Zippy87

I've heard of the Barnes & Noble contract before and have heard some chatter that it really holds back Athletics from selling certain gear. Wonder when it expires and if they'd look for something different. Our gear has always been lacking compared to other schools. Honestly, Rally House has better stuff than anything you'd find on campus.

I also believe everyone above LCJ played 4 years here while he played 3.

Absolutely agree. The reason I pointed this out is because it means UA still hasn't released anything Freeman-related, which is definitely an absolute failure. I am sure UA gets a royalty or the business paid a licensing fee.

Updated the OP with Enrique's climb

I don't believe this business is affiliated with UA.

I definitely agree on Tavari, I just don't see him starting next year. Is Young good enough to start right away?

It appears Nate Johnson returning has pushed Prather Jr out of the rotation, while Tavari only played 3 minutes. I know a lot can change, but I'd bet Groce will go hard after a starting PG in the portal this summer. If Tavari isn't trusted to be in the rotation now, it's hard to see him being the starting PG eight months from now. Malcolm Duvivier, Loren Cristian Jackson, Xavier Castaneda...he has a history of finding good one's in the portal.

Enrique Freeman and Greg Tribble are two of my all-time favorite Zips. Looking forward to honoring them and the other seniors Saturday.

1. Akron (12 - 3) 2. Toledo (11 - 4) 3. Ohio (10 - 5) Above Central MI based on head-to-head record (1-0). 4. Central MI (10 - 5) Below Ohio based on head-to-head record (0-1). 5. Miami (8 - 7) Above BGSU based on winning percentage against #1 teams [Akron] (1-0). 6. BGSU (8 - 7) Below Miami based on winning percentage against #1 teams [Akron] (0-1). 7. Kent State (7 - 8 ) Above Western MI based on head-to-head record (1-0). 8. Western MI (7-8 ) Below Kent State based on head-to-head record (0-1). 9. Ball State (6 - 9) 10. Eastern MI (5 - 10) 11. Northern IL (4 - 11) 12. Buffalo (2 - 13)

MAC officiating classic. Onto the next one.

Brutal officiating down the stretch.

Discussed on ZN! 😂

Yep, he was diagnosed with Crohns when he was 16.

I did some digging - we were #24 in the Week 17 Coaches Poll in 2012-13. There are four things that haunt me as a long-time Akron basketball fan: 1) Doug Penno and the clock operator. That team deserved better. 2) Suspensions of Abreu/Diggs. People rightfully recall Abreu getting suspended right before the Kent game that year, but we also would've had Diggs too had he not f'd up. Marshall Treadwell Abreu Diggs Harney Walsh Gilliam Kretzer McAdams Ibitayo Betancourt Damn. 3) CJ McCollum wanted to play for Akron but we didn't have a scholarship open and KD didn't want to "push out" a player. Was the same class as Zeke...we would've had Zeke and CJ together for 4 years 4) The UCLA game. The phantom Freeman fouls. Would Wynn have hit an open 3 in the corner if Ali kicked it out? We were so damn close.

Akron, Toledo, Kent, Ohio, and UMass seem likely to be contenders in the MAC most years. The first four have been more good than bad over the last 20 years and I think UMass will join that group. For awhile I thought Buffalo would be there too, but they've really reverted back to a lower-caliber program.

If Akron loses and BG and Toledo both win, it lists Akron #1 above Toledo based on winning percentage against the #5 team [BGSU] (1-0). No idea if that's correct or not.

They may be wrong but I put that scenario in the bracket scenario simulator and we'd still be #1 according to it if BG wins. If BG also loses, then they drop us to #2. https://bball.notnothing.net/mac.php?sport=mbb

Who is the team you'd least like to face? I'd prefer to avoid Kent on Thursday. I think we'd win, but rivalry games are always tough, physical games and I'd rather us have an easier road to the semi-finals. Beyond that, we probably want Toledo on the other side of the bracket (although they never finish the job in Cleveland). My sleeper team is BG - they've been very inconsistent but I like their guard play and although I can't see them winning 3 straight, I do think they could pull off an upset somewhere in the tournament.

Scenario Builder Discounted Tickets (Code: ARIZZOMAC2024) Teams who have clinched spots: Akron, Toledo, Central Michigan, Ohio

The biggest thing with Nate IMO is he shoots outside at a pretty high clip - 43% from deep last year and 42% in the 16 games he played this year. Teams are too comfortable doubling Freeman and daring our guards to make they pay for it. I'm hopeful Nate can help that. Tavari is a much better scorer than Scott and Thornton. But Groce may be more willing to go with ball control/defense with those two right now because he has other scorers around them. Tavari definitely has the highest overall upside though.

This is 100% correct. It's the reason Groce stuck with Dawson through his prolonged shooting slump. I do wish Tavari would get more time because he's already a better offensive player than Thornton (too passive) and Scott (can't knock down open shots), but to be fair those two do play better defense and don't have as many mental lapses. I'd personally still rather see Tavari and live with some of those growing pains to see if he can lead this team next year as starting PG, but as you said, you have to trust they know what they're doing.

This is fantastic news. I'd assume he was able to do conditioning throughout given the nature of his injury, so hopefully it doesn't take him long to get back out there, especially with 4 regular season games left.