GJGood
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On 2/21/2019 at 6:23 PM, zippy5 said:
Home and home with New Mexico State announced. 2020 at NMSU and 2022 at the Info
I love this for my own personal reasons. In high school our guidance counselors told us to have a realistic set of colleges to attend and then also apply to one "outside of the box" that you would love to attend. While most of my classmates were thinking in terms of Ivy League or Stanford or Northwestern-type schools I knew my finances would never allow for any place like that. So, my "outside of the box" school was New Mexico State. I loved what their cultural geography department offered at that time. Of course, I never even had the finances or ability to make a campus visit. I could not be happier with the fact that I attended and graduated from Akron with a degree in Geography and Planning but I have always had a strange affinity for NMSU as well.
Not sure about getting out to Las Cruces next year but I will have to be certain to be in attendance in 2022.
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I don't know that any game is a "must win" before the MAC tourney but I see this as a huge game.
- It is one we should win when you look at the standings.
- It is at home.
- It comes as the team seems to be improving and progressing.
- When Groce's teams have been successful in March they usually had a "launching pad" game that got them headed in the right direction. This one would seem to make sense.
- Its Ohio University
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10 hours ago, kreed5120 said:
The home team supplies the broadcasters. Those were Buffalo employees, not ESPN employees. Akron home announcers are just as bad.
Very true that there will likely be some bias due to the announcers being supplied by the home team, we have to expect that. Those announcers last night, though, never even figured out why the technical fouls were called. Groce had one for the Zips. Buffalo's in the second half was for having six men on the floor. How can a competent announce team miss that or at least not ask for an explanation from the officials? Like Reghi or not, I am pretty certain he would have at least gotten an explanation for the viewers as to what was going on.
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1 hour ago, 1981 grad said:
Just watched the replay of the last 7 minutes of the Ball State game and not very optimistic about this game. I was upset that Groce put in Jackson in the last 4 minutes because I think that Cheese is a better defender and was having a great game compared to Jackson. However, the loss was a team effort since nobody could hit a shot the last 4 minutes. Jackson also had a great steal that gave us a chance to win. For the Zips to win they will have to do things that they have not done all season, play well on the road and finish off a close game on the road.
Young and inexperienced teams do not win on the road. The last 2 years Groce has had young and inexperienced teams. As a result we have sucked on the road the last 2 years. We have only 2 guys with experience, Daniel and Ivey. I am hoping that their defense can keep them in the game. Would not be surprised to see a letdown after the tough loss at Ball State. If the Zips could win it would certainly help them with their confidence the rest of the season.
Agreed, but young and inexperienced teams should be getting better on the road as the season goes on. Last year the Zips made it to Cleveland by winning a first round game on the road. Could we see the team play better away from the JAR tonight? I will be interested to see how the team comes out tonight. Just from listening to the postgame after Ball State it seems like the team took that loss harder than just about any all season. The team can't allow a Ball State hangover to start the game tonight.
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Tonight and the game at Buffalo will certainly be huge challenges. We will probably be favored against Miami and Ohio. I see those last two games as ones that can go either way.
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5 hours ago, zippy5 said:
The MVC isn't anything to right home about without Wichita and Creighton. A-10 would look at us similarly and say no thanks. I view the MWC as a comparable and even though they are down, they're usually around the MAC at the end of the day. It would allow each conference to play some games in some new territory as well.
I agree the MWC would be a decent conference to matchup with. The problem is that if we scheduled the matchups late in the year to maximize a resume boost situation I don't think many coaches would like the idea of going cross country for one game during the home stretch of a conference season. Also, even though it may not be correct , I think the MWC views themselves as far superior to the MAC and therefore would not see it as advantageous. I'd love it if we could get it to happen though.
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So, if the MAC were to try to start one of these conference challenge events. Which conference or conferences would be a good match that also might be willing to do it? I think conferences like the A-10, American, CUSA, MWC, MVC, and WCC all see the MAC as below them even though the numbers don't always quite pan out that way.
I know the Bracketbusters thing is not coming back but I could see some sort of non-league resume boost games being scheduled one weekend in February if there was an agreement between two or three MAC-like conferences. I am thinking of a team like Toledo right now. I don't follow the NET and all of those metrics so much because the schools in always multiple-bid leagues will have a consistent advantage in those but it seems to me if the Rockets could get one more good quality OOC win over a similarly ranked team they should really get into some discussions on selection Sunday.... Even if they would still fall short given the landscape nowadays it could still be seen as a win for the league if a MAC program gets seeded well enough in the NIT that they would get home games. That never seems to happen in recent years either, which still confounds me with respect to some of those better Zips squads.
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I just looked up the Mid-Major 25 just to see where any MAC schools ranked, especially Buffalo, Toledo, and BG.
I have to say, though, that the thing that really got my attention on that site was how the Southern Conference with schools like Wofford and ETSU is all over the rankings. There has been discussion before about conferences the MAC could have a co Terence challenge against. Would a MAC-Southern Conference challenge make sense in the future since we no longer have Bracketbusters?
http://www.collegeinsider.com/mens-mid-major-top-25.php
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28 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:
The Ivy League is non-scholarship FCS so beating them wouldn't count towards bowl eligibility.
Fair enough, I wasn't thinking about the role bowl eligibility plays in it. I still wouldn't want to play top FCS schools though. It only counts if you get the W.
FCS programs have been increasingly taking away the big payday games from Group of Five schools. There was a time when you would never hear of a Big Ten or ACC team playing a team from the old 1-AA ranks. The "soft" part of their schedule was what is now the Group of 5 teams they played. Given that the FCS has their own playoff and the Power 5 always says group of 5 teams don't play anybody I have never liked the idea of FCS vs. FBS, especially Power 5 vs. FCS. It seems like opportunity stolen from the red-headed stepchildren known as the Group of Five.
Save for a couple exceptions, we don't even get many G5 vs. P5 bowl game opportunities on the landscape anymore either.
That doesn't mean that I do not like the FCS. I do. I realize for them it is just about the payday. From a football standpoint, Its just that if the FCS has their own playoff why do the FCS schools need to bolster their resume against FBS teams?, and if the P5 schedules increasingly more FCS programs, where does that leave the G5 (which is technically supposed to be able to compete for the same title as the P5 but "doesn't play anybody")? I just want the FBS playing field to be a little more level than it is now (I know it will never be fair or even) but feel that scheduling FCS programs only exacerbates the disparity.
Maybe I am way off on this compared to most, and maybe its not the right place for this discussion but it at least is somewhat related to scheduling an Akron-YSU matchup.
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I may be in the minority but I am not crazy about playing YSU. My hope would be that we play no FCS schools at all but that if we do we sure as heck want to play one that won't be a threat. I don't want to see programs YSU, Illinois State, Duquesne or James Madison that some years actually probably field MAC-level teams. If you want both FCS and name recognition I'd schedule an Ivy League school.
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7 hours ago, kreed5120 said:
Not that this is saying much but I actually thought this was Riak's best offensive game of MAC play. He went 4/5 from the field with 8 points. I'll take that from my center.
What I'm surprised to see noone mention is that I, from my seat in the bleachers, scored as many points as our entire bench tonight. I did that while taking 4 fewer shots. Banks looked like a really good 3 and D guy early on in the season. With Roscoe and Pokie not being big offensive factors, he needs to be a spark off the bench. With our thin bench we're going to be exposed in Cleveland where you have to win 3 games in 3 days. I think we're a year away.
I agree. My biggest concern with this team is depth. When Akron was the class of the MAC the Zips were playing ten or eleven players on many nights. I know we are unfortunately without Sayles so that plays a factor but how many minutes would he be getting if he was available?. We also no longer have Kostelac but I am not sure how much time he would have seen either.
I like what Groce is doing and how he is getting the team to respond overall. My one criticism of him, though, has been the small rotation size. I know there are two ways to look at it. Do you play your very best players as many minutes as possible with fewer periods of rest to try to maximize productivity or do you play a larger rotation to keep everyone engaged and more energized? I guess I lean more toward the latter with the exception of giving my star player or the guy with the hot hand that night more minutes.
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Jude Adjei-Barimah from Bowling Green is playing in that game as well but from the other sideline
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I don't know if the Zips are middle of the road in the MAC or not. I think what they are is one dimensional. The defense can keep Akron in just about any game on any night but the offense can quickly take them out of contention. These days it is much more common to see one-sided teams that are good offensively that struggle on defense. Even the good offensive teams will have an off night now and then but solid defensive teams can be a little more consistent with regards to their strength. That's not to say that there aren't just nights when your opponent can't miss or a game where everything you do defensively seems to be called a foul but in general good defense should be more consistent than good offense.
Being this deep in the season I think the Zips are what they are. I expect that they will upset a team or two yet this season but at the same time I can see them getting beat by any team they would play that is below them in the standings. I am encouraged by what I have been seeing from Cheese the last couple games. I at least think the team is trying to become more than the three point shooting team they seemed to be a few weeks ago. That is progress, albeit slow progress. hopefully this team finds a new level as it gets to MAC tourney time.
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I don't get how NIU can slide between Akron and their arch rival in recruiting base? Isn't the recruiting base virtually identical for both NEO MAC schools?
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Looking at it laid out graphically it appears the biggest difference between the MAC and the other conferences is not with the teams at the top or middle (although the MWC and WCC do have an elite team each) but with the fact that the MAC only has one team I would say is quite poor ranking-wise. Most of he other conferences, excluding the P12, all seem to be weighed down by multiple bottom feeders or a really woeful team. What in the world in going on with the bottom portion of the MWC?
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Looking at the transfer portal site I saw that tight end Eli Wolf has entered the transfer portal from the University of Tennessee. I remember him playing at small high school power Minster here in Ohio a few years back. I wonder if the Zips would be a good fit for him.
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On 12/20/2018 at 3:01 PM, 94zipgrad said:
https://twitter.com/cftalk/status/1075839908881649664?s=21
Someone on here was advocating talking to this coach as a possible candidate, PJ Fleck landed him on his staff
That was me. I thought if we were looking for someone up and coming that this guy certainly fit the bill. No real Ohio or western PA connections as far as I know but he really seems to get the most out of his players. Plus if you can recruit to Maine I would guess you could recruit to Akron. Arth may end up being a great hire and the best candidate the Zips could have gotten. I don't know. I just would have liked to see Harasymiak contacted or interviewed.
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With the LA Rams upset win over the Saints in the NFC Championship Game JoJo Natson is going to play in Super Bowl LIII.
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I agree the team has not played well on the road this season for whatever reason. That being said, if they take the defensive intensity with them that they showed against EMU they can pull off a win Saturday.
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Is Gerry Faust still employed by the university? I know I see him sitting behind the bench at every home basketball game.
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If the players on the floor are not going to play hard on D in the second half, put in different players. If the players are getting tired, put in different players. As the season has gone on the Zips rotation has been getting smaller yet they seem to have good first halves and terrible second halves. Should this team be giving more guys more minutes? Would that serve as a wake up call to those who get the most minutes now?
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On 12/13/2018 at 5:45 PM, Captain Kangaroo said:
I think accepting the CBI or CIT invitation depends on your team.
I would loved to have seen the Dru/Rome 25-win team get any sort of post season chance to strut their stuff. I'm sure they would have too.
But for other, disinterested Dambrot teams it was a complete waste of money.
I agree with this. I remember when the CBI was created that Romeo/Dru Akron team was one that was used as an example as to why the tournament was necessary. The CiT took it a step farther by being mid-major only.
I agree these lower tournaments were more of a waste for those less interested Dambrot teams you mention. I don’t, however, think with good coaching that teams should not want to prove themselves in the postseason somewhere. I would hope that if the Zips fall short of the NCAA and are not selected by the NIT that the team would still want to continue to play and make a run at a tournament title.
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On 12/13/2018 at 9:34 AM, Let'sGoZips94 said:
In year 2 at OU, Groce beat Georgetown in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In year 3, OU made it to the Quarterfinal of the CIT. In year 4, OU was an OT away again UNC from the Elite 8.
I don't think he's "above" the CIT.
I do agree the CBI and CIT should be dissolved into the NIT with a 64 team field. The NIT has never really bothered me, but the CBI and CIT do. The CBI and CIT are the equivalent to the lower-end bowl games. They'll essentially take anyone with a pulse that wants to pay to participate.
I wouldn’t mind seeing the NIT expand as long as they don’t keep their “good ole boy” selection committee. If the NIT ever merged with the CBI and the mid- and low-major only CiT then I would want to see the two latter tourney selection committees be added to the NIT committee as well.
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My hope for this year's team is that they are playing games beyond the MAC tourney in Cleveland. We'd all love a title and NIT usually only goes to the regular season champ but I'd even be OK with CBi or CiT this year as we climb back up.
Game 30- Bowling Green
in Akron Zips Basketball
Posted
To be fair I remember there being talk about Utomi being a scorer but also a defensive liability. I don't think he is a defensive liability any more. That may take a little away from offensive production. Both Utomi and Ivey are hard workers, stuck around when others bailed, and are key cogs on this years team. Whether they are the best fit for this current system under Groce or not I have nothing but respect for both of them.