1981 grad

They called it and our commenting crew could not figure out the call and thought it was a bad call. I am glad the games are televised but sometimes I cannot figure out what is worse, the commentators, how the commercials are 1000 decibels higher than the commentators, or watching the same commercials over and over and over again.

I was really surprised that this rule change was not made until 2017. I remember the 2006-2007 Akron team that won 27 games and lost in the MAC finals on a 35 foot bank shot. I watched the NIT selection show to see who Akron would play and they showed a clip of the Akron team and then did not select them for the NIT. Akron had a great team that was left out of the post season. I read that ESPN had the nit pick large conference teams in order to boost tv ratings and that was why Akron was not selected. It made national news that we got screwed that year.

We won 4 games with one of our best players in a shooting slump. That says a great deal about the potential of this team. He started the season shooting poorly. He then shot lights out and now is slumping again. He admitted during a post game interview once that the reason for his poor shooting was that he was settling for shots instead of working for shots. It looks like he is back to that tendency. His slump started in the Eastern game where they really pressure the ball on the perimeter. We will need his shooting against Buffalo and BG.

I knew that X man had a bad shooting game but was surprised to see he was 1 of 12. I remember his lone basket and it was a fade away from 10 feet over a defender as time ran out. I did not realize that Banks had a tough shooting night and was 1 of 5. X man is triggering some fast 3 pointers over the defender and when he is off they have not been close. He needs to get better shots. THe fact that this team can win on the road when 2 of our best players shoot 2 for 17 and no three pointers is a credit to Groce and well this team is playing on defense. Tribble played some great minutes while Cheese and LCJ carried the team. Before the game I noticed how Sayles seemed to buy into Groce's system in that he has lost weight and seems quicker. Last night he played some great minutes and had great chemistry with LCJ on the give and go. Jackson can make you look good as long as your hands are ready to receive the ball as you move to the basket. This is the first time I have said this in 2 years but I would like to see Sayles get more minutes. This team has a chance for the one seed.

I commented in an earlier post that Sayles looks leaner and quicker. He looked very aggressive with a steal and going strong to the hoop. It would be great to have another big contribute to this team. The offensive foul did not bother me because it was an aggressive move to the basket. Would love to see this 3rd year guy be successful on the court. I think X is pulling the trigger to quickly on the 3 ball. Cheese and Jackson are instant offense. Love the aggressive defense.

I agree that Sayles has been a good team player in that he has not played the last 2 games. However, he got significant playing time against Eastern Michigan and was in the lineup at the end of the game. He has lost some weight and put on some muscle. It looks like he has bought into the Groce program and I think he will stay if Groce wants him to stay. Since we are losing Riak that means that Sayles has an opportunity to get more minutes next year. He just needs to work on his game. When he has been playing he is playing with more intensity that last year. You just wonder how his career might have been without the injuries.

I like Riak as the starter. Why mess with success.

Playing the bench guys in the first half is really making a difference. These guys are closing out games because they are getting some rest in the first half. Groce has found a great rotation. Reese has really been playing well. We often wondered how good Akron would be with a dominant point guard and Jackson is that guard. I can't recall a player improving so much from one season to another. HE is doing everything right from not turning the ball over to shooting the ball well, hitting shots in the paint and shooting the ball from 3. Adding that runner to his game has really made him almost unstoppable at times. Fun game to watch.

Groce is really using his bench a lot more the past few games. I think it really helps the team in the last 10 minutes of the game if all the players are not playing 30 plus minutes. I saw a nice play by Ali and then watched Tribble and Ali look at each other on an easy rebound that turned into 2 points for Central Michigan. Jackson is having an outstanding game. Once again we started out cold from the 3 line and started 1 of 7. The last 3 games we have started very cold from the 3 line. Central Michigan has a bunch of offensive rebounds but many are off of long rebounds where the Zips have inside position. This looks like it is going to be a close game the rest of the way.

The 1 seed gets us an NIT bid which is a nice perk if we bomb in Cleveland. By winning tonight we put our destiny in our own hands.

It is a Friday night game at 7 on ESPNU. The Zips get to play on national TV!!

After losing some close games it was nice to see 4 clutch plays at the end of the game by our big four players. Cheese hit a long 3 pointer, LCJ hit a floater in the lane, passed the ball to Williams and fell down in front of Williams so the the defender could not get in his face, Williams made the 3 with 4 seconds left and Banks made the defensive play at the end of the game. This team needed to win a game by playing well in the last minute.

After the game I went to the scorers table where they were replaying the block in slow motion several times and there was no foul. Banks got 2 hands on the ball and just held onto the ball. That is why he hit the floor so hard because he did not use his hands to break his fall. It was a great defensive play!

The lack of a bench and poor 3 point shooting were our doom last night. Ali only played a minute and had a turnover, Tribble had 2 turnovers and no points, and Sayles was out there 3 minutes. I thought Williams looked a little tired toward the end of the game. It is hard to believe that Ali was a starter at one point in the season. Basically, this is a 7 man rotation with Reese being the only bench player that contributes any points. We need better bench play if we are going to win in Cleveland. Tribble does not seem to have any confidence and Ali looks lost while Sayles cannot play well enough to gain any significant minutes. Groce needs to do something to get Tribble more involved.

Right now I think Reese is playing better than Riak. On Kents last basket the Kent player just pushed Riak out of the way, got the rebound and made the basket. Riak is just not strong enough to hold his position.

Why can't Riak ever hold onto the ball?

I knew that in the past 5-6 games that Akron has been on a tear shooting the 3 ball but I was surprised to see that we are now ranked 11th in the country at shooting the 3 ball at 39.3%. What is amazing is that last year we were last or close to last last year in shooting the 3 ball percentage. The most bizarre part of the story is that we lost our best 3 point shooter last year, Daniel Utomi when he transferred. Although we picked up the X man, somewhere between this and last season Banks, Cheese and LCJ are now shooting lights out behind the three line. I do not know if the guys are passing the ball better with a year long experience, they worked on their shot on the off season, or Groce had them all fitted with contact lenses. If the Zips keep up this shooting percentage this team will continue to win.

Yes, it was a typo. My mind was thinking LCJ and my fingers typed Ali. In a couple of years maybe Ali will become a scorer. Not there yet. I corrected the typo. Thanks for reading!!

This team is just shooting the basket amazingly well. You have 4 players, Williams, Banks, LCJ, and Cheese that can score from behind the arc or just about anywhere. I saw Miami play good defense and Akron not able to do anything and LCJ just squares up and hit a deep three. There is nothing you can do about that. We are blowing teams out on the road. Remember last year when we could not win a game on the road. I watch William come around the pick on the inbounds play and square up and shoot a 3. The guy just exudes confidence when he shoots. LCJ is just playing smart basketball. The one thing I have noticed is that in the beginning of the season we pushed the ball down the court and we were always looking to score in transition. Now we push the ball down the court but always work the ball for a good shot. Right now this team is fun to watch!

I think the attendance will be a problem no matter how well this team plays. A popular coach leaves, have 2 years of mediocre basketball, never get past the quarter finals in Cleveland, get blown out in Cleveland by Buffalo last year. There are a lot of fans who left the program. Akron has done absolutely nothing to get these fans back into the building. No publicity, no marketing, nothing. I saw that Norhern Illinois was marketing 5 tickets for $25. That is more marketing than Akron has done. Akron tickets are $15 per game. They offer a season ticket program that gets worse as the season progresses. It would be nice if Akron did some marketing to get butts in the seats.

Thanks. Not having him in there really hurt although they should be able to play better without him.

I do not think I have seen Williams in the second half. Reese got hurt. Sayles and Ali look horrible on offense.

Wow!!!!!! LCJ is having his best game as a Zip. What an ending to the half. Not sure if I can remember any Zip being that dominant in a half. Three steals, 4 or 5 3 pointers, 18 points. The 3 pointers have been from distance. I am getting used to the annoucers. They seemed worse in the beginning of the game. How about the time keeper not starting the clock when there were 2 seconds left on the time clock. He must have worked for the Astros before taking this job.

Zips cooled off from the 3 line. It had to happen. Surprised to see Tribble miss that layup. I think the frosh have a more difficult time playing on the road.

No, just a comment on the discussion above about the possibility of Jackson transferring to a major program. No guarentee that success at a mid major will lead to success at a higher level school for a player. (might say the same thing about coaches)