kreed5120

Just in general Dambrot didn't field athletic teams. We won by playing hard nose D and finding players who fit into his system on offense. We certainly never had any 6'9 bigs would could run the court and handle the ball like Xeyrius.

I falsely assumed we were all old geezers on this board who have learned to temper expectations that way we could limit disappointment. Apparently we have some young bloods who aren't use to having their heart broken. Give him 3-5 years of Akron fandom. He'll soon learn what it means to be an Akron fan.

I'm in agreement with you. We're currently Liberty's best win and even with their 16-1 record they have 0 votes in the coaches poll and only 2 votes in the AP poll. If we beat 2 of Louisville, Liberty, and WVU we'd be serious at-large bid contenders. We didn't and aren't contenders so our only chance of punching a ticket is by winning in Cleveland. Edit: Liberty also returned 4 starters on a team that won a tournament game last season so when it comes to mid-majors they were at least on the radar coming into this season.

You missed a fun season. Akron won 19 straight games, which was the longest active streak in the country at the time, and was ranked in I believe both polls. For starters this team would have to win both the MAC regular season and MAC tournament before any discussion can be had. That team went 14-2 in MAC regular season play. They would have been 15-1 had Abreu not gotten suspended. If this team goes 16-2 in MAC play and wins the MAC tournament, I'd say they would be the best Akron team ever. Winning a tournament game would also suffice.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We aren't even getting votes currently in any of the top polls. That 2012-2013 is still the best Akron team. Had Abreu not been arrested we probably would have had a 10 or 11 seed in the tournament and would have had a real chance to get our first tournament win.

Liberty (#33), WVU (#11), and Louisville (#17) would have all been Q1 win opportunities. We stormed back against Louisville late and had a couple breaks went our way we could have maybe pulled it off. We really never put ourselves in a position to beat Liberty or WVU. Frankly we just weren't good enough.

I don't see anyone going overboard with expectations. All these polls show is that we're a top 2-3 MAC team, which honestly based upon performance to date is very justifiable. Toledo and Buffalo are slumping, but both teams have lots of talent on their roster. It's to be seen if they can right the ship between now and March. Turner still doesn't look back to full form after returning from injury, but if he gets back to being the player he was prior to injury, BG will be right there too. Through 2 conference games though Akron, Kent, and Ball State have looked the best.

Mid-Major Madness has us at #24 and Kent at #22. It should be noted that the Mid-Major Madness poll includes A10, MWC, & C-USA teams, meanwhile the College Insider poll doesn't. That's why Akron is lower in this one. https://www.midmajormadness.com/2020/1/6/21052138/college-basketball-mid-major-poll-rankings-other-top-25-conference-play

Defense looks like crap with Xeyrius on the bench. WMU is getting to the rim at will. That LCJ run should have allowed us to put this game out of reach, but we just ended up trading baskets.

I came a crossed the below chart on reddit and figured I'd share. Someone who has a lot more free time than I do went through every single MAC signee and counted up how many other MAC offers they had. Akron signed 22 players and those 22 players had a combined 4 other MAC offers. 21 players we offered signed with other MAC schools. In and of itself I don't think it means the world as a lot of our best recruits came from areas that other MAC schools aren't actively recruiting (JUCO & Georgia), however, I do think it's telling that we're missing out on a lot of the best talent in our home area. If you look at the below chart, you'll see the teams that have the highest MAC offers per commit are typically the teams that consistently perform the best. Toledo and WMU both seemed to have killed it on the recruiting trail by each of their signings having an average of 3.6 & 4 MAC offers.

It's pretty sad there are "fans" out there who care more about trying to prove themselves right over seeing their alma mater do well. I was one of the earliest and most vocal Bowden critics on this board, but I still got enjoyment out of seeing us beat Northwestern. The 10 weeks that followed not so much.

We shot so well last game from the floor that i think we'll cool off this game. I still expect Akron to win, but I say we win by 8.

Patton at best would be the 4th best guard on this Akron team, no loss. He's better than Tribble at the moment, but I think Tribble will end up having the better collegiate career when all is said and done.

Hawkins contract is set to expire at the end of the season, which is why I said what I did. I'd find giving him an extension would be a tough sell to any fan base if they do indeed finish last place in the MAC for a 2nd straight year. I'd be glad to see them keep him. I enjoy picking up some easy conference wins. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/college/2019/10/08/wmu-hoops-mainstay-steve-hawkins-entering-final-year-contract-he-says-hes-not-worried/3910217002/

The schedule makers were nice to Akron this year. The two MAC West teams we play twice are EMU & WMU. We play the 2 best MAC West teams (Toledo & Ball State) at home. I do hate having to travel to DeKalb because we always seem to struggle winning there, but that is the only downside this year.

Below are the updated NET rankings as of this morning. 51 - Akron 85 - Kent 132 - Ball St. 134 - Toledo 175 - Buffalo 178 - BGSU 197 - NIU 200 - CMU 214 - EMU 217 - Ohio 227 - Miami 239 - WMU

If Bobby Bowden was the coach, Akron would have had good recruiting classes. It takes more than just a famous dad to succeed as an FBS coach.

What fan base?

Despite WMU beating OU, I still think they'll end up finishing last in the MAC this season. I'm guessing this is the season Hawkins gets canned.

I'm selling LCJ winning POY. Akron spreads the ball around so much that I just don't see anyone on Akron putting up the numbers needed to win that award.

Some quality parenting.

The Zips have shown the ability to beat the teams that they're supposed to beat. In a year that might only take 13 wins to win the MAC that's an important trait. I'm not sure the Zips are necessarily the best team, but they look the most consistent.

Given that Jackie does some basketball officiating on the side, I like the officiating perspective she provides throughout the games. She's also really knowledgeable on the X's and O's of the game.

We need to quit giving UMass 2, 3, 4 shot attempts each possession. Box out and secure a rebound.

Marshall is 0-3 against the MAC and in those 3 losses they were outscored by a combined 48 points.