LoyalZIP

That was more so directed at the foul fest, Zips led most of the way at BSU. Crumbled when it became a fouls fest. This officiating crew was pretty awful, huddled up multiple times instead of just making the call. Josh White is on Groce’s s*** list moving forward. Tonight, they couldn’t get over the hump due to some questionable calls for sure, but still mostly inability to capitalize. *** Toledo hit the big shots, damn near every one of them, and the Zips got it down to 3 numerous times and pissed down their leg. X was decent, pressed a bit much late in the first half. They guarded Freeman like crazy, and he was off too. Uncharacteristic mistakes. Hankerson kept the Zips in it single-handedly at times. All in all, not necessarily a worrisome loss moving forward, definitely a lot to learn from. But if they drop @ Ohio Friday, they stare a trip to Ypsi with a 2-game losing streak in the face. Not a good spot. Time for the Zips to answer the bell.

Ball State all over again

Word. They were gonna cool off at some point. Could do without the defensive breakdowns though. They haven’t looked this lost since Bradley.

As with pretty much every game for Akron, it will come down to keeping the pace in their control and continuing to play great team defense. Jumping out to another early lead always helps too, but you can't realistically shoot 70% for the first 5-10 minutes every single game. If the Zips come out cold, how will they respond? This is a great team to play after the craziness of Friday. The Zips have struggled to maintain 40 minutes of focus at both ends. That could certainly be the difference tonight. Go Zips!

El Patron truck, I believe. Corporate sponsor. Look at UA marketing using some common sense!!!!

This is a very interesting matchup. Considering their offensive efficiency, Toledo isn't necessarily a run-and-gun team. They're 5th in the MAC in tempo, and only have the 3rd shortest possession length on offense. Defensively, they allow the 3rd longest possessions defensively. So they are a lot closer to Akron in that metric than one may think. They play fairly small, they don't turn it over much, and they've got a lot of guys who can shoot it pretty well. I, along with a few others here, definitely expect the Zips to drop a couple down the stretch on the schedule. I'd prefer they do it away from the JAR, but Toledo has won at the JAR quite a bit over recent years. And off the top of my head, I don't think the Zips have won in Toledo in over a decade. Keep defending home court. It will be much easier if the students and general public are hungry for more. Go Zips!

As of Sunday morning, roughly 35 hours since Akron’s 67-55 win over Kent went final, Kent State has not acknowledged Friday’s result anywhere on their website. No game recap, haven’t even updated their MBB schedule to reflect the loss. They’ve got a real solid operation going! https://kentstatesports.com/index.aspx

Here’s the list of All-Time MAC POY winners: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-American_Conference_Men's_Basketball_Player_of_the_Year I suppose Bates could get it if they start winning, but they’ll have to do a lot of winning and he’ll have to put up even better numbers. I remember the “controversy” of Big Dog getting it in 2017 over Marcus Keene from CMU, who was the leading scorer in the country.

Instead of “Whose Stock is Rising” were into the “Whose Dread is Rising” portion of the season. In all seriousness, the buzz and recognition is great. Awesome. Well-deserved. But the key is not letting it get to their head. We’re still a month and change away from Cleveland. A lot can change. Groce needs to continue to get these guys laser focused. Everybody needs to be ready to compete. From X to Amani Lyles. Akron basketball has been prone to big stage letdowns for years. They delivered in the MAC title last year, and they delivered Friday in front of one of the largest home crowds of all time. Let’s keep it rolling, no time to be satisfied!

I especially loved the “Senderoff is your daddy” sign He is 2 games under .500 against Groce’s Akron teams, and now 11-17 against Akron as the Kent head coach.

Tuned into Ohio vs. Miami. Combined 4-14 in the league. Lots of close losses between the teams.

Well that sucked.

Caught up with a couple people in the department today. They oversold a bit, they were prepared for 1,000 students and 1,400 wound up showing up. That’s so cool. People were pissed, but that’s the way it is sometimes in high-demand events. A good problem to have, and hopefully the U can learn from this. Also said this was the most people at an Akron basketball game since the home game against Kent in 2006. Another said that damn near every game should feel like that and have that energy. They’re not wrong, but unfortunately that’s not realistic. It would be great to even get half that every night. There’s a real buzz around the program. Over 20 years, that has far too often meant a flop is coming. I trust in this program to not allow that. Go Zips!

Bass with 22 at the break at WMU. Zips up 42-34

A very happy Saturday morning, Zips Nation! Re watched the first half before I fell asleep and just watched the 2nd half this morning. Lots of similarities in the rough stretches of the Buffalo and Kent game. Not working to get good shots, not focused on taking care of the ball, etc. Fortunately, the defense maintained its focus and the Zips could come out on top. Hank, Greg, X all with pretty poor decisions made in that stretch. But they weathered the storm again. Impressive. Freeman did most of his scoring damage at the foul line, but he was superb in helping run the offense. That was one of the great team wins of the Groce era. 1400 students came to that game. 1400! They oversold the arena. I was skeptical of the sell-out because there were plenty of reserved seats open, but that truly was a capacity crowd. Much bigger than the final crowd before COVID even. Zips Nation showed out. We got another big one Tuesday!

Their fans are proud of the team for not letting the very disrespectful fans of ours getting in their heads. Rowdies kept their cool, anyone got insight on that? More hurt feelings? Also called out the students going on the floor. I remember the loss at Kent in 2011, the fans carried the team off the floor, and Akron upset them in the title game a week later. The world's smallest violin is blaring for the poor Flushes!

Wow. What a damn program win! I am falling in love with this team, did not see that coming a couple months ago. Of course, there's still time to mess it up, but I am going to enjoy the hell out of this weekend. Garvin Clarke, like the title game, came up as a hero. Guard play off the bench has been hit or miss for the Zips, and he was a banger, out of the park today. All over the place defensively. I wish he had a 3 go in, he certainly deserved it. X and Freeman played really well too. A Kent buddy of mine texted me mid way thru the 2nd half saying "X is having the game of his life." Ha. He's played 2 games better in the last 2 weeks. But really smart on defense and offensively. He cooled off when Kent challenged him a bit more. But it's his POY award to lose. He's a gamer and a winner. I want to buy an X jersey. Hank made a couple mistakes, for sure. But he was also solid. The only game in his career that he's played bigger than this stage was the semifinal against BG in 2019 as a young freshman. But this was his time to shine, what he came to Akron for, and he showed up. Much more awaits you, my friend. Sammy pretty good too. Couple bad fouls, but that is what it is. Tavari was one I was concerned about. Not many complaints from me. Greg hit a few early. Lots of TOs for him and the team, but great game overall. The Zips dared Kent to shoot it, and they shot themselves out of it. Even when Carry, Jacobs, Payton, etc. got inside, the Zips made it tough. Santiago would have made a difference, but Sullinger has emerged as a real deal guy for them and filled that void well. He was their best player. The first play the Zips ran that resulted in that alley-oop was so beautiful it nearly brought a tear to my eye. What a fun game. When you pop the opponent in the mouth early like the Zips did, it makes everything a little easier as the game goes on. They set the tone and were able to once against weather the storm in the 4th quarter. That is something I can see Groce emphasizing. They've nearly cost themselves the last four because of such stretches. Great to weather them and come out on top. Maybe more thoughts tomorrow. Still a marathon to go, folks. This was fun, enjoy it, but we got another big one in a couple days. Let's Go Zips!!!!!

GARVIN EFFING CLARKE BLEEP KENT!!!!!

LET’S GET IT!!!!

Let’s get a “DUI” chant going if Sullinger goes to the FT line. Make me feel like is 2009!

Where’s the @NWAkron official Dread Meter sitting right now? Little over 2.5 hours to go.

And his uncle is a current assistant coach! You can’t make this s*** up 😂😂😂😂

Wow. Just read that Sullinger’s BAC was .126 when he got his OVI back in March before the tournament (in which they lost to Akron 75-55 in the title game). That’s approaching Kent State great Nate Singletary territory.

The Action Network released 3 CBB picks for tonight and Kent getting points was one of them. Got a feeling that contributed to the cash flow from some of the non-fans putting money on it.

Dollard ran for 666 yards in 2020