Zippy87

32-16 so far in the 2nd half

Holy hell that was bad defense by Sammy

Lack of frontcourt depth showing up yet again with Freeman on the bench

I know we poked fun at Payton Jr and rightfully so, but they're going to really miss him. Their frontcourt is down to Hornbeak, a junior who started the year coming off the bench in limited fashion, and Entenmann and Hunter, a sophomore and freshman respectively who have barely played this season. Freeman feasted on them twice and I have no reason to believe he wouldn't do it again.

For some reason I feel less worried about an opening round afternoon game against Kent than a morning tipoff against Western Michigan. Maybe recency bias of their not showing up against EMU?

That is awesome, hopefully Enrique is next. Also, I can't believe they still have an award named after Karl Malone 😂

Was it the black ones they sold? I remember they sold out FAST.

Curious for those who follow the NBA closely, does Freeman have a shot at being selected in Round 2 this year?

Thornton started 17 games last year for NIU, and averaged 13 points/7 assists in those games. I expected he would start and pitch in close to that. Instead, he's barely in the rotation. He's been a huge disappointment.

I didn't realize he and Dawson were both so low. Wow.

Drilling down further and looking at individual players, Freeman and Tribble have significantly improved. Hunter has improved a bit over last year. Nate Johnson is just below his 22-23 %. If you compare this year to their last full seasons, the two big disappointments when it comes to 3PT% are Ali and Dawson. Ali 21-22: 40.7 23-24: 27 4 Dawson 21-22: 36% 23-24: 30.3% Tavari is shooting 48.8% from deep on 43 attempts. It obviously won't stay that high with more volume, but I do think he can add some much-needed 3PT shooting with more minutes. Maybe they consider Tribble/Johnson together with Tavari playing more off-ball? Take advantage of his scoring but lower the possibility of turnovers?

I'd definitely rather start Tavari and live with his deficiencies than roll with Thornton or Scott. Interesting to look at our team 3PT% over the past five years: 2023-24 - 33.3% 2022-23 - 35.5% 2021-22 - 35.7% 2020-21 - 33.3% 2019-20 - 35.7%

I still very much believe this team can win 3 games next week and cut down the nets. Here's why: 1) Experience- No team in the conference has more MAC Tournament experience on the roster. Cleveland is different (ask Toledo) and our most of our key players have been there before. I also don't think it will hurt us or OU that we both played at RMF this season. 2) Defense travels - We've seem some lapses, but we still have the top rated defense in the conference and that's huge in Cleveland. 3) We have the best player - Enrique will be POY and deservedly so. He has showed up big the last two years in Cleveland and I expect the same this year. 4) We have the best coach - Would you trade Groce for any other MAC coach? I wouldn't. Groce knows how to win in Cleveland and that experience will be huge going into next week. 5) I believe in our guys - I think Freeman, Ali, and Tribble in particular will show up in a big way. They don't want their legacy to end with a home loss to EMU followed by an early exit in Cleveland. They all didn't come back for it to end that way. I believe in our guys.

I thought we'd get a solid starter and he could average 7-8 points per game.

We've definitely been spoiled a bit with the guard play we've had over the years, but yeah, Thornton has been a disappointment. Tavari is such a natural and talented scorer, but he doesn't take care of the ball consistently enough and has issues on defense. I definitely wish we saw more growth this year.

I don't agree at all. It's a fan/alumni forum, we are all here to discuss the team, good, bad, and ugly. We all love the Zips. We all hope they have nothing but success. But we can also constructively criticize when necessary. I don't see anyone constantly being negative. Also, is it constructive to say "Freeman's teammates are essentially feeding him to the wolves"? I guess just coaches are off limits?

Makes sense. The generator said listed Ball State above Kent State based on winning percentage against #3 teams (Central Michigan and Ohio), who would both be 12-6 in this scenario. The MAC probably doesn't use that because Kent played the CMU/OU combo 4x while Ball State only did 3x. Thanks!

I didn't realize this, but according to the scenario generator Kent hasn't clinched a spot in Cleveland. Kent would need to lose to Toledo, CMU would need to beat EMU, and the following would also need to happen: WMU over UA BSU over BGSU MIA over OU Unlikely, but it'd be wild to see them not even make it there.

Do season ticket holders have a formal way to sell tickets to games they can't attend?

Careful - I was called "clueless" for pointing this out after the loss at Miami. 😉😂 Agree completely, and think it was an issue last season too. I've said it before, but I wonder if they originally planned on having Baker on the active roster this year. I can't imagine they couldn't find a bench big better than Lyles in the portal.

This was our best post-pandemic year for home attendance. 2023-24 - 2,650 (4th) 2022-23 - 1,921 (8th) 2021-22 - 1,927 (7th) 2019-20 - 2,703 (5th) 2018-19 - 2,609 (6th) 2017-18 - 2,824 (5th) 2016-17 - 3,391 (4th) 2015-16 - 3,352 (3rd) 2014-15 - 3,214 (4th) 2013-14 - 3,609 (3rd) 2012-13 - 3,782 (3rd)

Add to my JAR/Athletics wish list: On night's like last night, we have to find a way to at least fill up the blue seats. Having full rows of lower blue seats empty with people sitting in the bleachers is such a bad look and doesn't help with crowd energy. I'm not sure of the fix. Sell any open lower level seats remaining 15 minutes before the game for a discounted rate? Establish better ways for STH to sell to other fans? Use dynamic pricing (who was paying $25+ to sit in lower seats to watch UA-EMU on a Tuesday?).

If this season doesn't end with a MAC Championship, it'll be because we missed on adding an impact guard in the portal. I don't think anyone was expecting to find another X or LCJ, but Thornton and Scott have been pretty disappointing. Add in our lack of depth in the frontcourt and we're a pretty flawed team. All of our good wins have come when someone other than Freeman/Ali have had a good game. Dawson scored 14 against Toledo at the JAR. Scott scored 10 off the bench at home against OU. Tavari chipped in 10 at Kent. Hunter had 16 and Dawson had 19 vs SDSU.

I still think Akron can win the tournament, mainly because every single team has major flaws this year in a down league year. Akron is tied for 4th best offense in league play, with the #1 defense and best point differential margin. Who actually has a shot to win? Miami, Kent, Western Michigan, and Ball State are an easy "no". After starting 5-1 in conference play, BG has gone 4-7. I think they can pull an upset, but don't see them winning three straight. Central Michigan is solid but have lost 3 of their last 4. For me it comes down to 3 teams: Akron, Toledo (who I never bet on in Cleveland), and Ohio.

Games that won't impact seeding: Northern Illinois at Buffalo Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan The #1 Seed This one is simple. To get the tip seed, Akron needs a win over Western Michigan and Toledo losing to Kent State. They would play #8 Western Michigan. The #2 Seed We can't fall lower than #2. Possible opponents are Kent, Miami, and Bowling Green.