clarkwgriswold

Funny you should mention that squad. I was just looking at it earlier. 4 guys averaging in double digits, a stretch 3 who rebounded, competent big men who didn't need the ball, a defensive stopper...

Right now, the Zips essentially have a 9 man rotation (until Clarke returns). 4 of those players are in the first 15-20 games of their college careers. As such, there are going to be growing pains. As has been mentioned often, this team also needs a third person to step up on offense. Unfortunately, I can't see who that might me. It could be Tavari by the end of February, but he could still be settling in. I've given up on Hunter being that guy. I love Tribble, but he's not that guy. If Hank could get back to being the 13-14 point scorer he was at NIU a couple of year's ago, I guess he could be that guy.

I'm going to be perturbed if we lose Muskingum or Concord to accommodate for this.

Bowling Green is third in the MAC at 77.7 points per game and 8th in defense, giving up 74.1 a game. Zips are 9th in offense at 69.4 ppg and second in defense at 62.3 ppg. I suspect this game could be determined by pace.

Ball State has to he happy with their MAC start. They were predicted to finish 4th in the MAC preseason poll and they've already beaten the teams predicted to finish 2nd and 3rd.

BG beat OU today to get to 8-7/2-0. Kaden Matheny led them with 25 points. He was 5/9 on 3-pointers.

The Zips offense is just painful to watch when they get in that mode of overdribbling and not moving. There was way too damn much of that in the last 10 minutes last night. Last night was Kobe Mitchell's time to step up. He was given 27 minutes. The result- 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 turnover. No team can survive on an 8 man rotation when three of them (Mitchell/Hunter/Lyles) combine for 5 points, 3 rebounds and 0 assists. I love the effort Groce gets out of this squad but continue to be concerned about the talent level and this concern is really magnified when X is out.

The Stroh Center awaits the Zips Tuesday night as the Zips roll in to face BGSU. The Falcons stand at 7-7, 1-0 in the MAC heading into today's home game against OU. They opened the MAC season with a 91-65 trouncing of the EMU Emonis. In their unspectacular OOC schedule, they lost to common opponents Morgan State and Wright State. They were voted to finish 9th in the MAC Preseason Poll, placing no one on the 1st or 2nd teams. 6'5" senior guard Leon Ayers leads BGSU at 17.3 ppg. 6'8" junior forward Rashaun Agee leads rebounding at 8.6 per game while contributing 10.9 ppg. 6'4" senior guard Samari Curtis ins the team's second leading scorer at 12.3 ppg. It's odd to look at their roster and not see Daeqwon Plowden who seemed to play there for a decade.

https://sports.yahoo.com/university-akron-mens-basketball-team-041619197.html

It kills me to see Dawson standing there with a basketball looking healthy...

While the main concern is getting X back, I'd sure like to see Garvin back in uniform. He can be disappointing at times, but I think he'd could be a valuable sub when Tavari has those periods where he "plays like a freshman."

Good, they seem to do well when we both have a bad feeling!

This game worries me. Ball State has decent, good sized, guards and a rare good MAC big man. I still don't have a real comfort level with this Zips squad. I trust Groce to get the most out of them and I am confident they will give effort, I'm just not sure of the talent level as compared to some of the other recent Groce Zips teams. I hope to hell I am wrong and this is one of my annual mid-season panics!

Minute Maid! Tropicana!

Just imagine the NIL money OJ Mayo could have made.

Can you imagine the PR boom that could come from this kid getting the Zips into the Duke's Mayo Bowl!

UCLA gets Ball State's RB and PCCC's QB.

So, it's on CBSSN?

Is this on CBSSN? LOL. Through which streaming service do you guys get CBSSN?

Thanks. Fixed. Not sure what I looked at.

Unlike is predecessor, Donnelly appears to be on the ball. He communicated with all of the kids ASAP after word got out and encouraged them to stick it out. Word is that he was well received. It will now be interesting to see if Beals tries to poach any of the recruits he brought in.

EMU was 18 of 64 from the field and 3 of 22 from the 3 point line. Yikes.

I think we're in for a lot of MAC "surprises" this year.

Wow, how can we already be 15 games into the season? The Zips head to Muncie Friday night to face the 10-4 Ball State Cardinals. Ball State started the MAC season with an impressive 90-83 win at Toledo. This matchup features two of the MAC's top big men in Enrique and Payton Sparks. Sparks, a 6'9" sophomore center, was named to the MAC's preseason first team and is averaging 13.1 ppg and 7.7 rpg on the season. He is one of 4 players on the BSU squad averaging between 13 and 14.5 points. Scoring is led by 6'4" sophomore guard Jaylin Sellers at 14.5 ppg. 6'5" junior guard Jarren Coleman is the second leading scorer at 14.2 ppg. The team is led by their new coach, Michael Lewis, previously an assistant at UCLA. The Cardinals were predicted to finish fourth in the MAC pre-season poll. They played a pretty weak OOC schedule. The game is at 8:30 p.m. on CBSSN (grrrrrr).

Northern doesn't have a ton of talent but their coaching does them no favors.