Game 2- West Virginia

[Let'sGoZips94]

This is one heck of an effort by the Zips. 

[zipsrule]

The Zips showing some fire... I like it!

[NWAkron]

Poor choice by LCJ.  But great rebound next time down

[LZIp]

Pretty pleased with the showing tonight. Many ticky tacky calls seemed to go WVU's way (as you'd expect). Would like to see the PG take a little better care of the ball, but that was cleaned up a bit in the 2nd half. We could've rolled over and let them steamroll us after the end of the first half, but the 2nd half was pretty respectable, especially considering some key calls that benefited the home team. We ended up beating them in the 2nd half. I don't see anything that makes me worry about conference play. Xeryius has filled that scoring hole left by Utomi's departure. (Utomi had a whopping 3 points in his debut for USC, FWIW). Reece is going to help tremendously on the inside this year. FT shooting was good. The freshman look like the know their role, it will be fun to watch them grow throughout the season. Go Zips!

[zipsrule]

Not the result we wanted, but a respectful showing.

[clarkwgriswold]

Nice showing by the Zips.  No quit in that team.  Very encouraging performance.  At the end of the day, at that level, they just got outmanned, however, most importantly, they did not get out-efforted.

[1981 grad]

I was very impressed with this team.  We hustle and were scrappy.  LCJ played much better in the second half and had some nice assists. I think this team should be able to compete well in the MAC.  I like the pace of the team.  We have some players that can really push the ball.  

[akronzips71]

Keys to success:

X and Reece the Beast stay healthy.

Ali and Tribble mature.

Sayles stays on the bench.

FIRE AWAY.

 

They did well against a superior team. That 5th place prediction may have been a bit premature.

[zippy5]

No moral victories but I'm encouraged. This team isn't going to be outclassed by anyone in the MAC, that's for sure. Williams has MAC POY potential. What a stud

[akronzips71]

The moral victory is that we were not blown out and made them work right up to the end for the victory. We did choke a bit but we did not quit.

LCJ needs to wear a string on his finger to remind him he is a little guy and really should not dribble into the forest. Not that he is a bad player, he is very good. But at times needs to make better decisions - trying to drive into a crowd of really good athletes, chucking up a three instead of setting up a play.

[NWAkron]

Right.  No moral victories.  I expect wins in Groce's third season.  There were 3 key moments:  the intentional foul on Ali, the quick missed 3 from LCJ, and the block of X's steal and lay up.  Had they connected in any of those situations maybe a different ending, although, I never thought the Zips were going to overtake WVU.  I liked that even when they got down in the mid double digits they kept the fast pace.  I was expecting a slow down.  That was a really fun game to watch as opposed to the Nevada game last year where the Zips tried to just keep it close with a deliberate offense.  Reece did what Utomi didn't do last year.  Pumped for the next home game.

[Blue & Gold]

How did Ali & Tribble look?

[NWAkron]

44 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

How did Ali & Tribble look?

I thought Tribble looked good tonight.  Ali made a dumb foul that cost them, but I think he made a dunk or a big play right before that.  Reece and Williams are the standouts.  Too bad we can sneak that Iowa guy on to the team this season.

Edited November 9, 2019 by NWAkron

[akronzips71]

27 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

How did Ali & Tribble look?

They are kids and will need some time to adjust.

Ali looked a little bewildered at times and I didn't like the way he ran up and down the Court, did not seem to be going full speed. But he is tall and athletic and will develop.

Tribble played with good confidence. However, he WILL learn that the schoolyard stuff he is used to won't end well against a D1 high major team. He needs to pick his spots and show more BB intelligence.

It just takes time.

[Z.I.P.]

I just looked at the box score.  Is this an error?  SEVENTY ONE combined free throws???  Holy moley, Huggie musta wore out the refs!!

[Dr Z]

49 minutes ago, Z.I.P. said:

I just looked at the box score.  Is this an error?  SEVENTY ONE combined free throws???  Holy moley, Huggie musta wore out the refs!!

Akron’s bench being out scored 42-9 stood out to me. Also the Zips only lost 37-36 on rebounds, I read some were concerned watching the Malone game. 

[NWAkron]

2 hours ago, Z.I.P. said:

I just looked at the box score.  Is this an error?  SEVENTY ONE combined free throws???  Holy moley, Huggie musta wore out the refs!!

akron's free throws kept them in it

[The Hip Zip]

For the most I really liked what I saw from this team. I believe that the talent level has generally increased with the new guys really playing well  but what especially turned me on was the fight in this group. Similar efforts will win us a lot of MAC games.  For the first time in awhile, I'm thinking that trips to the JAR are going to be fun again.

[zippyfan34]

5 hours ago, Z.I.P. said:

I just looked at the box score.  Is this an error?  SEVENTY ONE combined free throws???  Holy moley, Huggie musta wore out the refs!!

Most games are 2 hours and this one went  at least 2 hours and 20 minutes.

[LZIp]

10 hours ago, NWAkron said:

I thought Tribble looked good tonight.  Ali made a dumb foul that cost them, but I think he made a dunk or a big play right before that.  Reece and Williams are the standouts.  Too bad we can sneak that Iowa guy on to the team this season.

I am not sure I agree with calling it 'dumb'. I saw nothing intentional about it. Looked like a box out that may have been a little aggressive and the guy fell down. It was all body.

[NWAkron]

1 hour ago, LZIp said:

I am not sure I agree with calling it 'dumb'. I saw nothing intentional about it. Looked like a box out that may have been a little aggressive and the guy fell down. It was all body.

To me it looked like a push with a flop. Poor choice of adjective on my part.

Edited November 9, 2019 by NWAkron

[akronzips71]

It was a flop. He barely touched him.

[Illini Zip]

I was away from the action for a week and this game is old news now, but here is my two cents anyway. We are looking more and more like a John Groce offense. I love it!! Our guys are still getting comfortable with the fast pace, especially the freshmen. Way too many turnovers. And on one play Cheese found himself so wide open, he freaked. Instead of easing himself into a three or maybe a mid-range shot from the free-throw line, he drove the ball right into the defense. The comfort level, decision making and system complexity will continue to grow all season long. We have a legit stretch 4 with X. How exciting to add that dimension to our game. Reece is fearless. Tribble is getting minutes running the point from day one, awesome. When we start seeing all of our big men involved in pick and pop action, the lane will open up, and the half-court offense will be humming as well as our transition game. Something to look forward too in seasons to come. Baby steps. That said, we should expect some road kills out of this crew.

 

I thought that maybe Ali Ali would redshirt, but he looks good out there for a freshman. Perhaps Tre Edwards is a redshirt candidate?

 

Finally, I was all concerned about the West Virginia full-court press. Where was that I wonder?

 

 

 

[clarkwgriswold]

4 hours ago, Illini Zip said:

I thought that maybe Ali Ali would redshirt, but he looks good out there for a freshman. Perhaps Tre Edwards is a redshirt candidate?

 

 

I think that's almost a certainty.  I don't believe he's even dressed for the first two games.