LoyalZIP

Great listen. Thanks for sharing. We were lucky to have Chisholm. I'll never forget his last game, that 80-yarder we all thought would seal the deal. Of all of Bowden's brutal situational losses, that one took the cake.

Just re-watched the 2022 title game video again. It will never get old. One day I will designate a TV in my home to play it on loop for 24 hours a day. An underrated moment from that night was X cramping up after the final buzzer. One, he played his tail off for 40 minutes. Two, you can see the "teamism" this group has as they all gathered around him to help him stretch and get him back on his feet. No dances for the cameras, no "me me me!" just US. Let's Go Zips!!!!

I recorded a clip on my phone of the Carry Skip so whenever I need a laugh I have something quick I can go to. Man, it feels good to go into this game tonight with house money. A 20-point beat down in the MAC title game after a long, cocky win streak will be on the mountain top of this rivalry for a very long time. Kent State Sucks!!!!

Opening line: Pick ‘em Zips favored by 1 after early bets. I wouldn’t expect it to move much further either direction.

The issue with the U is the contract with Fanatics and Barnes and Noble. They’ve got all that Z gear to get rid of still, and general supply chain issues made this a really bad time to do the re-brand rollout. With that said, little by little more stuff is making its way out there. CLE Custom Shirts, the place selling the $10 white out shirts, has a small, basic selection. I was actually quite impressed. The bookstore selection when I was last at the Union during winter break wasn’t terrible either. Still not great, but worlds better than it was when I was a student. A decent amount of new logo gear, but pricy indeed.

This is definitely a tough matchup, I would not expect the Zips to come out and shoot their way to an easy win. Every shot will be contested. Every passing lane challenged. They will need to match the intensity that Kent brings. Now that the incompetent Pinky has a babysitter in Christian to help him wipe his own a** when things get tough, it will be that much more challenging for Akron to come out on top. The biggest concern here is the emergence of Payton. He's a high-flyer and is the extra burst of energy that team needed as they began to play some of their worst basketball of the season. Freeman will have his hands full with him. If he can't stay in front to keep him from exploding to the basket, he will be in foul trouble quickly and the Zips will be screwed. At the other end of the floor, Freeman could get him into foul trouble if he's patient and smart. He leaves his feet like it's his day job, and he racks up blocked shots on guys who aren't playing smart. The Zips must also avoid Thomas and Santiago getting hot. At the JAR last year, Santiago's shooting kept Kent ahead the entire way whenever Akron got the game close. He's a stud. Thomas has a bit of that Whitford attitude in him, so if you keep him from getting going early, he will fold like a Card. And as for the star of Dancing with the MAC Stars--Sincere Carry. He was having a dreadful shooting year before Akron played them over at the tool shed center in Brimfield last year. The Zips sagged off on the perimeter, and he got hot...all the way up to March 12, 2022. Anybody know what happened that day? Anyway, his shooting numbers are down, but he's become one of the best ball distributors in the game. As dangerous as ever. Shot-making, as in the name of the game, will also be critical. Last year at the JAR, we relied on Trimble to try to shoot us back into the game way too much. This team has done a stellar job of taking what the defense gives them. What happens when you go up against a defense that doesn't give much? Great question. If Sammy bricks his first two, I may not be able to take the pain and agony of what we have to watch from there. Let's hope I'm wrong. Also, if history serves correctly, the moment will be awfully big for Tavari. He really struggles with great on-ball perimeter defense. It must be a point of emphasis to not turn the damn ball over. The biggest key is what @NWAkron has been saying for weeks. Focus. We saw how excellent the Zips were shooting the ball on Tuesday, but as soon as they strung together a few small mistakes on each end, a 12-point lead quickly felt like a 6-point lead. This isn't Buffalo coming into the JAR. These guys are going to do all they can to pop the Zips in the mouth. The room for error is nearly nonexistent. I've grown to trust the Zips more over the last 3 weeks or so. I'm not sure if I trust them enough to think they will win this game. Should be a fun one, remember to enjoy!

BE NICE!!!!!! STOP BEING SO MEAN AKRON FANS!!!!!!!

Well, fortunately for Kent, they never have to worry about anything like that because their students don't care anymore. You think Akron's crowds are bad? Take a look at that much larger school who has had a better year. I think Kent Roosevelt may draw more people than Kent State games. Legit LOL'd at "Akron fans inserting themselves into the game." What does that even mean? I understand that this person isn't used to being at games with loud crowds of people who care, but the glory days of Kent basketball weren't THAT long ago. I wonder what dance Carry has rehearsed for the cameras tomorrow. Hopefully the judges give him a good score! Let's sing it! 🎵 F Akron! F Akron! F Akron! F Ali Ali! F Number 2! F Number 4! 🎵 Hopefully our students aren't mean! 🤣

The program is fine. Coach is doing a great job this year as I was expecting to be at the bottom of the league. However, tonight we saw a lot of the issues that have plagued them this season come into focus. Camp was completely out of control, and picked up just an insanely horrible foul early that ended up hurting in the end. They were unable to get open shots for the shooters—Ferrell came up short on any decent looks, Neitzel hit and has been a warrior this year, Martindale nothing, not to say she wasn’t working for it, but the offense wasn’t getting her looks. I thought the Zips had a decent shot at it with Kent failing from within 5 feet every single time, but they couldn’t string together enough buckets in the 2nd half until it was too late. The season is far from over, but one can’t help but think “what if?” when thinking about the BG and Kent games.

That was a dreadful game to watch. Absolutely dreadful. Sheer will kept them alive, and some prayers from about 30 feet. This teams got some real issues on offense. They couldn’t generate and open look all night. Did Martindale even attempt 1 three pointer? I’m worried as to how the rest of the year will go.

I have nightmares about “Zips Fight in White 3-5-2010” Also known as the Anthony Simpson game.

Caden Clark was the best thing since sliced bread, then didn’t do anything at Bama, and wound up 3rd or 4th string for Akron this year. It’ll be a cold day in hell before I lose sleep over missing out on a Hoban kid. “My team is on the field.”

Before signing day, no

If only someone in the media would ask Joe what the deal was with him. Instead, we have a city full of people that simply think UA is dumb for “not recruiting” him when nobody has been told what happened. Will he be a rare Hoban guy to live up to the hype? Time will tell.

Yeah this company is very confusing. I’ve seen their signage at UA but know nothing about it. They apparently have a building across from the stadium on exchange, but their website only has the white shirts on it so I guess they only do custom orders? I don’t know, real strange and not gonna go well.

It's going to be an attempted "White-Out" at the JAR. I suppose the days of free promotional t-shirts are done, as UA is offering white shirts with the new logo on them through CLE Custom Shirts for $10 a pop, can only be picked up from there over the next couple of days. Maybe they'll sell some at the arena as well. While I do think it's silly and they won't sell many, I ordered a few for my crew link: https://stores.inksoft.com/u_of_a_white_out/shop/home

I’d like to see Layne come out of her funk. And agreed on Bass, lots of forced layups, very similar to what Freeman can get stuck into on the men’s side. Kent is a tough, experienced bunch. But are definitely bearable. This would be a massive win for this program to prove last year was not a fluke.

I say we fire Moorhead and tell the next coach he’s never allowed to interview for another position. That’s the secret to success and will have candidates lining up out the door. Another happy day in the football forums!

Groce demands a sell-out Friday. Joe Akron would probably still rather watch the Cavs play Opponent X with both teams’ starting 5 on load management.

Toledo pulls out a close one at Miami EMU is figuring things out Kent pulls away Ball State and NIU weather comebacks by their opponents at home and come away with the road kill

Signature win of the year so far? Let’s one-up it on Friday. The two big ones carried us all the way, thanks to their hot hands and hot hands all around. Even the guys who didn’t impact the stat sheet still played alright. Effort on the boards could have been much better. And it was very uncharacteristic to see Tribble pee down his leg on those late possessions when UB began to come back. Friday will be electric. We need every second to mentally prepare.

This will be a loooong final 4 minutes. Huge shot by Nate.

Watched that whole thing. The thought was in my mind tonight, can’t even lie.

Here we go…lost focus