LoyalZIP

You nailed it right on the head my friend. The Akron crowd in the QF last year was the biggest of the bunch, but still not great. Either of these times they’ll get this year and it will be much better. Pizza 216 is a great spot for the fan party. Not as good as the Corner Alley was though. More space there. But the Italian Nachos are next-level delicious.

I think the Zips get in. I was hoping they would get the 6 so I could go up and watch, but that ship may sail if they can’t win at CMU Saturday. I wouldn’t expect them to even compete in their tournament game, but any chance to be in that building during March and I’m taking it. Plus I’ve watched them all year, may as well close it out.

I remember it like it was yesterday. Didn’t even click it and I can already see Francis Kiapway making the play. Crew last night was disappointing. 1981 is right, those are 3 good refs and had some horrid misses. Goaltend was obvious and the foot on the line was obvious.

They were getting hammered and got it down to 5 late. Then I can’t really even describe what I saw after that.

This is the worst schedule I can remember since the Rubber Bowl days. I hate the 5 home games thing to begin with, but the MAC home games we do have are unfortunate too. Kent on a weeknight should be illegal. Ohio on Black Friday sucks. It’s just a shame. The MAC is bringing in all of this money for now while killing its fanbases and not giving students the opportunity to build their own fandom. Once the contract is up and ESPN no longer wants these games, there will be no fans left. I don’t think the MAC ever thought about those consequences.

The nonconference schedule was set years ago. The MAC determines the MAC schedule and was not going to give Akron an extra MAC home game to make it 6. So yes, I am going to direct blame at Williams. Firing Arth was just the beginning of cleaning up that mess. I’m sorry that it’s taking a little longer than you may have hoped.

Larry Williams can be reached at the AD office at the University of San Francisco for these awful non conference schedules lately. Better things are coming.

That ticket issue is no joke. Get there as early as you can Friday. The company they use is shot to hell, for every school that uses that program. Make sure you’ve got any email receipts or mobile ticket screenshots just in case and to make it easier. I wish this one was for the regular season title, but there’s still a lot on the line. The 2 gets an easier matchup technically. And we haven’t won there in front of fans in a long time now. Plus the winning streak they have, the rivalry as a whole, them having a bunch of seniors. Nothing would really surprise me as far as a result, maybe the Zips winning easily. Unfortunately a blowout loss wouldn’t shock me either. But it does feel a lot better going in there knowing we’ve beaten them already this year. Hopefully the Zips play loose and get the jumpers going early like they did at the JAR. Akron’s a lot tougher to beat when they get the early lead.

That. Was. F***ing. Awesome. Wow. What an atmosphere, despite so many blue seats open. One day when we’re not so fortunate to be the class of the MAC, this is one I will look back at fondly. Great coaching, great execution on both sides. Lots of talent. Man, what a damn game. That was a program win through and through. We all knew X would heat up eventually. And it was just one of those games where you gotta rely on your starters. Like a tournament game. I am so happy for Sammy. The stories he told on the radio were so cool, his parents hadn’t seen him play in a long time. And he put on an absolute show, at both ends too! Freeman was a beast, X a beast, Clarke with really strong minutes. Hank was good too, despite a Cheatham-esque foul out on senior night. I’m happy for these guys and proud of them. A win Friday would be so sweet, and so on brand for this program. One game at a time, let’s enjoy these guys while we have them. Go Zips!!!!

Toledo game at the JAR all over again

Tough start for X. Good looks. D is a step behind. We finally see Sammy as advertised. Ball State plays a lot like Akron.

I don’t like this at all

Word on the street is we get a schedule tomorrow. Midweek MAC games are the last thing ESPN decides on so we get to be the last to know what the fall will look like.

Akron "playing down to competition" is something previously mentioned in this thread. It caught me by surprise, and the poster who wrote it didn't accuse this team of doing so regularly, but it did get me to thinking. In the Groce Era, specifically the contending years, how often does Akron play down to lower competition? By this, I mean losing these games. Many times they can be close, but you can't blow everyone out every night. I based the determination of bad losses on the team's KenPom ranking. The "Contending Era" of John Groce at Akron started in 2020. That team lost 4 conference games. vs. Toledo, vs. Buffalo, @ Kent, @ BG. Technically, the blowout loss at BG was the worst of the losses as they were 168, but the UB and Toledo games were at home. While the Zips did technically play down in those games, I don't consider them to be really bad losses. In the wacky 2021, Akron went 12-6 in MAC play, losing their final 3. Two really bad losses in the early stages of MAC play had us reeling. @EMU and @NIU back to back, with EMU being 289 and NIU 337. Last year, @WMU was 329 and home vs. NIU was 297. Both really bad losses This year, the worst MAC loss by the numbers is @ Ball State, and that is without X. You could say that the Toledo loss at home was one they should have won, same for @ Ohio. But as far as this year's team goes, they have been really good about being consistent and winning when they are supposed to win. What does this all mean? Nothing really, I just find it interesting. In the regular season, this team hasn't really left a whole lot on the table. They were alone at the top of the MAC after 5 weeks and if they come out on top tomorrow, they will finish the season without any head-scratcher losses in MAC play. More numbers for funsies: Groce's final KenPom rankings by year at Akron, ranked: 1. 2020 (82) 2. 2019 (108) 3. 2021 (112) 4. 2022 (126) 5. 2018 (255) Akron currently sits at 104, and was as high as 95 after beating Kent at home. Again, these numbers are largely meaningless, but tell an interesting story about the program, and the conference as a whole. Remember, the 2019 team lost tons of close games, and tended to play good teams really close. The MAC was pretty loaded that year. Close losses at CMU, at Kent, home vs. Buffalo, at Ball State, and at Bowling Green were absolute killers. LCJ shot <30% from three that season, which really is hard to believe.

This is Tribble, Dawson, and Freeman's 4th season with the program. They can all come back for their COVID year next year. I also think Dawson has another year after that, as this one would be his red shirt. As far as whether all these guys will stay, that's a conversation we are not capable of having. I think once guys like Ali and Aziz dipped out, it's safe to say that nobody is safe and anyone can see the grass as greener. However, a guy like Tribble would probably have a hard time transferring up if he wanted to be a starter. If he were to transfer up, he would be a nice 7-9 spot off the bench as a backup guard. Maybe he would want to go back home to Cincy and be a spot starter. His grass may be at its greenest here in Akron.

Fun fact about this week. Three of Akron’s five wins at Kent since 2007 have come after a loss. 2012, the Zips lose at home to Buffalo and win at Kent to clinch the regular season title. 2017 (🤮) Zips drop senior night against a terrible Miami team then go to Kent and win. 2021 Zips blow out Kent on the road after losing at Toledo. But I just care about Ball State right now. Make the Kent game as meaningless as possible from a seeding standpoint. We’re already going there with house money after beating them once this year. Playing with nothing to lose and only playing to ruin their senior night sounds wonderful. Tuesday comes first though, and Sparks or not it won’t be easy. They’re coming off a bad loss and will be pissed. Lewis is a good one.

Bingo. I think Dennis has locked it up, and deserves it.

WMU is a pretty decent rebounding team. A big reason the Zips struggled there was their inability to get the advantage. Without Freeman on the floor, you can really see how the roster struggles with that skill. Very interesting to watch, and an afterthought at times. Rebounding is an art.

Big fan of what Tavari and Garvin were able to do tonight. They’ve got a long way to go in their careers, but it’s a great feeling when they can play right there with the top line of any team in the league. And while Greg was missed, at no point was I despondent not to have him out there. A good sign. Is Nate Johnson fun to watch or what?! He’s a guy that can make a real difference in a couple of weeks. X is most likely out of the POY running, but should be 1st team slam dunk. He was a bit off and still put up a big number. Real disappointed in the crowd. But that is a battle that will never be won. Feels great to win comfortably, especially against WMU who somehow gives us so many fits. Go Zips!

I don’t see Tribble anywhere

Hell of a win. That’s exactly how it’s supposed to look! Both sides played well, the Zips taking what the opponent gave them and not forcing anything. Gave up a lot of looks inside, and were fortunate that Miami couldn’t hit from the outside. Great to see from this group.

Bandaogo would be a lot more of a help than Ali. But oh well. Props to Aziz on what he’s doing, I hope he wins WAC player of the year. He and Enrique are both top 10-15 or so in rebounds per game.

At WMU, poor shooting and poor rebounding made it a lot tougher than it needed to be. I expected the Broncos to be better this year, but they’re on the outside of Cleveland looking in. The Zips should take care of business, but for whatever reason, this has become a very difficult matchup.

Trap game

Mental health leave of absence since game 1