yeah, I agree with skip-zip on bracketology. I like to follow it more for seeding purposes. There won't be any discretion in picking the MAC team that makes the tournament. Either you win the MAC tournament and you're in or you lose and are forced to settle for a lesser tournament. Now if MAC teams, in particular Akron, began entering the conversation as an at-large team, I would be more interested.

I feel bad Aaron Jackson had his season cut short, but his absence shouldn't impact the team much. In 7 MAC league games he has 5 points, 0 assists, 7 boards in 34 minutes of play. On a per game basis that is .71 points 0 assists and 1 rebound lost per game.

As a counter point you also have to remember that the Zips target a lot of JUCO and transfer players. Kevin Gladney is coming to the Zips and only has 2 years of eligibility left. You can bring in 2.5 Keven Gladneys over the course of 5 years compared to 1 RS freshman recruit over the same time frame. The Zips should be able to sign 20-25 players per year as they tend to cycle thru players quicker than an average program.

Hopefully we can close out this recruiting class with some defensive players, namely in the front 7. We could also use a quality back.

Nice to see we are now adding some local kids to the recruiting class. Should be a busy next couple of days.

You see managers intentionally get ejected in MLB to fire up their players. I'm surprised you don't see coaches pick up a technical more often in basketball.

I wouldn't have guessed Akron to be favored as much as it is vs. a NIU that has gotten off to a great start. Then again how unpredictable MAC play has gone so far, I'm not going to pretend I know how this game pans out.

Good, good. Let them sleep on a team and coach that has made it to at least the semifinals of the MAC tournament every year for the past 10 years.

Well we should get a good idea Tuesday vs. NIU to determine if we have really improved defensively or if our better play of late has been us capitalizing on weak competition. Either way I'm looking forward to the contest.

Jabari is playing for the Calgary Stampeders.

Nom, nom, nom.

https://mobile.twitter.com/BellyoftheBeast/status/545248480759779328/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw relevant flow chart

I'd have to imagine having a relatively new stadium in a moderately sized city helps.

Those look legit.

I feel those are fair expectations and would provide a huge boost to recruiting efforts. I like the way Akron football is trending and getting from where we were to where we hope to be takes time.

I feel it's much easier to say Akron needs to get more high quality players from NEO than for them to actually do it. It is quite possibly the heaviest recruited area in the entire B1G and MAC. Not to mention you have national programs like Notre Dame and Alabama peaking their head in. Akron needs to get to the point that it becomes a more desirable destination than a Purdue or a Illinois, but playing in an empty stadium with the majority of their games being broadcasted on watchespn isn't going to cut it.

A lot of that foul shot discrepancy comes from the Zips playing from behind and being forced to foul to extend the game. Toledo shot 29 total free throws and of those 10 came in the last 3 minutes of the game.

John Chiaramonte is a verbal commit to Air Force and appears to be drawing a lot of interest from FCS and G5 schools. If the Zips are making a trip to visit him, I wonder if they are confident they can flip him.

The Zips are returning home from an 0-2 road trip that made them look very exposed. Both teams come into the game at 2-2 in conference play. Eastern Michigan is led by Junior guard Raven Lee and Freshman center James Thompson. Eastern Michigan isn't a good 3 point shooting team, but that doesn't appear to stop them from hoisting them up. It should be a winnable game, but the way Akron have played of late nothing should be taken for granted.

I don't even think that's the problem. We've been talking about Akron having these same problems for weeks now. They are just magnified because of the stiffer competition and the fact the Zips are having an uncharactically horrible night from 3.