Let'sGoZips94

I had a post typed out countering your "easy money" statement and apparently I should've posted it haha. Miami at Kent last Saturday was easy money because Miami is such a superior offensive team. Toledo is better than Kent offensively most nights, but they are quite poor defensively. Kent had a once in a lifetime shooting night, firing at a 63% clip from 3 on 19 attempts, and 56.6% from the field. Both are way above their season average, and not something they'll accomplish very often. Toledo also shot 20% from 3 on only 10 attempts. Interestingly, this game seemed to be played more at Kent's pace, as there were only 50 total rebounds in the game.

I wonder what deal Kent made with the devil for a good shooting night.

A Thursday matchup would be more likely with how things are trending. They are 2-3 in the MAC having lost all 3 of their home matchups in the MAC (Balls, WMU, Miami). Previous Kent teams, I'd probably agree with you. This year's Kent team feels different. They do not have the leadership in that locker room to overcome the dysfunction that Pinky has created. Over halfway through the season, and they're one of the worst shooting teams in the country. They have only scored 70+ pts in 5 games this year, and lost their most recent 70+ feat to WMU. Is their defense stout? Metrically, sure, but they held one of Miami's best players to 3 pts and still lost at home by 9 (trailing by double digits for most of the back end of the 2nd half). Their best scorer is out of the season, their top high school recruit is MIA away from the team, and their leading scorers from last year (VCD and Sullinger) are way too one-dimensional in their own ways while each trying to play hero ball. Sullinger is a headcase himself having settled for Kent after the Furman debacle, and it wouldn't surprise me if VCD is experiencing some sort of "prove it" syndrome after not finding a better opportunity in the Portal. Tonight's game at Toledo will tell us a lot about this year's rendition of Pinky's Cirque du SoLame.

Your weekly (or sometimes bi-weekly) laugh-at-Kent-because-they-suck stats update. Kent is now 363rd out of 364 teams in 3P%, shooting an almost impressive 24.9%. Despite their level of suck from beyond the arc, they are still shooting the 73rd most 3s per game 25.4 attempts. In Saturdays heartbreaking (not really) loss to Miami OH, they shot 4-29 from 3. Is it just 3s they are atrocious at? NOPE! They are the 349th team in the country for overall shooting % at 39.1%. Furthermore, their effective FG% is 44.2%, good for 352nd in the country. I will give them credit, though, as they are indeed in the top 300 teams in the country for 2P% with 49% - good for 246th. Shifting gears to the Zips... Possessions Per Game: 75.4 (20th) FGA Per Game: 66.1 (1st) FGM per Game: 29.1 (25th) 3PA per Game: 30.8 (6th) 3PM per Game: 10.9 (6th) Effective FG%: 52.1 (121st) 3P%: 35.5% (84th) 2P%: 51.1 (177th) Shooting %: 43.9% (194th)

Yes, there have been several posts over the past year or so citing sources that talk about how far ahead we are compared to the rest of the MAC in our basketball commitment, including NIL. UMASS next year will surpass us, but we will be closer to UMASS than the other MAC schools. Anybody looking for a big pay day will leave (Young could possibly get a big bag to return to WV) because our NIL isn't setup for pay to play. It's setup to create a multi-year retention system for guys that want to be at Akron.

Yup. I've watched the whole game. Kent is worse than dog doo doo. Refs started calling their bully fouls (they foul on every play) which helped limit the turnovers. Miami is shooting the ball a bit better, although Kraft only has 3 points. Kent shot 13.8% from 3 (4-29) and under 40% from the field. They are simply a heavily flawed team that will need every bit of help from the officials to stay in games. Assuming Miami and Akron both take care of business on Tuesday, next Saturday is going to be a great matchup. From what I saw today and have seen the few times I've watched Miami, advantage Akron.

This is holding true. The underlying tone in this post was athletic teams will give Miami OH fits. The only way they can survive in these games is if they're shots are falling. Kent fouls on nearly every possession and as long as the refs swallow their whistles, this style will work for them to hang with teams that are far superior offensively. Miami OH isn't shooting the ball their best, and they have 8 TO's in the first half. Not a recipe for success.

These recaps videos are insanely good.

It was also the same core players all 4 years. Cooper's class vs Zeke's class. OU's 3 tourney wins added to it as well.

CMU and EMU involved in scandals. Now would be a good time to phase out the directional Michigans with some new blood that aren't utterly pathetic in basketball.

"Your dad's gonna lose his job."

If this team were to go back and play their OOC schedule with this level of cohesion and consistent scheduling (not 10 days in between games), they'd only have 2 losses right now at most. Surprisingly quite tame down there in northern West Virginia. By the tone of their board, they seemed to expect this type of outcome. Miami OH next Saturday followed by Kent the week after will be one heck of a 2-3 week stretch. This is the second or third game in a row the backdoor cut has been a staple. It's exactly how Groce is planning on countering teams that play us out on the perimeter, and exactly why we struggled so much in the OOC schedule because those types of IQ plays require a certain level of chemistry.

PCCC Ohio Toledo Everyone else. And that's the problem with the MAC. PCCC is there because natural due to proximity. We are the northern version of the Tobacco Road rivalry. Ohio and Toledo are in there because of their competitiveness. Nobody else in the MAC consistently competes towards the top. Buffalo has fallen way off after their run in the mid to late teens. Miami (OH) hasn't been the same since Charlie Coles (although Steele might bring them back to make this list). BUGS simply exists. The rest of the traditional "West" is irrelevant. The MAC needs more competitive programs. With that being said, Beat the Kitties.

They have had one hell of a turnaround. Happy for Dru. One of the most genuine people I've met in my lifetime.

Totally forgot about the Sean Miller part of the equation. Great point, ZipsBBjunkie.

This isn't entirely fair. He was a 19-win coach 3/4 years at Xavier and was just under .500 in the Big East. 4 years of being stagnant doesn't get you a 5th year at Xavier, especially after the success Chris Mack had for 9-10 years. Was Steele successful by Xavier's standards? Nope. But he wasn't an utter failure either. Miami OH has the horses in the barn to compete with anyone this year, assuming their shot is on. I do question their depth and versatility though.

He's on the page that has the frontcourt players. The initial page has the backcourt.

Okonkwo doesn't have the post moves/fluidity on offense to deal with physical "bigs". When he wasn't getting the calls, you could tell it was getting to him mentally and he started forcing everything. Props to MMK and Lyles for grabbing the bull by the horns and making the absolute most out of their 2nd half PT. Both were way too fluid/quick/versatile for Toledo's "bigs".

At least it's the JAR. If the ABJ would've written this article, they would've included a picture of the MACC.

OU fans might single handily fund the JAR renovation with beer at $2.

They are 4-0 in the MAC having beaten CMU, Buffalo, NIU, and Balls. First two on the road, last 2 at home. They are one of the top 3 offenses in the MAC and like to play a up-tempo style similar to Akron. They have very streaky shooters, though. They will go as far as Clayton, Brown, and Paveletzke take them. Hadaway is a nice 4th piece. They are shooting a strong 48.2% from the field this season along with 36.7% from 3 while averaging 81.1 PPG. Toledo was a good warmup measuring stick. 2 of our next 3 are the measuring sticks - Ohio and Miami. The MAC will come down to one of these 3 I believe.

I believe we were 3-16 from 3 in the first half (ended 9-29, so 6-13 in the second half). Toledo had 31 FT attempts and made 25. We had 9 FT attempts and made 6. This is a double digit win if the FT discrepancy isn't so lopsided, and that's with our pathetic first half shooting performance. Quite the win.

Toledo is more speculative for the AAC. From my understanding, they told the MW no because their basketball would lose its home. They are AAC or bust for conference movement it seems.