LoyalZIP

Zips somehow 5-point favorites Edit: Also discovered WBB betting lines! Zips women are home doggies at +2.5 against the Flushes.

I tune into the YouTube radio broadcast and the very first words are “after the first, it’s Lipscomb 3 and Akron nothing.” 😂😂

There are some truly strange characters on this board that only say one thing or only comment on a specific topic whenever it pops up. ZN.o giveth, and taketh away I guess.

While largely but not totally innocent of those things, this is why I say ZN.o is the best. Other MAC boards are either dead or that CSN garbage that looks terrible. ZN looks great, is very easy to use, and has very thoughtful and insightful contribution and it isn't flooded with junk. CK and Dr. Z are the real MVPs.

We are. Every game. Every minute. You are disappointed, I am disappointed. I acknowledge we are not watching a great basketball team, you acknowledge we are not watching a great basketball team. The body of work over 15 MAC games has shown every kind of performance possible. Dominant win over Buffalo, close losses to the top couple teams in the league, decisive wins over a couple of stinkers, a couple of devastating losses to horrible teams. It would be one thing if this team had a .500 record after losing three in a row, but they are still above water by three games despite the pile of crap that has run down the floor for a few games. And it's not optimism. Optimism would be saying this team's gonna be okay and get it together and win a couple of games in Cleveland etc. etc. I would like to think that, but all year I have not once been sold on them as MAC champions, and I am less now than I ever have been. A season isn't defined by winning and losing streaks. This team is no more the 6-game winning streak in November-Jan. as it is the 3-game slide it is right now. It's somewhere in the middle--mediocre. And that's exactly what this team currently is.

Using a "decade straight of MAC finals" as an evaluating tool is wildly unfair, especially with college basketball being completely unrecognizable to what it was when KD was doing that. Is the program where it once was? Absolutely not. But what other programs in the MAC have been able to hover around the top half of the league for so long like this, even with a seismic coaching change? Yes, the transition year was bad. But goodness gracious, if COVID doesn't blow up arguably the best Akron team ever, what does the conversation look like? Once Dambrot left, the slate was completely blank. If they would've hired a Rick McFadden or Chuck Thomas, they would've been a lot better that first year, but it would've trailed off quite a bit once the core that would've stuck around made their exit. What will Buffalo be when Williams, Segu, and Mballa are gone? Yikes. Akron is nearly as talented as every team in the league this year, they just do not have a Ryan Rollins/RayJ Dennis, Carry, Sears, Norman, Keshawn Williams to hand the ball to and make things happen. X was shaping up to be that, but has shown that he isn't. That is the most important roster spot for a MAC basketball team. And it's a miss by this staff to not have that right now. Indeed, this season has been incredibly disappointing. The roster is also attractive to any transfers that may want to join it, and as others have said, there are players waiting in the wings that fill empty holes the roster currently has. The last four seasons have been: 8 seed that's rated as #108 in the country but lost a lot of close games, 1 seed that dominated the league, 3 seed that had some similar issues to this team but the best guard in the MAC, and currently a team that struggled its way to a 9-3 MAC record and is in a deep hole right now, fortunately a few weeks before the MAC tournament. What MAC programs have been collectively at or above the same level as Akron for 4 years now? Buffalo, Ohio (not even 4 years), Kent, and maybe Toledo. 9 MAC championship games with only 3 trips to the dance has damaged this fanbase in a big way. The same way the Kent's run in the early 2000s has nuked theirs. They now have one of the smaller crowds every year in Cleveland and people don't go to their games any more. And if you ask them why? "The program isn't what it used to be" blah blah blah blah. These two fan bases are massively spoiled into thinking that it should be MAC title or bust, while very few mid-majors can boast nearly two decades of sustained winning and success. Again, a very disappointing season for Akron basketball, which now stands at 16-9, 9-6 MAC. We know this team is better than that, we've seen it be much better than that. The players know. The coaches know. The fans know. You could just feel it in the JAR last night. But I'd much rather see these issues come out with a team that has no clear floor general and not a single senior than one riddled with experience and some of the best guards in the MAC crumbling. It's adversity, it's hard times. They happen at every program, even lousy mid-major ones that have been spoiled for a couple of decades. End rant. Has anyone mentioned?? GO TO THE WOMEN'S GAME SATURDAY!!!

Assistant coach Jordan Banfield left to take the head job at Oakland, the Zips’ first opponent in 2020. And he took a few guys with him. Sabo is the only coach remaining from the original coaching staff.

Groce has been coaching his ass off this year. The team has largely overachieved all year, especially with the departure of Walton. My biggest knock on Groce is him missing on Maishe Dailey and Walton these last two years. Two experienced senior leader wings/guards from the portal have contributed absolutely nothing (outside of Dailey GW vs. Toledo). That has made a world’s difference and it’s something that cannot happen again. If you add a true slasher wing to this lineup like Walton right now, Akron is a 3-loss MAC team MAX at the moment. If doesn’t count, though, and perhaps a 7th year Mizzou flameout-turned-best player on Ball State was doomed from the start. Players come to Akron knowing the expectations of the staff and knowing what they are going to go through, how Walton slipped through the cracks, I have no idea. But Groce gets these kinds of players because they like playing for a coach that will get after them and coach them. During games, if you sit close you can hear and see that his animation and in-game coaching is very little anger. There are moments, like Tuesday, where he does get visibly upset. But he does that no more than any other coach in the league. This group would benefit greatly from KD’s buddy Dr. Joseph Carr, sports psychologist that we would see hang around the team come this time every year. Trimble is further in his head than he is behind the 3pt line. X is broken, he was a 90% foul shooter and is now lucky to split. Ali briefly pulled his head out of his ass tonight only to shove it in twice as far with ANOTHER technical foul, he may have the most of any Zip in a season I can remember. It’s got to be 4-5 now, at least. Groce has a group of tough, good basketball players. Unfortunately, outside of a couple of games and moments, none of them (Freeman excluded) are great, championship-level leaders. If this slide continues, it will be interesting to see what kind of house-cleaning is done in addition to the assumption that Wynn leaves as well. I’m not looking at the scholarship chart at the moment, but once Nate Johnson and Mitchell play, plus Tavari Johnson comes in as a freshman, there will be an awful lot of cooks in the kitchen. I’m hugely disappointed in what this season has developed into, but I can’t say I’m surprised. And I’m not concerned about the structural integrity of the organization as a whole, either. The program has faced a lot of adversity and BS the last few years and has rarely gotten to a point of breaking-not-bending. But right now, the Zips are flat out broken. There is no disputing that.

You’re the Mikal Dawson glue-guy of ZN.o!! I don’t agree that this team will do anything special or make any kind of run, but it’s nice to read a little optimism in dark times

Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh. The Murphy’s Law Zips with another clunker. I’ve come to the realization that this is a team full of decent role players, and nothing more. Freeman is a star, but he would be even more incredible if he got his FT% up, and if he had another true threat to help bail him out. Before the MAC figured out X and Ali, that offense worked just fine. Now teams force Ali into ISO, they run X off the line, they cover Trimble like a weighted blanket, and then you’re left with…???? What’s an even bigger shame is that they’ve played decent defense a lot of these games too. They’ve been unlucky with other teams hitting big, tough shots but that happens. Once NIU started to bury those mid range guarded fadeaways, I began to see ghosts of all previous losses. And the final possessions? Goodness gracious what a disaster. This team reminds me of the 2015 Zips. A nice group of players with nobody to rely on to lead and run the show. There are still a few more games to figure things out for a miracle in Cleveland, but this is looking like a lost season. I’m still excited for the future as the talent is there, there’s just no chemistry and a severe lack of play making when it counts. Crowd was bad and had no energy and I can’t blame them, nor am I. The students had no life, it would’ve been nice if they would’ve attempted to create some energy, but again that’s not their job. No chance they win on Saturday. Zero. So please, everyone do yourselves and the womens team a favor and head to the JAR for their game against Portage County! Go Zips Women’s basketball!

This team…..UGH

Dawson and Aziz replace Trimble and Ali in the starting lineup

The Zips are somehow 12.5 point favorites. That seems like free money if you take the Huskies. I don't think Akron has beaten anyone by more than 12 except for BG.

I would say he is mostly physically and mentally imposing. He's super athletic and has a good body, and plays his tail off especially on the defensive end. He is what I imagine Mikal Dawson to develop into if he sticks around for his whole career.

A rising tide indeed lifts all ships. Santiago is the only other player on that team worth a $h*t, but Carry was one of the best guards in the A10 and has torn it up in league play since they played Akron the first time. But Akron's biggest issue has been the lack of a vocal leader. It should be Ali, but he doesn't seem to want it. X is quiet as a church mouse. Freeman is a great big, but it's hard for post players to be leaders in that sense. I think most of this group's issues stem from the mental and leadership side of things. It's collectively a very talented, yet young, team that just doesn't seem to fit together that well. It's a shame.

What a great second half by the Zips. They were patient to get their good looks and there was no doubt about it in the end. Perimeter shooting was bad until late. Other than that, another nice win. Pack the JAR on Saturday! Help give these kids the environment they deserve for their biggest game of the year!

Another big home game for this team tonight! If you had told me that in the middle of February the mens team would be a bigger disappointment than the women’s team, I would’ve called you nuts. Go Zips!

What an epic loss. I have allowed time to take myself away from the edge for now. The Zips were fortunate to be in the game with how awful they played. With that said, there’s no reason to lose that game. And every single person in the program deserves blame. I’m not going to get into everyone. But you can’t miss shots at that rate, you can’t pick up a dumb technical, you can’t throw so many horrid CYO passes, you can’t miss free throws down the stretch of the game. What a cluster. At the worst time of the year too. With all of that said, there are still two winnable games that could be huge confidence boosters going into the last part of the season. At this point, every practice and every game needs to be played with Cleveland in mind. One game at a time. As frustrating as this team has been, they have shown great ability and I believe in them. I’m incredibly disappointed in them, but I still believe they are a good MAC team that won’t go down without a fight. Last year, missing one Maishe Dailey kept the team from being truly great. This year, the disappearance of KJ Walton has shown it’s impact a number of times. Still a lot of season left, but looking forward, Groce can’t afford another whiff. This program has way too much talent to be what it is at this point in the season. To make matters worse, Kent swept us and is as hot as any MAC team has been all year. I don’t like how this is shaping out one bit. Come on, John. Give the fans what we deserve. Can’t wait for Thursday, I’m dying to see some hunger from this team. We know it. They know it. Everyone knows how good they can be. Go Zips!

Never been so bummed in a Groce team

This team sucks. They need to win me back.

Pathetic

What an awful game

Missed free throws from Zips guards, too!

Ali’s worst game as a Zip? Efficiency wise?

This team just struggles to play to their potential for 40 minutes, it’s odd.