Illini Zip

The Zips look like a team that hasn't played in 10 days.

It should be said that Sayles was battling under there and had a couple of blocks. He's just not a deterrent. Fort Wayne was driving at will.

We have our short comings, but this Akron team will compete for 40 minutes.

Damn.

Utomi looks to be alright. He had hit the floor hard on a pump fake.

We have a game folks.

Mine is very sharp???

I had the same streaming problem here too so I missed the first 10 minutes. We miss Riak out there. We need a rim protector and an effective inside presence...badly. It's not an effort issue, it's a road game so we need to be able to score through contact and we are not hitting enough from outside. Also, LCJ is getting pushed around and not getting fouls called. Life on the road.

I'm thinking next years roster has the potential to really close that gap on Buffalo. Eventually, our bigs will get their act together and this will feel like a completely different team.

I thought the same thing, but February is going to be one tough month.

Where are you guys finding NET rankings & bracketology?

Generally speaking that is true that tougher schedules are rewarded by Kenpom. If we play Nevada and lose, but over-perform that would move us up more. If we get blown out by 50 points, we will drop down. Right now Kenpom predicts a Nevada 81, Akron 63 result based on the current body of work. https://gamepredict.us/kenpom

Anybody know if this game will be broadcast anywhere? The Zips website schedule shows nothing.

In the second half, Ivey and I believe Utomi had some success hitting jumpers from the free throw line and that helped open up that zone. The guy who would have been nice to play the stretch 4 at the elbow there was on the bench in street cloths, Xeyrius Williams. Edit: Just watched the video of Groce giving the post-game and he said that going small and attacking the base line made the difference down the stretch.

I know scoring 47 points in a game (or whatever Ivey scored last year) is impressive, but I am more impressed with his execution and broad shoulders today.

Kenpom actually predicted a 12 point win, but 30 minutes in it was anybody's game.

IVEY STRONG

what?

The refs are letting them play for the most part so the Zips have to be stronger with the ball.

Go Zips!!!

I am now an ESPN+ member and just finished watching the game. I'm not surprised Toles hurt his back, he is a plus level effort/hustle guy for sure. Constantly on the deck. I thought he was going to pass out when he took a knee to the family jewels. Happy to see Ivey and Cheese driving hard and E-man is making progress offensively as well. Listening to our commentators, they got the memo; slash, slash, slash. The Zips had difficulty at times driving against the better competition in the Caymans. We have a bunch of guys that can do it, they just need to be more aggressive and confident.

I didn't see tonight's game, but I think Roscoe has a high ceiling. I bet it took him a little while longer than the others to pick up the defensive scheme. No defense, no tick. I want to see him be even more aggressive at attacking the lane. We will need more slashers than just Jackson when we play tougher defenses. What is the verdict on Toles performance tonight?

I wasn't going to mess with ESPN+, but looking on the schedule we have 8 more games that are solely ESPN+ broadcasts. This is something new this year, correct? I remember more games on ESPN3.

Hey, did somebody mention Kenpom? Don't worry, I am not holding out hope for an at-large bid. Maybe next year. But these metrics do a surprisingly good job of showing which direction your program is headed in relation to the field. Even with these 2 loses Kempom ranking shows us slowly climbing the ladder. And now, according to their metrics St. Bonaventure is the weakest team in this tourney. Also, Boise State has moved up considerably and Illinois State has dropped considerably. Please don't ban me, bro!! Kenpom Ratings (As of November 21th) 19 - Clemson 36 - Creighton 100 - Georgia 113 - Georgia State 122 - Boise State 128 - Illinois State 145 132 - Akron (after our last tourney game) 157 163 - St. Bonaventure https://kenpom.com

I get it now, thanks.