1981 grad

I thought that the Zips played at a slower pace against Miami. The game was winnable but we just did not execute at the end of the game. We missed a foul shot, a wide open three, and had a terrible turnover all in the last minute of play. We also did not shoot the ball well from the 3 line and we only lost by three. Closing out games on the road is a tough skill for any team so this road loss is not devastating. Wish we had a return game against Miami later in the season.

My bad, Tribble was 2 years ago. Still was a great defender and miss his toughness at the guard position.

Lets face facts, we are just not as good defensively as we were last year. Tribble was a great defender and very tough who could get around picks. Tavari, Scott, and Young are undersized at guards and have progressed more offensively than defensively. Evan Mahaffey is probably our best defender. I think Barre showed some promise before he got hurt. When Halligan came into the game I immediately commented that his defense made him stand out. He then started the next game. We are undersized in the forward and center position leading to double teams in the post and then open perimeter shooters at the 3 line. We miss the defense of Okonkwo and Grey. Our offense is great but our defense will determine how strong we will be this season.

Freeman has been with the Minn. but has not been on the roster for a game. I found this analysis of his game while a 2 way player from SB nation: Enrique Freeman Regular season: 13 GP | 31.4 MP | 14.5 PTS | 7.8 REB | 2.0 AST | 0.6 STL | 0.8 BLK | 2.0 TOV | 2.4 PF 52.4 FG% | 31.0 3P% | 75.0 FT% It’s been a slow start for Freeman this season. His minutes and overall numbers are down from his first season in the G League with Indiana, but he’s still been productive. In his most recent game with Iowa prior to being called up with Minnesota, he had his best performance for the season. Freeman scored a season-best 26 points on 10 of 13 shooting from the field against Westchester, a great encapsulation of his no frills type of effort. One of the more promising developments for Freeman has been his stroke from deep. Part of the intrigue of the 25-year-old was his potential to shoot from distance, but after shooting 20% on 2.5 attempts in November, it didn’t look promising. However, in his seven December games, he’s improved that to 37% on 3.9 attempts per game. If he can continue on this trend, then Freeman might have a shot at developing into an NBA player one day.

Forget Santa, talk to the refs and hope they are listening.

We have a great team but only 12 posts during the game. Not much excitement on this board.

Are we better defensively tonight than last Saturday or is Western Michigan that much worse and cannot hit a long ball. I go with the latter.

He was sulking on the bench with a towel over his head. Actually, He is working hard and is a solid g league player: In the NBA G League, Bates owns career averages of 19.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists across 57 games with Cleveland and Delaware. This season, he’s averaging 19.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 30.6 minutes per game while shooting 43.4% from the field.

Since I did not get an answer from anyone on this board I did an AI search and got the following: The highest points scored against the Zips in a game is 119, which occurred during a matchup against the University of Kentucky on December 21, 1990. Defensive Performance Akron typically maintains a strong defensive record, contributing to their ability to limit opponents' scoring. Recent Trends In recent seasons, the Zips have continued to focus on defensive strategies, further reducing the likelihood of allowing high-scoring games. Well, would anyone like to comment on AI and the defensive stratagies we have employed in recent seasons to reduce the likelihood of allowing high-scoring games? (LOL)

When Halligan came in, he stood out defensively and the Zips went on an 8-0 run. And nobody else stood out defensively today. He deserved the time.

Does anyone know what the record is for the most points scored against the Zips. We might be approaching that number.

They hit 100 already. They will go for 120. They are just red hot from the 3 line in the past 5 minutes. Murray State is just playing lights out from beyond the Arc.

I cannot remember the last time we hit a three and they are drilling open three pointers. We collapse in the paint leaving guys open for 3 pointers.

The Zips are just not helping themselves on defense. They need to move quicker to the ball on both defense and on rebounding. I do not think the refs have been one sided. We are 6 of 12 from the foul line.

Murray State has been called for about 6 offensive fouls on moving screens. It is helping us to stay in the game. This is not Eric's best game. Groce took him out early in the half.

Halligan came in and spurred the Zips rally with some really good defense. He was fighting through the screens and would not let his man drive to the basket. Groce was switching him in for defense. With Barre and him on the floor at the same time you could see the difference in defense. I would like to see them get more playing time in the 2nd half.

They have been able to drive the ball on us. And when they get the ball underneath, we have doubled leading to open shooters at the 3 line. We can play with anyone but need to hit our open shots.

We are getting beat up on the boards. Need to be tougher under the rim. One good thing about the feed, no commercials. Maybe we will not have so many stops in the action

I just bought access to the game. I thought it was an app I could watch on my tv but it looks like I need to watch through the computer. Arena looks empty for the first game. Picture looks decent.

Looking forward to this game. The great Akron teams always had great guard play. Johnson and Scott have been playing very well. Our defense and rebounding has been our weakness and in our last game we rebounded the ball very well. This team has gotten better as Barre has improved and has received more minutes. I like Marvin's hustle and game but he is undersized at the 5 and just not strong enough against opposing centers with height. Would love to see another blowout win.

I did not realize this was a one game event. I thought it was a tourney where a team would advance. Glad we get a good opponent but disappointed the Zips only get one game.

Although he is with the team, he was still inactive for tonights game.

Great discussion on whether this may be Groce's best team but we will need to wait till the end of the season. I have been wrong on so many things. I never saw Lyles developing into a scorer after his first year. I also was not happy with Scott because he did not penetrate his first year and missed layups if somebody was close to him. The progress these guys made under Groce is amazing. I always thought Tavari would be a player but took a bunch of criticism for people on this board who wanted him to transfer. The point being is that it is impossible to predict how this team will do this year but everyone should be happy on what we have seen thus far. If we can improve our rebounding, (like yesterday), toughness, and defense, maybe that elucive first win in the ncaa tourney may be in our future.

After the Tulane game, I think that Akron's 2 losses to Purdue and Yale were probably 2 of our better played games. I thought we played OK against Tulane but we played much better against Purdue and Yale. In other words, this team can play ok basketball and win on the road against a decent team. It is very early in the season but this might be one of Groce's most talented teams. Time will tell.

Tevari currently playing as well as any Akron guard that I have seen in the past.