MDZip Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 Ball State beat Buffalo by 20. Friday night should be a good game. 1 Quote
clarkwgriswold Posted January 8, 2020 Author Report Posted January 8, 2020 Zips turned 21 turnovers into 32 points. Nice. Need to fix the defensive breakdowns we saw in the second half. Quote
NWAkron Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 Since Friday night's game is on TV, there might be more pressure on the refs to keep the game moving and not call a foul every possession. The crowd just couldn't get into it. Flowers is a junior and looked really angry at his teammates at the end. Now that's a guy who could enter the transfer portal especially if Hawkins is canned. Tyler Cheese reminds me of Canada's Jeremy Harris, including the hairstyle. Quote
1981 grad Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 LCJ has been nothing short of amazing. In the second half when the game got close he had a drive and dish to Ali for two easy points. He then went on a tear from the 3 line. Cheese then started hitting the 3. I love to see LCJ take control when the opposing team is making a run. Shows maturity. The Zips played great offensively toward the end of the second half. The Zips were shooting 28% from the 3 line when Western made their run and they then finished shooting over 40%. The big difference I see from the beginning of the season is how Williams is not taking 20 shots and his shot selection has really improved. Tribble's game has also improved from the beginning of the season. Groce indicated that the defense was bad in the second half. I thought that Western made some tough shots and got hot from the 3 line. I thought the intensity of the team on defense was good but both teams got called for ticky tack fouls that really destroyed the flow of the game. I am amazed at how well Banks and LCJ draw offensive fouls. It was driving the Western Coach crazy. 1 Quote
Let'sGoZips94 Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 Excellent effort tonight. Weathered all the storms that came our way, and never let them within, what, 7? 12-3 heading into what is turning out to be a pivotal matchup with Balls. Quote
LoyalZIP Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 As I was walking to my car, I thought if Akron repeats that 40 minutes of basketball on Friday, they'll lose. And Groce said the same thing on the post game. Sure, Flowers hit some tough shots, but that defensive performance was just not good enough. Numbers wise, the offense played well but it came more in spurts. Being stuck on 27 points in the first half for so long kept this one much closer than it should've been. Tonight reminded me of last year's WMU game--never in doubt but not as comfortable as I would've liked. But 2-0 is 2-0. Zips fans need to bring it on Friday!!! Quote
NWAkron Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, LoyalZIP said: As I was walking to my car, I thought if Akron repeats that 40 minutes of basketball on Friday, they'll lose. And Groce said the same thing on the post game. Sure, Flowers hit some tough shots, but that defensive performance was just not good enough. Numbers wise, the offense played well but it came more in spurts. Being stuck on 27 points in the first half for so long kept this one much closer than it should've been. Tonight reminded me of last year's WMU game--never in doubt but not as comfortable as I would've liked. But 2-0 is 2-0. Zips fans need to bring it on Friday!!! The intensity of the defense was amazing the first 5 or 6 minutes. Zips were going after every pass, trapping, hands in face, and going after any guy who touched the ball. My thought at the time was that they weren't going to be able to keep that pace and intensity the entire game, especially when the fouls start racking up. https://www.beaconjournal.com/sports/20200107/solid-first-half-carries-zips-to-84-69-win-over-western-michigan-ninth-consecutive-victory-at-rhodes-arena Good point from Groce: When the Zips built up a lead in the first half, the defense started slacking off. I think it had to those quick whistles from the refs. Edited January 8, 2020 by NWAkron 1 Quote
AkronAlumnus Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 WOW, with the win over WMU the zips are up to #83 in the most recent Kenpom poll. 1 Quote
Blue & Gold Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 2 minutes ago, AkronAlumnus said: WOW, with the win over WMU the zips are up to #83 in the most recent Kenpom poll. What were they before? Quote
AkronAlumnus Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 5 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said: What were they before? 90th 1 Quote
Captain Kangaroo Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 13 minutes ago, AkronAlumnus said: 90th #19 in the Mid-major Top 25 (before last night's win) I like this poll as a gauge of where the Zips rank among their peers. Liberty at #2, trailing only Gonzage (who should not be considered a mid-major). Kent sitting at #13. 1 Quote
NWAkron Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 4 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said: #19 in the Mid-major Top 25 (before last night's win) Kent sitting at #13. Collision course. Quote
kreed5120 Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 Mid-Major Madness has us at #24 and Kent at #22. It should be noted that the Mid-Major Madness poll includes A10, MWC, & C-USA teams, meanwhile the College Insider poll doesn't. That's why Akron is lower in this one. https://www.midmajormadness.com/2020/1/6/21052138/college-basketball-mid-major-poll-rankings-other-top-25-conference-play 1 Quote
clarkwgriswold Posted January 8, 2020 Author Report Posted January 8, 2020 Everybody needs to pump the brakes a little... 2 Quote
Captain Kangaroo Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 13 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said: Everybody needs to pump the brakes a little... Why? Quote
NWAkron Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 14 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said: Why? At large bid? Too soon? 1 Quote
clarkwgriswold Posted January 8, 2020 Author Report Posted January 8, 2020 4 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said: Why? I like this team but there's a lot of season left and some work by the team to be done. I appreciate the enthusiasm but want to see more results before getting caught up in the polls. Quote
LoyalZIP Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 23 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said: Everybody needs to pump the brakes a little... Agreed. After going home from the Q losers on Saturday night 5 times in the last 15 years or so as the better team, I can't help but feel as nervous as I do excited to see what these guys are doing. After Akron beats some quality MAC teams and picks up a few more road wins I think I'll start getting into the rankings/polls hype. Quote
clarkwgriswold Posted January 8, 2020 Author Report Posted January 8, 2020 2 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said: Agreed. After going home from the Q losers on Saturday night 5 times in the last 15 years or so as the better team, I can't help but feel as nervous as I do excited to see what these guys are doing. After Akron beats some quality MAC teams and picks up a few more road wins I think I'll start getting into the rankings/polls hype. 15 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said: Why? I would agree that I suffer from NEO Sports Psychosis. As a result, I'm always looking for the heartbreak lurking around the corner. Quote
NWAkron Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 3 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said: Agreed. After going home from the Q losers on Saturday night 5 times in the last 15 years or so as the better team, I can't help but feel as nervous as I do excited to see what these guys are doing. After Akron beats some quality MAC teams and picks up a few more road wins I think I'll start getting into the rankings/polls hype. 2 of those losses were to the Zips current coach. Zips got two of the worst MAC teams to start the campaign. PCCC had more of a challenge. Friday and Saturday should give the MAC a better idea. Cautionary tale: must be quite an ugly, puking hangover for our friends in Canada. Quote
kreed5120 Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 I don't see anyone going overboard with expectations. All these polls show is that we're a top 2-3 MAC team, which honestly based upon performance to date is very justifiable. Toledo and Buffalo are slumping, but both teams have lots of talent on their roster. It's to be seen if they can right the ship between now and March. Turner still doesn't look back to full form after returning from injury, but if he gets back to being the player he was prior to injury, BG will be right there too. Through 2 conference games though Akron, Kent, and Ball State have looked the best. Quote
Let'sGoZips94 Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 SWEET SIXTEEN/ELITE EIGHT OR BUST 2 1 Quote
NWAkron Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 Asking for a friend: if Zips and Ravenna State each have only one loss is MAC play and those losses are to each other, would they be named co-#1 seeds? Quote
MDZip Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 (edited) Lets keep the hype train going, ? up to #49 in the NET rankings. And what the heck lets throw in RealTimeRPI where the Zips are #50. And the next five after the Zips are Georgia, Arizona St., Washington, Memphis and Penn St. There's some respect there. Edited January 8, 2020 by MDZip 1 Quote
zippy5 Posted January 8, 2020 Report Posted January 8, 2020 1 hour ago, NWAkron said: At large bid? Too soon? If only we could have won @ WVU or Louisville Quote
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