NWAkron

OT: ( I watched most of the first half of the USC/Utah game tonight. Utomi played quite a bit, and he's got a nice gig there. He doesn't have to break a sweat. I think the only movement he made was waving his arms around hoping his teammates would throw him the ball so he could shoot from one of his set positions. He also shoved some of the Utah guys around. He still has that deadpan expression. Not a player that Groce would call "Impactful.")

Thanks for breaking the silence on here B & G. It's an amazing rivalry. And unless you have gone to one of the schools and been to the games, you just don't get it. Was talking with a Kent grad at work, and he said he was at the Singletary Ejection game. I said something like Cant Read, Cant Write... He laughed. Whatever happened to the AKRowdy poster of the weeping PCCC cheerleader?

Wow. Our current asst coach's brother Geno. And Ohio U's current coach on Akron bench.

It did?

Good article. PCCC is racking up some tie breakers with wins over Buffalo and Toledo (2x). Feel like Zips will pull it off Friday.

If it wasn't clear before, it should be now that winning the MAC Tournament is the only way into the Big Dance for all MAC teams. Any misstep can lose a tiebreaker. Fortunately, this year there doesn't appear to be one dominant team and it can be wide open in Cleveland. Groce won with Ohio in 2010 after going on the road in first round and beating Ball State in OT. They then took out Kent before shocking the Zips in the finals. The following year Ball State got revenge on Groce and the Kittens (who hosted a first round game) in the QFs and took them out in OT sending the Kitten fans into utter meltdown. 2011 Akron came from a 5th seed to beat Kent in OT in that wild final. The next year, a double-bye year, Groce and the #3 Kittens came back and took out Akron by one point and went to the Sweet 16. In 2013, the Zips crushed Ohio in the second half of the final and sent Jim Christian and DJ Cooper off to greener pastures. Since then it's been all Buffalo except for Western MIchigan and Kent. This is the best I can do with the seedings considering Central is short two games. The Huskies have some nice tiebreakers wins over Kent and Buffalo: (feel free to correct my miscalculations) 1. BGSU would face Toledo/Miami winner 2. Akron would face Ball State/Ohio winner 3. Central Michigan would face Buffalo/Western Michigan winner 4. Northern Illinois would face PCCC/Eastern Michigan winner 5. PCCC 6. Ball State 7. Buffalo 8.* Toledo 9. Miami 10. Western Michigan 11. Ohio 12. Eastern Michigan *Akron's loss to Ohio at home sent them to the dreaded 8th seed and a QF match up with Buffalo last year.

The at-large bid up in smoke just like that.

I agree. You can't do what Pinky did and start the bottom 5 and hope they won't put us in a 12-20 point hole within 3 minutes.

More talented guys have been shown the door that leads out of the JAR. They don't want to be sitting in the transfer portal with Jeremy Roscoe late this Spring or at Valdosta Junior College next December.

Excellent summary. Tougher competition and wearing down. Tyler was coming off the bench at first. Even Channel would be a good 6th man.

Makes some good points. What's clear is that there are the "Men" and the "Boys" on the Zips team.

But in this topsy turvy year Zips win in Brimfield but lose at The JAR. (Running out of PCCC branches)

Ready to put last night out of my mind. They look tired and worn out. And now a quick turn around for Streetsboro State this Friday. From here on out this is about seeding for the tournament. Need the bottom-feeders to keep losing. Tie breakers over NIU and Ball State. CMU game looms large.

@clarkwgriswold that's some excellent analysis. Thank you.

I was typing the exact comments. When they are missing all those defensive rebounds they are playing twice the defense. Sort of like in football when the offense keeps going 3 and out. Groce was trying to sub players in during the first half to keep some fresh legs, but it was disastrous. And correct @LoyalZIP the other coaches are watching the film. That bye week should have come a week earlier. These guys will need a top 4 seed with this lack of depth. As for Sayles, does Groce have his eye on a big man graduate transfer for next year??

20 point rebound advantage. Don't deserve this if they get over the hill.

That effing tall ref. Hate him

Zips look gassed. LCJ trying to carry the team

Call it a night folks. They haven't missed a FT. George Thomas is smiling... imagining his headline tomorrow

Toledo blew 17 point lead on PCCC. Anything can happen. BGSU is hot now.

Foul on Dawson was huge. Would be 5-6 point game. Zips hustle away from boards but Bulls get position.

Dawson misses 3. Then fouls on a 3. Had a chance to get it to 5. That was a lot of work for LCJs 3

Nope. And bad FT shooting team Buffalo making them all. All

Rebounds: 25-12 Bulls. Doubling all over LCJ

Big crowd. Big egg being laid. Teams starting to figure out the Zips. Wheels are coming off the wagon. Picking up fouls, missing everything, nothing working