Let'sGoZips94

TOUCHDOWN AKRON! Lingard goes the distance.

Our issues continue to be coaching. Penalties, play calling - it all sucks.

Piecing this together, it sounds like Ali Ali struggled with mental health at some point - either prior to his Butler transfer or after his Butler transfer - and the mental health struggles affected or could have affected his academics. Akron is where he had/has the better support system, so he came back. At least this is what the argument seems to be. When Ali Ali missed that time last year with Butler, was that an actual injury, or was it mental health related? Something to think about. According to this article, "a player can receive immediate eligibility if they have a physical injury or mental health condition that pushed them to transfer from a school." The new restrictions were approved on January 11th, and players crafted their transfer appeals to fit within these guidelines, especially the mental health angle. Jackson from FSU, Walker from UNC, and now Ali Ali. I agree with Bilas. The NCAA crafted guidelines that included mental health as an acceptable situation for immediate eligibility. That's a loosey goosey category that isn't very difficult to meet in today's society with mental health becoming more of a major focus. @clarkwgriswold Great point about the NCAA's involvement with Bill Self's seemingly 100th infraction/violation. People are tired of corrupt organizations/associations/committees/ruling bodies. The NCAA is towards the top of that list and they continue to grow the flaming torch & pitchfork mob that's against them. Pretty big that Bilas tweeted about this. Hopefully Pat McAfee can go on another epic rant against the NCAA on Monday about this.

Wake up call for this team. They look demoralized.

Thornton can make layups this game. Good sign.

fbsschedules.com/2024-akron-football-schedule/

When did Colgate get added to 2024 schedule?

Video board?

Both of you are correct. I don't believe Ali Ali is as big of a positive to this team as many people make him out to be. I will always go back to his disappearance in the UCLA game, and the specific frustrations people had with him throughout that season when the movement/flow/rhythm on offense died with the ball in his hands. If Dawson is healthy last year, we would've had that legitimate complimentary piece to X2.0 & Freeman that can defend & score in a multitude of ways. That was what we were missing and what would've catapulted us to be MAC champions. Ali Ali is on our roster, and his participation decision is being held up by the crooked NCAA. Regardless, he is on our roster, therefore it is appropriate to play a bit of the "what if" game. We had an 8-man rotation after playing a tough game 24 hours prior against a team that played extremely hard, up-tempo, and a HAVOC defense. Within that 8-man rotation, 3 players barely showed up in the stat sheet. We needed 4 points. Ali Ali would've given us the depth and extra points we needed to overcome the missed layups, turnovers, etc. In addition, Utah State's length caused a lot of issues for us. Ali Ali would've been an equalizer in that department. In this game specifically, Ali Ali makes the difference. It's a damn shame the NCAA can get away with screwing around with programs and people's lives. @Zippy87 Great point about Prather Jr as well. Everything about his game during the recruiting process was exciting. Really hope whatever the issue is, it gets figured out and he can become a producer for us.

Ali Ali makes the difference in this game.

Thornton pulling up with well over 1 second left on that heave at the end was fitting for this game - we were not composed enough and peed down our legs when it mattered. The little things were not done well.

GRAB THE F'ING BALL!

Would be a great time to GET A STOP.

This is Freeman's world. We're just living in it.

My fear coming into the game was fatigue after facing that defense last night.

4 on Osobor.

I want $10 of my $30 back, FloSports.

Bad - BAD - sequence from Thornton there. Missed layup then got beat on defense and fouled. Edit: TWO MISSED LAYUPS!

Yes and no. Utah State's length isn't allowing for many "good" looks, but we've missed some decent ones.

Blessing to only be down by 4. Wouldn't be mad if Tavari sat the bench in the 2nd half; maybe he can learn what it means to treasure the basketball. Scott & Thornton can run the point just fine. Would love to see some off the ball movement to help break this 1-3-1. Dawson, Tribble, Johnson, and Scott all need to be looking back-door for the cut. Good matchup and about what I expected. Let's win this 2nd half by a minimum of 5.

Off night. Missouri State had 19 turnovers to PCCC's 9, but PCCC proceeded to shoot the following... 32.8% FG 13.6% 3PT (3-22; oof) 41.7% FT PCCC should've won this tournament. Weak field. Hilarious they lost their first game. KSUcks!

7:30, and this is a big one. The Mountain West may be the best non-P6 conference, and Utah State looks to be one of the better teams within the conference. They are tall, athletic, and experienced. When the bracket came out earlier this year, this was the matchup we wanted and how we wanted it (both in the winners bracket). Time to earn the #2 mid major ranking.

PCCC scored 58 in their 2008 NCAA Tournament game. You're probably saying, "That's more than 52. Why are you bringing this up?" They had 10 points in the first half. If you ever think the bar is too low for Kent, it's not. My signature is about as accurate as it gets - Failure resides 15.2 miles northeast of Akron.

Some thoughts... - Huge shoutout to FIU's effort & tenacity. They've been a well-coached team since Ballard took over in 2018. Would not be surprised to see them win 20+ games this year. - I thought a key moment that will probably go under-appreciated was the timeout Groce took at the 19 minute mark in the first half. We had just turned the ball over twice, and Groce made sure to stop the bleeding and make the adjustments quickly before it got out of hand. Decisions like this are why Groce is such a success basketball coach. - I thought all 3 guards had net positive impacts tonight. Shammah Scott finished well at the rim on the fast-break/transition plays (we've missed so many of those in the past). Thornton brought poise and maturity during times of chaos. Tavari had a big 3 in transition and overall I thought his speed/quickness helped keep FIU off-balance on defense. 19 turnovers is a lot, but a handful of those came early, Freeman had some down low, and FIU was phenomenal at getting their hands in passing lanes quickly. - I will probably repeat this all year, but if we have Dawson last year, we're back to back MAC Champs. His versatility, athleticism, and size is such a mismatch for teams. - Tribble & Hunter were a bit MIA at times, but their effort is always there. - Nate Johnson continues to be the most improved player. He seemed to always make up for his errors, and he's like a Dawson Jr. out there. His confidence this year is what is most encouraging, as we all saw the potential with him last year that was simply lacking the confidence. - Best for last: Freeman. 27 pts including TWO 3 pointers (the last one was insanely clutch), 14 rebounds. He is already on the Mount Rushmore for all-time Akron players, and nights like tonight simply solidify his jersey in the rafters someday. Unbelievable performance and I'd half to imagine the other MAC squads are crapping themselves seeing Freeman add the 3 pointer to his arsenal. This was a game Akron has lost all too often in the past. A beatable team from a decent conference, in a game where seemingly nothing went our way. This was a big win for the program. Beat Utah State! Go Zips!

Not shocked. Most seasons are 1-2 games before the early season tournament, which typically featured a P6 squad. One of those first two games may have been a P6 program as well. What is shocking is this is probably our most difficult schedule thus far that doesn't contain a P6, and we're undefeated. SDSU, USM, and FIU are all quality wins thus far.