LoyalZIP

For now. Put your Ball State gear on if you want to be the #1 seed going into Tuesday.

Huge win. Not perfect, but three good second halves in a row is big. Tuesday won't be easy. Hell, none of them are if you ask me. Keep it rolling.

I'm telling you, something is wrong with X's shot

Sounds like Tribble is getting big minutes with Channel in foul trouble. Huge if they can hold on to win.

After hearing what Riak just did (and continues to do) I can't disagree. Though I know Deng is a better defender.

Turned the game on and we were up 12.....immediately lead got down to like 3 so I have French and Dunn on instead. Appreciate the updates on validity of calls.

Hopefully the revenge tour gets back on track. Zips should've swept them last year but lost the game on the road, choking away a late lead before going down at the buzzer in OT. From what I've seen, this may be Keno's least talented team in a while, but they play decent basketball together and have the potential to be really good. They don't have Austin and Roundtree in the back court anymore, but they are still tough and that road trip will never be a cake walk.

A few thoughts on last night & stuff in general: Best all around performance in three weeks LCJ kept his poise and kept playing his game, I love the little screen and pop they run for him at the top, that could be lethal as teams begin to lock down on him Outside of 40 missed bunnies to start the game, Riak played well and if he and Reece play like that (stay out of foul trouble, make efficient plays, keep Sayles off the floor, etc.), it will go a long way. And when they do need to go to Sayles, he needs to play like he did Saturday. Groce says be an "NBA All-Star in your role," and I think that applies to Sayles more than anyone else on the team. My hot take for the day. X is a great rebounder, and he continues to find the ball well. He's a great finisher too, which helps when he's slinging bricks Speaking of, he's been off for a few weeks. His shot is broken right now and at times it seems his head is elsewhere. We'll see what happens there. The bench mob is beginning to do the whole NBA All-Star thing too, and they were able to replicate their performance from Saturday. That will be what decides if we end our tournament drought in March, if I had to predict. I thought Channel was for sure going to get a technical. I love how he shows personality, but man you gotta chill. Love that perimeter D, and BG has a nice back court. Closing out on shooters was big too, though we were fortunate that Fields missed few open looks. Everyone made it hard on Turner too, and that was HUGE I wish Plowden played for Akron On to the next one, biggest game of the season so far, hard road trip against a team that's "chomping at the bit" after a couple losses in a row

Akron never wins that game. Never. Can't believe it.

How the hell did they win that basketball game???? Still feels like a loss, and I stayed for the whole thing. On to BG.

Another tough matchup, not having a center that matches up with the team's overall potential. Friday will be another tough matchup, especially considering the depth. You're starting to see how it hurts to not have any scoring threat off the bench. Ali, Tribble, and Dawson all badly missed wide open threes. Seems like teams are starting to figure Akron out. On to Kent. Not technically a must win, but it would be nice to go into the bye + EMU at home with a big road win.

As long as Akron is winning, I won't be too concerned about the bench. Especially when you can actually depend on getting 20 on the night from either one or a couple between X, LCJ, or Cheese. As for postseason play, they need to have a bench that contributes more. Far too often during these droughts in games or stretches where the opponent gets back into it do you look at the lineup and notice that X isn't in the game. Then he almost needs to be rushed back in. Again, not a problem right now, but in March that could mean an early exit. I'd like to see Groce take more of a chance in games that are already pretty much decided or in games against weaker opponents, maybe by throwing the bench mob out there for a full 4 minute stretch between media breaks. After all, I firmly believe the only reason he is burning Dawson's redshirt is so he has another contributor come tournament time. My concern with the bench, though still relatively small, grows with every passing game.

The defense is beginning to concern me. 54 in a half is unacceptable against anyone at this point. X shouldn't have had as many issues as he did today considering his matchups. Cristian is the best little guy to ever wear the uniform. These boys got poise, as I've mentioned before. But certainly credit to Ohio, they've got a fire under them that they haven't had, and once they get good the league as a whole will be better. On to Buffalo. Let's go 1-0 on Tuesday.

Bout damn time

There's a video on Twitter of KD talking post game on their radio broadcast about how the team responded to adversity like that for the first time this year. He talked about how they need to be emotionally tougher and keep their heads and they were sulking etc. As someone who wants to see him succeed, it's disappointing to see the same shortcomings that have been holding him back for so many years. I hope he can adapt at some point before he retires.

First of three huge games against rivals. I don't care what the state of their program is, they'll be fired up in the stands and on the court and tough to beat. They're not a great offensive team, so a replication of some of our better first half defensive performances can hopefully set the tone early. They don't have a lot of weapons, so hopefully the perimeter D can take them out of the game early.

Lots of good games tonight. Toledo stays hot and Buffalo had a huge second half. Always lovely to see Kent lose, especially at home.

Zips have killed a ton of demons the past two Tuesdays. Keep it rolling.

Easy group to get behind for sure. I've loved a lot of the teams over the last 15 years but I'm a big defense guy and seeing a Zips team play it like this group (usually) does is awesome. And they can run with anyone and shoot with anyone.

Good timeout there

Marreon Jackson filling it up once again in that game

Missed you, Channel's Offense

It was risky to burn Dawson's red shirt and I was hoping he would be a bit further along by now. He's put in some decent minutes early tonight which is good, I'd just like to see his impact a little more. Also, we're still waiting on the "Tribble game" where the MAC learns his name for the first time. I was expecting that at some point by now too. Not a big deal by any means, but going into March it would certainly give me some peace of mind knowing that there's some legitimate depth in case of emergency. Mind's just wandering. Nice half.

I hate complaining about the officiating but MAN Frank Spencer is awful

Same ol' MAC