clarkwgriswold

I'd love to see it, but what conference? I'd also like to see them consider dumping the Michigan directionals and NIU and bringing in some better programs. That's probably more likely if the administration decides to downgrade football.

Scoreboard. Best Regards, The Ohio U Bobcats

Three top notch MAC players and a good coach will take you a long way in the MAC.

OU started slow but has developed into the team I feared they would.

Any time a MAC level team can draw a P5 transfer there's cause for high expectations. Currie got recruited by Michigan and ended up at Wisconsin before heading off to a good juco program where he was an NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball First Team All-American and averaged 24.4 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. Like many, I thought he'd be a starter. He played 16 minutes all season and I suspect he will be on his way. Dailey was a top recruit who committed to Big 10 Rutgers, decommitted, then headed off to Big 10 Iowa. He wasn't a star there but was a contributor. A contributor in the Big 10 should be a solid MAC player. It was easy to attribute his early season play to a year of rust and he seemed at times to hit his stride, but his game then just completely went away, so much so that he started losing minutes and eventually lost his starting job. I didn't expect those kids to be 20 point scorers but I did expect them to be quality starters.

The Zips once promising season came to an end Friday night with a MAC Tournament loss to Buffalo. The Zips ended at 15-8. The Zips had an impressive 10-1 run in the middle of the season but fell apart late dropping their last three regular season games. LCJ was obviously the bright spot, but the team became way too dependent upon him as no one stepped up consistently to help. He gets a banner in the rafters. Freeman was obviously impactful in rebounding and shot blocking and Trimble occasionally hit a shooting hot streak. We all hoped the new guys could fill holes left by guys like Cheese, Banks and Riak, but it never materialized. Dailey went from being a promising replacement for X to an occasional contributor to losing his starting role to non-existent. Trimble had his occasional hot streaks but once the other MAC teams figured him out and guarded him on the perimeter the magic was lost. Wynn had to sit early then never really got it going. Currie was a complete no show and I suspect he is on his way to the transfer portal. Tribble developed into a top notch defender but really needs to work on his shot to become impactful on offense. Ali showed he can contribute but never did it consistently. Reece is exactly the same player he was when he showed up two years ago, other than he was not as nearly foul prone. Garvin Clarke, Dawson and Marshall all showed promise but didn't play enough to be regular contributors. In this weird damn year, I don't have a problem with the coaching. I imagine with the non-existent off season, limited practices, starts and stops, Covid crises, weird schedules and empty arenas, it was tough to get any team into a rhythm. Just ask Calipari and Coach K. Have at it guys.

LCJ shot 33 times. Only one other player, Freeman, scored in double digits (11). That sums up the offensive impotency of this Zips squad. I'll put up the Post Mortem thread tomorrow.

Well.......that went to $h!+ in a hurry.

Time for a Trimble 3.

Again, LCJ as the only double-digit scorer for the Zips. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Buffalo focused on stopping LCJ. Someone else has to step up.

Need some stops.

4 fouls on Hardnett and Mballa. Have to take it at them.

Damn, Mballa has 15 boards.

Buffalo with only one OT left now.

The shooting percentages are evening out. How have the Zips only shot 2 free throws?

Keep this run rolling Zips.

LCJ 3/11. Team shooting 36%. Down only 5 at the half. I like it.

77% shooting for Buffalo, 36% for the Zips. Ugh.

WHLO- 640- on IHeart.

OU putting it on Toledo. OU is becoming the team we thought they might be coming into the season.

Some numbers to ponder. Buffalo's top three rebounders are Mballa at 10.4 rpg, Williams at 7 rpg and Graves at 5.9 rpg. The Zips top rebounders are Freeman at 9 rpg, Reece at 4.7 rpg and Ali at 3.4 rpg. Not only are their top 3 ahead statistically, they are usually on the floor together which can't be said about the Zips as Freeman and Reece do not see the floor at the same time.

Freeman and Reece must have good games AND get help from others on the boards.

The Zips move on to face Buffalo who beat Miami. The Zips were 0-1 versus our Canadian friends. The Zips mounted a big comeback last week at Niagara Falls but fell short, losing 80-78. The Zips better come ready to rebound.

Whew. On to Buffalo. Plowden has been my favorite non-Zip MAC player the last couple of years. He sure showed his talent tonight.