NWAkron

I don't see Sayles on the bench. Wait, there he is. Just not dressed for game.

Full slate of games in the MAC tonight. Other than Buffalo's likely massive destruction of the Huskies, it's tough to predict the outcomes. I'm going to take Ball State, Toledo, Western and Miami for the wins. As for the Zips, well, it all depends.

https://www.ohio.com/akron/sports/university-of-akron/university-of-akron-basketball-freshman-virshon-cotton-hopes-to-build-upon-recent-success Decent article on Cotton.

They've jumped over KSU and OU as my most hated team in the MAC.

That really was a classic ending. KLac, Rec Center, and Cotton for the win! One of those games where the fans wanted it so much for the players more than themselves (if that makes any sense).

There were a lot of inconsistent calls and maybe he impressed the refs with his move and they rewarded him

Watching the end of the BG game on espn3 was just painful. I think 8 out of the last 10 possessions had fouls called. Of course, BG had to wonder why they all of a sudden didn't get the calls when KLac barged into the lane for that put back and bodies flew all over each other after the deliberately missed free throw. Back on topic, Eastern is always an enigma. They have all this talent and a former coach of the year but always crash and burn in the tournament and the regular season.

You all prob tired of my two cents today, but I watched the replay and the ending a few times and listened closely to what Jackie had to say about all the referee shenanigans: 1. Looked like Sayles just came down awkwardly from the missed dunk and his feet came out from under him. So relieved to see him upright, in uniform, and with only ice on his wrist. 2. Malcolm's last foul was for "displacing" or taking up Wiggins' space when he came down. Apparently, that is a legit call as was KLac's last foul. However, KLac's 4th foul was totally bogus as was that offensive foul on Utomi at the end. That was a total flop by Fry. Jackie and Reghi were getting really frustrated with the constant whistles and at least on Utomi's last foul thought these weren't being called evenly. 3. Watching the red shirts and the "fouled out" players on the bench at the end showed that they are all in it for each other. 4. The beginning of the Buffalo game just seemed to shock and stun the Zips and it just got in their head. I'm thinking if the MAC Championship game were between Kent and Buffalo I would definitely be on the side of the team from Ravenna.

I'm going to watch ESPN 3 replay and wait for Jackie's expert take on it.

One of the usher's and I were discussing the same thing. There's a reason they hang on the rim.

Gave the Zips fans what they needed. This was a good turnout and was an electric atmosphere. Screaming, angry, excited, stressed fans. Seemed like old times. I guess we still own BUGS. Freshman kid from West Salem was a non-factor against OUR freshmen. Definitely going to cue this one up on the screen tonight and watch from my sofa. Kostelac, Smith, and Cotton saved the day. Cotton told Frenchy he never had a shot like that in his life. Longest last three seconds ever, but I'm glad we fouled. We couldn't risk overtime. Of course, we were still in the position to make free throws had BG not tried to deliberately miss. They would have had the ball back with about 2 seconds left. Anyway...

Who is left to play at this point?

The officiating. We are screwed at this point.

OMG. No.

Didn't you ever see "Bring it On?". It's a Spirit Stick!

Jimond!!! I take it all back.

Fouls and more fouls. And more after that.

More like Congress!

Jimond makes some bone-headed decisions. Good crowd. Just keep up same intensity in second half.

Wiggins is annoying. Nice contingent from West Salem! Lots of hustle so far.

I will be looking to see which team scores the most points.

We used to do that and I sort of recall having to fight through some people to get those. So maybe there were some bigger crowds back in the day.

Benefits of low attendance: 1. Less likely to be injured diving for a t shirt. 2. Guaranteed free t shirt every game. 3. Higher probability of winning a $1500 jewelry item. 4. And last night, I collected 5 Arby's cards, 2 Chick Fila cards, and found an abandoned ticket which gave me a whopping 3 free pizzas from Pizza Fire. I gave them all to a friend who was very happy!

Confession, you wouldn't know it because of my worldly and sophisticated nature but I'm also a graduate of Northwestern. My dad rode the bench when they one the single "A" state championship in 1959, and I had an uncle who played for Roy Bates on the 1965 state championship team. However, it didn't pass to the next generation as I was cut from the no-cut 7th grade team and never returned.

Yeah. I don't recall those big crowds unless it was for one of those really big games, with the white out and those awful black uniforms, that we usually lost.. But I know what you mean...