RoyalBlu

Miami, Ohio, Toledo and Akron were all ranked a lot lower than I would have anticipated. Thought Miami would have been in the top 100, Ohio inside 150. Toledo just a breath above 300 was a puzzle, too. Expected Akron to be about in the middle. As for Harvard ... that's said about almost all private schools, high school or college. Once you get in, they pretty much make sure you graduate some kind of way. It adds to their elitism.

I probably should not have looked this up ... but I did. And I probably should not share this ... but I will. 2024 US News and World Report National Rankings (alphabetical order, 436 colleges and universities ranked). Akron T-No 377 Ball State - No. 204 Bowling Green T - No. 273 Buffalo - No. 76 Central Michigan - No. 259 Eastern Michigan T-No. 377 Kent State - No. 231 UMass - No. 58 Miami - No. 136 Northern Ill. T - No. 273 Ohio U. - No. 179 Toledo - No. 296 Western Michigan - No. 288 Seriously, my guess is, what hurts Akron's ranking is student retention - probably expecting something easy when it is obviously not.

This was posted earlier in this thread .... https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/college/kent-state/2025/04/03/rob-senderoff-contract-salary-details-kent-state-basketball-coach/82762896007/

Let's establish a couple of things. (1) For the last five years the Akron Zips have pretty much owned MAC basketball, from Kent State on down. No contest, and the numbers and banners bear that out. (2) Groce, by virtue of No. 1, is arguably the best MBB coach in the league. Kent State is a rival, not an enemy, just like every other team in the MAC. You are only as tall as the shoulders you stand on. When a rival does well, it reflects positively on Akron, the best team/program in the league. As for your 19-17 argument, it reflects more positively on Kent than negatively on CMU. Kent advanced to two MAC Tournaments, CMU only one. Kent advanced to one MAC title game, CMU lost its opening game. Those early season loses to a pair of Top 10 Kenpom teams and a Top 65 team were translated into NIT at-large invitation, then road wins at a pair of Top 100 teams (St. Bonaventure, 96 at the time, and 86 Stanford). CMU was not invited to a post season tournament. Senderoff was rewarded, Bruno was fired. Finally, like most on this thread, don't take Kent's failures, shortcomings or success personally. It's a rivalry that Akron sits at the top of. It sounds personal to you - (did somebody from Kent steal your hubcaps) - but just a game to most.

As mentioned somewhere before ... It's a MAC Thread, indicating topics/comments about OTHER TEAMS from around THE MAC, - both to make fun of or not - are supposedly ok here. If this is strictly for bashing the rest of the league, ... then let's make that clear for all.

Half empty? Half full? Kent went to MAC Tournament title game with a .500, 8th place MAC team last year, and to the NIT Elite 8 with a barely third place MAC team this year. You can use numbers to justify just about anything.

Ditto for most of the above ...IMO, like all of the MAC they need a scoring big (to play beside Gillespie) and a scoring guard beside Medley plus a solid freshman for depth, to just get back to 'Top 4' in the MAC. They have not had a 'difference maker' for several years now.

All of this I would believe to be true. ADs, coaches and administrators in general rarely have 'rivalry grudges' like fans. Behind the scenes they need to work together much more than they need to fight. I would bet Groce and Senderoff see eye-to-eye on a lot of MAC basketball issues that have to be addressed and/or voted on. Same with ADs. Would not surprise me if Groce or even Dambrot spoke up for Senderoff to Fordham, if that was needed. As many have said, it is better to have Kent as a strong rival, not a weak one. Ohio-Miami basketball rivalry has been negligible for many years since Charlie Coles died, until this year. Good to have another rivalry at the top of the MAC, instead of the middle (UT-BG) or the bottom (CMU-WMU).

I think there are 10 teams in the MAC not named Akron-Kent-Ohio that would be happy with two NCAA tournament appearances in the last 14 years. Appreciate this run by the Zips, it's not easy in a one-bid league. Just like you have to have stones to hit last-second game-clinching free throws, or the right guy with the ball in his hands to make the game-winning layup .... You may also need a team to blow an 18-point lead in a championship game, or have the opposition brain fart in the final seconds to help make that happen. Akron has been in title games they should have won, but didn't (Miami, Kent), just as they have won its share. It's not easy. So let's not act like it is. The key is to be in position (championship game) for all those things to fall the right way. Akron-Kent-Ohio have pretty much done that over the last 14 years to a certain extent. We should appreciate that and hope it continues.

There are former Kent players as assistants at Oklahoma, Duquesne, and Canisius, as well. Most of these guys played on at least one of their NCAA Tournament teams. Very quietly, Senderoff has built himself/Kent quite a coaching tree of assistants for the AD to choose from. At some point, one of these main characters have to make something 'official.' Fordham has to announce a press conference ... or Kent has to announce a coaching search ... or Senderoff has to speak up. At this point, until one of the three happens, nothing is official and everything is gossip. I'm on the internet. But sometimes I'm fed up with the internet.

Sorry for the outrage ... have known Sampson for years. But the facts still stand. Everything they did was new age recruiting that became the norm very quickly.

First -- taking anything Dakich says as gospel speaks more about you than Senderoff. Second ... EVERYTHING that happened w/Sampson and Senderoff was at the dawn of the internet/cell phone age of recruiting. EVERYTHING Sampson/Senderoff were sanctioned for by the NCAA became NCAA legal within 2 years. Third ... both Sampson and Senderoff had no trouble getting rehired on the college level where the NCAA could have blackballed them ... but didn't. Both have gone on to not only be rehired in the NCAA ranks, but also have successful NCAA head coaching careers. Dakich ... bless his soul ... was a hot ticket at BG for a few years, then flamed out. Remember ... even to this day, everything about Indiana basketball is viewed through a Bobby Knight lens, for better or worse, and Dakich carries that torch higher than most.

As for the game ... Loyola's big man was better than Kent's bigs. Everything else about even. Kent lost by 10. MAC basketball season officially over.

I would like to give Groce and the Zips credit. Reading forums around the MAC there is much discussion about the Zips NIL, and what their particular program needs to raise to compete. We'll see how it goes, but this is what happened when Marshall came into the league in football and started to dominate. At least a few MAC teams in the era - NIU, Toledo, Miami, Ohio, CMU - stepped up to various degrees to compete. The difference now, with NIL/Portal, the key to success is keeping good coaches with staffs that can recruit. Losing a head coach can be devastating. Look at Indiana State. They were the Cinderella darlings of college basketball last season. The head coach leaves for St. Louis, where that team was no better. Back at Indiana State, that first-year coach and team struggled and now the entire roster is in the portal and the new coach has to rebuild. No program. No culture. Just ashes. The top half of the MAC has some strong/solid coaches. If these administrations step up even a little bit, keep these coaches in place and add to the NIL, the league can make some noise. At least credit Groce/Zips with jump-starting that trend.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer but ... Under both Dambrot and Groce which teams of note have the Zips beat? Not just majors, but quality mid-majors as well? There have been near misses - Nevada, Dayton, Ark. State - but nothing of note comes to my mind. At least Boals and another coach close by have some notches on their belts. Zips don't just need to step up scheduling, ... BUT ALSO BEAT SOMEBODY. PS -- All this talk about 'nobody wants to play us' is pure smoke. Who has Akron defeated in men's basketball that would put fear into these power conference teams. Kent? Miami? Omaha? Does Akron's loss to Arizona strike fear into Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, Cincinnati and others. C'mon folks. The program is rock solid, not a one-year wonder. It truly is time to full tilt boogie. Dance on the edge. Step up to the plate and take some swings.

Didn't realize so many 6-10-plus players in the MAC this season. There are several in the portal albeit from CMU and Buffalo in particular. I will say the freshman Buffalo bigs showed promise, just on a young/bad team. The MAC first-team CMU 7-0 big is probably going higher than the MAC, but his 6-10 backup probably worth a look. Like all mid-major bigs, does he fit what you're looking for (score. rebounder, banger, rim protector). At this level and at that size, likely one-dimensional. But if that's the dimension you want/need, go for it, especially if you have that undersized, more complete post guy to go with him. Worth a look.

I didn't think Kent was seeded, Loyola-Chicago either. But back to the metrics LC is 107 Kenpom and Kent is 109. That's my suspicion on the LC home game. Another thing: When Kent wins, shouldn't every team in the MAC get a boost in the metrics as well. Especially Akron and Miami. with a combined 5 wins over Kent. But while Kent's numbers have gone up quite a bit in the tournament run, everyone else has stayed the same. Doesn't make sense.

Sendy not the only one in the MAC crying about Akron NIL. At least he did it publicly, putting his own school on blast. Fact is, CMU (Indian Casinos), Toledo (Libby and Jeep), Miami (endowments) and UMass are probably the only MAC Schools that can compete w/Akron's NIL, especially if Firestone/Goodyear/Summa kick in a regular NIL check as well.

I think this is at least the second time ... maybe the third, Kent has advanced to the NIT Elite Eight over the years. No ... It's not the tournament it used to be. But it's still a national tournament, and the teams they have defeated were both Top 100 KenPom teams when they played them. Take advantage of the opportunities you get. Give them credit for that.

They may not have been 30-point dogs ... but a lot of them were 30-point losers just the same. A ton of non-competitive games.

It looks like the bulk of Miami's team is returning, plus a strong recruiting class. Combined with the Zips returning its entire roster, plus the addition of UMass next season, the MAC should be very strong at the top, at least. Toledo (so far) is the only top tier program with significant losses. Ohio has had a couple and Kent is still to be determined. Still, having three strong teams of proven winners/veterans is something not many mid-major conferences can point to going into next season. Yes, I know UMass is coming off a losing season. But overall, that is a proven A-10 conference program. Would be shocked if they did not come in as a Top 4 team in the league, at the least. If all MAC teams schedule to their pedigree, the league should be much improved. Likely still one NCAA bid, but multiple NIT bids and a clear indication the league is moving up, not down. Let's hope.

THE NEXT STEP ... has been there for half the MAC over the last 20 years. For the most part, THE NEXT STEP has ultimately been backward. Ball State, Miami, Ohio, Buffalo, and arguably even Toledo have all been poised for THE NEXT STEP but just haven't taken it. As for Akron and Kent, both programs are just sitting on the fence, IMO, capable of falling on either side. Why? Because it takes a serious longterm commitment by the administration to invest in the on-court program, facilities, coaching salaries, advertising, scheduling not to mention NIL. It shouldn't take 15 years to get a practice facility, much less upgrade the arena. It shouldn't take another MAC team to pay its coach a top tier salary, to get you to respond in kind. It should be part of both the athletic budget and the university budget to advertise/promote the team. And so on. Akron and Kent are on the fence, capable of falling into a hole on one side with the loss of a coach or falling 'up' with the right administrative investments. Saying, 'the same for football' is BS, unless the team has reached the point it's a consistent 7/8-game winner-bowl participant/and winner, and regularly sending picks to the NFL Draft. And that's not happening anywhere in the MAC, with the exception of Toledo. For marketing purposes, Ball State, Miami, Ohio Buffalo, Akron, Kent all need to look in the mirror and admit a little more $$$ into men's basketball will go a lot farther than a little more $$$ in football. By a long shot. Until MAC administrations face that fact, (Fill in the school name) will always be a big fish in a small pond. But what's happening now is, mid-majors are no longer big fish in small ponds, but flopping fish searching for air in a fast-sinking pool of water. Head for the lake and swim, instead of gasping for air.

The 'They won't Play us' argument is old and outdated. Teams can find those. games if they want them. Just commit to playing on the road. Coming off a 30-pt NCAA Tournament loss, make that November game a 20-pt loss. Then make the next NCAA Tournament game a 10-pt game where the pressure now shifts to the higher seed to win down the stretch. At worse you look like Bobby-MO vs. Alabama. At best, you get the upset.

I still say, when it comes to scheduling, the entire MAC - not just Akron - would be well served tieing in a basketball game along with these payday football games all these teams schedule for money. Yes, they will be on the road. But knowing what an Arizona State, Oklahoma or Alabama looks like up close should take some of the angst off facing one of those type teams in the NCAA Tournament. If just the Top Tier MAC BB teams consistently played an Akron-type schedule from this past season, PLUS 2-3 power conference teams instead of D-2s and SWAC teams, it would go a long way for both the Zips and the league.

Groce is right. Akron's schedule was 'competitive.' The two Sun Belt games, Milwaukee, Yale are the 'competitive' non-conference games Akron should be playing. Akron's non-con SOS was second-best in the MAC per Kenpom. However, the Zips never played a game above their class. That is the measure, especially going forward. Being 'Best in (Mid-Major/MAC) Class' is great in and of itself. But the object is to step up, in non-conference. Can't wait until the NCAA to see how you measure up. Those recently successful Buffalo MAC teams 'played up' often in the non-conference. That is where Akron has to step up, especially if the bulk of this still young team returns for 2025-2026. If that means a 25-win season instead of 28, that is worth it.