Zippy87

Unless Ali said something we don't know, that's a weak T. Emotions are high. These teams are playing for their seasons.

Let's see if this team has some fight in them. I know OU does.

OU's crowd putting ours to shame so far, too

3PT shooting in March (NIU, EM, WM, UM) Scott: 4-4 (100%) Tribble: 4-7 (57%) Hunter: 7-18 (39%) T. Johnson: 1-3 (33%) Thornton: 1-5 (20%) Dawson: 2-14 (14%) Ali: 2-17 (12%) N. Johnson: 1-10 (10%) Freeman: 0-6

1) I have no recollection of KD ever ripping Akron fans. Source on that? He still considers Akron home and roots for us to do well. There was conflict between he and Larry Williams, but he never harbored any negativity toward Akron. 2) He didn't "empty the cupboards of the program" - Tavian Dunn-Martin and Michael Hughes were the only ones that followed him, and given they were freshman, I understand why they did it. Antino Jackson transferred, but this came after Groce's hire. He attended Groce's introductory press conference and told the ABJ his recruitment was still open, but eventually decided to go elsewhere. Noah Robotham was the other transfer and he was leaving no matter who was coach as he had an offer from his hometown team, UNLV. So two guys left because of Dambrot. 3) It's hard to consistently win as a mid-major program. We made it to seven straight MAC Championships and got there nine times in eleven years. That's an insane run for a MAC school. Do I wish we won more than 3 times? Absolutely. We lost twice by one point (Penno being one of them...ugh) and another in OT. But I don't think that should take away from what was an incredible run. We've only made it back once since he left (although I think they would've gotten there in 2020). 4) While I do think it was time for mutual change between the program and KD, I hope fans never lose sight of his impact here. Akron basketball was a mediocre MAC basketball program. We had never won a MAC Championship. We rarely advanced beyond the first round. While we never got that elusive NCAA Tournament win, he built the program into a a consistent winner. If the program wasn't in good shape when he left, Groce would've never come. If you don't believe me, here's Groce shortly after being hired: "We had battles, and I have just great respect for him not only as a coach but as a person," Groce said. "We hired three former Akron Zips people in different capacities during my time at Illinois for the most part strictly based on Keith's recommendation. "I told him, 'What you've done is a big reason why I'm here.'" We don't have to make this KD vs Groce. We can appreciate what KD did here and wish him well while also being happy about having Groce.

Why? I'll never understand the bitterness...

Overall numbers in our two matchups this season: FG% Akron: 44-99 (44%) Ohio: 46-109 (42%) 3PT% Akron: 14-35 (40%) Ohio: 13-48 (27%) Rebounds: Akron: 67 Ohio: 64 Turnovers Akron: 26 Ohio: 19

I looked at the score and expected to see them be on fire offensively - but they weren't, really...41% from the field, 31% from deep. But they forced 18 turnovers and scored 29 points off of them, while only turning it over 3 times on offense. We turned it over 14 times tonight, for reference.

Just got home from the game. Tough start, but proud of them for grinding out the win. Interesting to see Freeman not start out on Mirambeaux - probably helped him stay on the floor. Tavari, Thornton, and Scott provided some good minutes tonight - 19 points between them. Ultimately though, the difference was having the best player in the league. Enrique is special. Tomorrow will be a dogfight if it's OU. Can't wait!

Let's see if we can put them away early. Need that killer instinct right now.

Evan Wilson has made every 3 point attempt in 2nd half warm-ups #FreeEvanWilson 😂

Freeman shouldn't sit much in the 2nd half - that's a definite positive.

Death, taxes, Toledo choking in Cleveland.

Per Wikipedia, Ball did win it in 1997.

Bought two tickets for tomorrow using the code. I looked and would've paid double without it. Really appreciate her putting these out there for Zips fans.

They really finished the year strong. Started 0-5 in conference play in large part to injuries then went 10-3 the rest of the way. Unfortunately for them they draw Dayton tomorrow, who is the #3 seed despite being the only team in the A10 currently in the Top 25.

I don't think Western Michigan was doing anything in particular to stop us. We scored 84 points but we didn't play typical Akron-caliber defense, or anything close to it in the 2nd half. EMU loss was lack of execution + nobody could hit an outside shot aside from Sammy. And then we lost close games at Toledo and Ohio, two teams we've historically struggled against at times on the road. Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been pretty the last two games and this is a flawed team, but with a week to reset, their chances of winning 3 games are as good as anyone else.

Agree completely. Foul #5 at Western Michigan happened because he jumped into a shooter taking what was already going to be a difficult shot. He's big enough to alter shots without doing that.

I think there's been some pretty clear roster construction flaws for awhile now. I know he hasn't played up to expectations, but imagine if Ali was never cleared? Yikes. I have no expectations that this team can win an NCAA Tournament game. I do think, in a wide open year for the league, that they can win the MAC Tournament. It's going to require a re-dedication to defense, some better play from role players, and Freeman finding a way to stay on the court, but they can do it. I think Miami is a perfect "get right" opportunity with how bad they are offensively.

I really thought they'd get over the hump last year and couldn't. I will never bet on them in Cleveland until they prove they can win there.

ESPN Bracketology now has Toledo (they always use our current #1 seed) as a #15 vs Duke

Anyone else miss the old format? Toledo and Akron don't gain much of an advantage for being 1 and 2. I wonder if adding UMass (and potentially another school) will lead them to re-think format again.

I'd start Tavari but have him play off-ball, trying to limit his turnovers. Teams are going to double and triple Freeman and the only way that changes is if you make them pay for it outside. Small sample size, but Tavari is shooting 49% from deep this season (21-43). How many open looks have guards missed over this bad stretch? I trust Tavari to hit open shots more than I do the others. The Miami game is the time to do it, too. They're bad offensively, so less concern about TJ's defense in that matchup. We know what Thornton and Scott are. We don't fully know what Tavari can be. Freeman has to be wise on defense. I LOVE his aggressiveness, but he needs to remember that sometimes it's better to trade a basket than commit a foul. His 4th foul yesterday was questionable, but his 5th was obvious and unwise. We're arguably a bad, Buffalo-level team when he's not out there. We need Ali to be aggressive, but smart. Sometimes his emotions can carry he and his teammates, other times it can kill us. Truthfully, next week will come down to the role players. I dont think Freeman, Tribble, or Ali will go down without a fight. But they can't do it alone. One thing I do want to mention - Prather wasn't a transfer, and I think he's come on nicely. He won't be a star by any means, but I think he'll be a solid contributor moving forward.

Can anyone find Vegas odds on a MAC Tournament winner? TeamRankings.com still has us as the favorite: 32% - Akron 23% - Toledo 21% - Ohio 11% - Kent With everyone else below a 10% chance to win.