1981 grad

If the team plays as well as they did on Saturday (big if) I still think they could get a 4 seed by winning 3 of the last 4. They would then have the tie breaker against Kent State. If they were to get to 10 wins they would have a chance. It would be nice to play Kent for the 4th seed on the last game of the season on national T.V.

Loren Jackson only took 6 shots and only 2 three pointers and we won big time. I know that he made his only short jumper. He had 4 assists to 2 turnovers. He was in some foul trouble and only played 25 minutes. He still scored 11 points and missed several foul shots or would have scored 14. If he could be more of an assist guy and not lead the team in shots every game I think it would bode well for "teamism."

WE shot 47% from the field and 44% from the 3 line. That has to be our best shooting percentage all year in the MAC. I think this team plays so much better when they shoot the 3 ball less and today they only took 25 3 ball shots. This team can play with anybody when they shoot the ball well. It seems that Riak and E Man are playing better, especially on defense. When the team is shooting well their offensive weaknesses are not as glaring. I thought Groce was going to have a stroke when we were up by 11 and we turned the ball over on a fast break. He immediately called a timeout. If we can shoot the ball this well in Buffalo we stand a chance of winning. Great to see Daniel hitting the mark on the 3 ball.

I like the Zips chances of winning 3 of their last 4 starting today. I wonder whether Roscoe can duplicate his shooting from Bowling Green. Our 3 point shooting is so bad that he currently is our best 3 point shooter after having a good outing on Tuesday. I am hoping that Jackson goes back to shooting short jump shots until he can find the range and that Utomi works inside. I think we are at our best when we shoot in the low twenties on the 3 ball unless we finally get hot from the 3 line.

World B Free had a great career in the NBA with his rainbow shots. No way would I have him change his shot. He needs to work on his inside game. He keeps hesitating when he gets in the lane. Stop hesitating and pump faking and take the ball up strong. He has many ways to score but has become too reliant on the 3 ball. I could say that for almost everyone on this team.

In hindsight, Groce should have use our trap defense with our big guys up high. That way they would not have been able to use the clock. Groce always uses the trap at the end of the half when the other team tried to hold onto the ball for the last shot. Considering that we keep losing close games, we need to be aggressive.

He took 3 steps after he picked up the ball. It was a travel but they never call it. I remember we lost a game in Kent on the same type of play where the player traveled to get to the basket. Refs are not going to call it unless it is obvious.

Utomi has been a major disappointment around the rim. He never takes the ball straight up and strong. He missed some easy shots from close in. He needs to stop faking and just take the ball up strong. Ivey and Utomi were 2 for 15 from long range.

WE have done that 3 games in a row!!!!!

I talked about inexperience pregame and it showed its ugly head on the last play. Roscoe has to defend the guy going for a layup with one second left. He is standing in the lane and watched the man make a layup. He made a step toward the guy and then backed off. Why?

No!!! Not sure taking out the rim protector was the best move. After Utomi got beat off the dribble there was nobody there.

Can we pull off just one game on the road?

Great play by Groce setting up Utomi!!

I do not understand Groce. Set up a shot from the guy who is 1 of 12 from the 3 line. Stupid!

It seems our defense is always better in the first half. Love that we are getting scoring from Roscoe. This team needs a scorer, even if it is for one night.

I really like the way Poke is playing. He scored and is rebounding really well. If we can get him playing well it would make a world of difference. Jackson cannot hit an open 3 to save his life. Repeat for everyone on Zips thus far.

They are inexperienced playing with each other and a MAC schedule. KD did not bring in transfers and most players learned from playing with each other going through the MAC schedule their entire collegiant career. Although it is not Groce's fault, we now have a team of transfers who do not have MAC game experience. KD indicated that you need mental toughness to win close games on the road. (Ironically, Duqeusne is also losing close games on the road) In the replay of the last 4 minutes of the Ball State game, I saw Jackson, Cheese, and Utomi miss close shots, Jackson commit an unforced turnover, and his man take him to the hoop and draw fouls when Jackson tried to draw an offensive foul. (Not going to get that call away in the last minute!) Further, Riak lost his man on the boxout and gave up the winning tip. These are inexperienced players not closing out a game. Further, alhough Jackson and Riak played 150 college games, they were not in the game in the last 3 minutes of those games. If they had gotten those minutes, they would not have transferred. The last 2 seasons road games have been frustrating to watch but it is not unexpected.

Just watched the replay of the last 7 minutes of the Ball State game and not very optimistic about this game. I was upset that Groce put in Jackson in the last 4 minutes because I think that Cheese is a better defender and was having a great game compared to Jackson. However, the loss was a team effort since nobody could hit a shot the last 4 minutes. Jackson also had a great steal that gave us a chance to win. For the Zips to win they will have to do things that they have not done all season, play well on the road and finish off a close game on the road. Young and inexperienced teams do not win on the road. The last 2 years Groce has had young and inexperienced teams. As a result we have sucked on the road the last 2 years. We have only 2 guys with experience, Daniel and Ivey. I am hoping that their defense can keep them in the game. Would not be surprised to see a letdown after the tough loss at Ball State. If the Zips could win it would certainly help them with their confidence the rest of the season.

I stated before the game we need our point guard to play well on the road in order to win. I also indicated he has to stop relying on his 3 ball shot to score because his distance shooting is bad. He shot 3 for 13 and 0 for 7 from the 3 point line. He had 3 turnovers to one assist. We get no offense from our 2 centers and poor play from our point guard. You are not going to win many games on the road like that. Unfortunately, that has been pretty consistent all season on the road. Really think Groce should have kept Jackson on the bench and Cheese running the offense the last 4 minutes. We struggled as soon as he came back in to run the offense. Jackson did make a nice steal at the end and made his free throws. We just need for him to play better on the road for us to win.

Riak did not box out on the last play and the Ball State player made a nice tip. I like that we got the ball to Ivey on the last play. He had a good look. This team does not have the experience to pull out a close one on the road. Tough loss on the road.

When Jackson went to the bench, Cheese was able to drive to the basket and score from the point guard position. When he put Jackson back in, he immediately turned the ball over and now missed another floater. We now lost our lead. Keep Cheese at the point!!!

You have to love Banks defense. He must at least 4 steals today. Jackson is doing a much better job getting to the lane. We were talking about his poor assist ratio and the last play was a great example. He drives the lane, draws a defender and passes to Banks who misses a wide open 3. No assist on a great play by Jackson.

When we isolate Utomi underneath good things are happening. I think we have once again been too reliant on the 3 ball. WE have shot 15 3 balls and we are shooting 20% from 3 ball land and 33% from the field. Why does this team keep on making the same mistakes. Stop relying on the 3 ball and take the ball to the hoop or take some short jumpers. We have to play to our strengths offensively and it is not shooting the 3 ball. Feed the ball inside to Utomi. I also like how Banks has attacked the basket.

Just when I complimented Jackson on making some short jump shots he has once again been content to shoot nothing but the 3 ball. He did try one tear drop in heavy traffic that I thought was a pass. He needs to work on something other than shooting the 3 ball.

They call it both ways!