Game 15- Western Michigan

[AkronAlumnus]

4 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

If only we could have won @ WVU or Louisville

If we won either of those games, or even against Liberty, we would without a doubt be a top 25 team in the country right now. We're literally just one win away from this team being considered the greatest Akron bball team in recent history, if not all time. 

[tboned]

Where's all of  our  fans?  I was  at the  game as usual. Gee whiz!   It is sad this Team is getting  so little fan  support. Was there 1,000 in attendance  last  night? We just pummeled two MAC teams in a row!

[kreed5120]

Liberty (#33), WVU (#11), and Louisville (#17) would have all been Q1 win opportunities. We stormed back against Louisville late and had a couple breaks went our way we could have maybe pulled it off. We really never put ourselves in a position to beat Liberty or WVU. Frankly we just weren't good enough.

[AkronAlumnus]

2 minutes ago, tboned said:

Where's all of  our  fans?  I was  at the  game as usual. Gee whiz!   It is sad this Team is getting  so little fan  support. Was there 1,000 in attendance  last  night? We just pummeled two MAC teams in a row!

2522.. I went to the Akron vs EMU game in Ypsi and after seeing their fan base (on a Saturday) I am thankful for our fan base. That arena was deader than a doornail.

[kreed5120]

28 minutes ago, AkronAlumnus said:

If we won either of those games, or even against Liberty, we would without a doubt be a top 25 team in the country right now. We're literally just one win away from this team being considered the greatest Akron bball team in recent history, if not all time. 

 

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We aren't even getting votes currently in any of the top polls. That 2012-2013 is still the best Akron team. Had Abreu not been arrested we probably would have had a 10 or 11 seed in the tournament and would have had a real chance to get our first tournament win.

[AkronAlumnus]

2 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

 

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We aren't even getting votes currently in any of the top polls. That 2012-2013 is still the best Akron team. Had Abreu not been arrested we probably would have had a 10 or 11 seed in the tournament and would have had a real chance to get our first tournament win.

well yeah, we aren't getting votes because we lost our three hardest games. I think (IF) we won one of those games we would be receiving votes. The team was very very young when they played WVU and Louisville. If we played them now, I truly believe the games would be much closer, we probably would still lose but I think it would be by a more narrow margin. Lastly, I did not follow The Zips in 2012-2013 so I can not make a comment on that statement but what would it take (in your opinion) to top the 2012-2013 team? 

[NWAkron]

11 minutes ago, AkronAlumnus said:

well yeah, we aren't getting votes because we lost our three hardest games. I think (IF) we won one of those games we would be receiving votes. The team was very very young when they played WVU and Louisville. If we played them now, I truly believe the games would be much closer, we probably would still lose but I think it would be by a more narrow margin. Lastly, I did not follow The Zips in 2012-2013 so I can not make a comment on that statement but what would it take (in your opinion) to top the 2012-2013 team? 

That's easy and one I'm 100% certain about for 2020.  The point guard isn't a drug dealer who gets arrested before the sold out final home game v. PCCC.

Edited January 8, 2020 by NWAkron

[kreed5120]

15 minutes ago, AkronAlumnus said:

well yeah, we aren't getting votes because we lost our three hardest games. I think (IF) we won one of those games we would be receiving votes. The team was very very young when they played WVU and Louisville. If we played them now, I truly believe the games would be much closer, we probably would still lose but I think it would be by a more narrow margin. Lastly, I did not follow The Zips in 2012-2013 so I can not make a comment on that statement but what would it take (in your opinion) to top the 2012-2013 team? 

You missed a fun season. Akron won 19 straight games, which was the longest active streak in the country at the time, and was ranked in I believe both polls.

 

For starters this team would have to win both the MAC regular season and MAC tournament before any discussion can be had. That team went 14-2 in MAC regular season play. They would have been 15-1 had Abreu not gotten suspended. If this team goes 16-2 in MAC play and wins the MAC tournament, I'd say they would be the best Akron team ever. Winning a tournament game would also suffice.

[zippy5]

47 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

Liberty (#33), WVU (#11), and Louisville (#17) would have all been Q1 win opportunities. We stormed back against Louisville late and had a couple breaks went our way we could have maybe pulled it off. We really never put ourselves in a position to beat Liberty or WVU. Frankly we just weren't good enough.

Liberty is debatable because that number is lower with a loss to us. I don't think we'd be ranked with a win over them. Additionally, a loss to liberty would have dropped us from whatever possible ranking we had so the sad reality is that you only are ranked right now if you start off 15-1.

Edited January 8, 2020 by zippy5

[NWAkron]

16 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

You missed a fun season. Akron won 19 straight games, which was the longest active streak in the country at the time, and was ranked in I believe both polls.

 

For starters this team would have to win both the MAC regular season and MAC tournament before any discussion can be had. That team went 14-2 in MAC regular season play. They would have been 15-1 had Abreu not gotten suspended. If this team goes 16-2 in MAC play and wins the MAC tournament, I'd say they would be the best Akron team ever. Winning a tournament game would also suffice.

And then the humiliation to VCU.  Nothing was right after that.

[zippy5]

1 minute ago, NWAkron said:

And then the humiliation to VCU.  Nothing was right after that.

What a fun season that went South so quickly. That night was depressing. The Abreu situation was tough enough, then Walsh and Forsythe showed up with IVs. Sigh

[LoyalZIP]

The workday is made so much more enjoyable knowing that I have two Akron basketball games to look forward to every week. It's either excitement from leading up to a game, excitement of it being gameday, or joy from a win the night before. I missed Akron basketball being good so much. 

[kreed5120]

35 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

Liberty is debatable because that number is lower with a loss to us. I don't think we'd be ranked with a win over them. Additionally, a loss to liberty would have dropped us from whatever possible ranking we had so the sad reality is that you only are ranked right now if you start off 15-1.

 

I'm in agreement with you. We're currently Liberty's best win and even with their 16-1 record they have 0 votes in the coaches poll and only 2 votes in the AP poll. If we beat 2 of Louisville, Liberty, and WVU we'd be serious at-large bid contenders. We didn't and aren't contenders so our only chance of punching a ticket is by winning in Cleveland. 

 

Edit: Liberty also returned 4 starters on a team that won a tournament game last season so when it comes to mid-majors they were at least on the radar coming into this season.

Edited January 8, 2020 by kreed5120

[zippy5]

It's a shame that they're getting so little love, especially after getting on the map last March, so to speak.

[clarkwgriswold]

3 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

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.

 

2 hours ago, AkronAlumnus said:

If we won either of those games, or even against Liberty, we would without a doubt be a top 25 team in the country right now. We're literally just one win away from this team being considered the greatest Akron bball team in recent history, if not all time. 

You still thinking that?  LOL.

 

Go Zips!

[kreed5120]

20 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

 

You still thinking that?  LOL.

 

Go Zips!

 

I falsely assumed we were all old geezers on this board who have learned to temper expectations that way we could limit disappointment. Apparently we have some young bloods who aren't use to having their heart broken. Give him 3-5 years of Akron fandom. He'll soon learn what it means to be an Akron fan. 

[ZipsVoice]

2 hours ago, tboned said:

Where's all of  our  fans?  I was  at the  game as usual. Gee whiz!   It is sad this Team is getting  so little fan  support. Was there 1,000 in attendance  last  night?

Announced attendance 17,246....?

[NWAkron]

I think we all know how this goes and are having fun.  First opportunity in a few years.  It all ears through Cleveland.  Even the best MAC team ever from Canada got a suckers deal in the NCAA last year and are now back on earth with the rest of us.  USA Today and CBS This Morning like a Loyola and a Nun story but the NCAA does not.

[tboned]

39 minutes ago, ZipsVoice said:

Announced attendance 17,246....?

LOL!  Your getting  confused with the INFO!!!!!

[Let'sGoZips94]

2 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

You missed a fun season. Akron won 19 straight games, which was the longest active streak in the country at the time, and was ranked in I believe both polls.

 

For starters this team would have to win both the MAC regular season and MAC tournament before any discussion can be had. That team went 14-2 in MAC regular season play. They would have been 15-1 had Abreu not gotten suspended. If this team goes 16-2 in MAC play and wins the MAC tournament, I'd say they would be the best Akron team ever. Winning a tournament game would also suffice.

 

It was just the Coaches Poll I believe (#24?). That team was a roller coaster, albeit mostly a fun one. Started off the season with a loss to Coastal Carolina, then an OT loss to Oklahoma State. We beat Penn State by 25 and had a hard-fought home victory against MTSU (during their perennial run of being a top 10ish mid-major) before back to back losses to Creighton (16 pt. loss) and Detroit (7 pt. loss - puke). Then 19 straight, capped by an epic OT victory at OU. We dropped 2 out of the last 3 games in the regular season, one of which was due to Abreu getting suspended before the Can't game. Then went up to Cleveland to beat both Can't and OU (back when the #1 seed had a double bye to the semis) in the semis and championship game respectively. Keep in mind that OU team was the exact same OU team from the previous season's Sweet Sixteen run, minus the coach; MAC-traveler-now-Boston-College-staple Jim Christian took over after Groce's impressive run, but couldn't get out of that group what Groce could. The NCAA Selection Show had a camera in the JAR for Akron's seeding reaction, which of course was 12 (should have been 10 or 11 as previously mentioned, thanks to Abreu). And of course, the season finished with an embarrassing 46 pt. loss to Shaka's VCU Rams in the "Second Round" of the Big Dance. The season brought the most national attention any Akron program has probably had, both positively and negatively. During the 19 game streak, our marketing department decided to capitalize on the Twitter hype at the time, putting their Twitter handles on the back of the warm ups or something like that (maybe a hashtag?). It garnered national attention, and quite frankly some awesome street cred for the program. Then the Abreu issue was the negative publicity. 

 

Pure talent wise, I think this Akron team is better. We're more athletic, deeper, and bigger. 2012-13 was propelled by a rare 7 footer in Zeke, Tree, and Abreu. LCJ, Cheese, Banks, Reece, Williams, etc., is a deeper, more athletic group by quite a bit. This team most certainly has a chance to accomplish more than 2012-13, but until they do, '12-13 is King. Great year. 

[AkronAlumnus]

7 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

It was just the Coaches Poll I believe (#24?). That team was a roller coaster, albeit mostly a fun one. Started off the season with a loss to Coastal Carolina, then an OT loss to Oklahoma State. We beat Penn State by 25 and had a hard-fought home victory against MTSU (during their perennial run of being a top 10ish mid-major) before back to back losses to Creighton (16 pt. loss) and Detroit (7 pt. loss - puke). Then 19 straight, capped by an epic OT victory at OU. We dropped 2 out of the last 3 games in the regular season, one of which was due to Abreu getting suspended before the Can't game. Then went up to Cleveland to beat both Can't and OU (back when the #1 seed had a double bye to the semis) in the semis and championship game respectively. Keep in mind that OU team was the exact same OU team from the previous season's Sweet Sixteen run, minus the coach; MAC-traveler-now-Boston-College-staple Jim Christian took over after Groce's impressive run, but couldn't get out of that group what Groce could. The NCAA Selection Show had a camera in the JAR for Akron's seeding reaction, which of course was 12 (should have been 10 or 11 as previously mentioned, thanks to Abreu). And of course, the season finished with an embarrassing 46 pt. loss to Shaka's VCU Rams in the "Second Round" of the Big Dance. The season brought the most national attention any Akron program has probably had, both positively and negatively. During the 19 game streak, our marketing department decided to capitalize on the Twitter hype at the time, putting their Twitter handles on the back of the warm ups or something like that (maybe a hashtag?). It garnered national attention, and quite frankly some awesome street cred for the program. Then the Abreu issue was the negative publicity. 

 

Pure talent wise, I think this Akron team is better. We're more athletic, deeper, and bigger. 2012-13 was propelled by a rare 7 footer in Zeke, Tree, and Abreu. LCJ, Cheese, Banks, Reece, Williams, etc., is a deeper, more athletic group by quite a bit. This team most certainly has a chance to accomplish more than 2012-13, but until they do, '12-13 is King. Great year. 

Thanks for the insight. I'd like this if I could, however, it appears, I am out of likes for the day. 

[Blue & Gold]

4 hours ago, LoyalZIP said:

The workday is made so much more enjoyable knowing that I have two Akron basketball games to look forward to every week. It's either excitement from leading up to a game, excitement of it being gameday, or joy from a win the night before. I missed Akron basketball being good so much. 

[Zipmeister]

10 hours ago, AkronAlumnus said:

If we won either of those games, or even against Liberty, we would without a doubt be a top 25 team in the country right now. We're literally just one win away from this team being considered the greatest Akron bball team in recent history, if not all time. 

 

Hey, the Zips are ranked in the top 25 mid-majors; they are even in the top 3 if you only count teams in Ohio.

Look out Final Four, here we come!

[72 Roo]

8 hours ago, tboned said:

LOL!  Your getting  confused with the INFO!!!!!

No that can't be either. He must be confused with soccer attendance. ⚽

[akronzips71]

15 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

It was just the Coaches Poll I believe (#24?). That team was a roller coaster, albeit mostly a fun one. Started off the season with a loss to Coastal Carolina, then an OT loss to Oklahoma State. We beat Penn State by 25 and had a hard-fought home victory against MTSU (during their perennial run of being a top 10ish mid-major) before back to back losses to Creighton (16 pt. loss) and Detroit (7 pt. loss - puke). Then 19 straight, capped by an epic OT victory at OU. We dropped 2 out of the last 3 games in the regular season, one of which was due to Abreu getting suspended before the Can't game. Then went up to Cleveland to beat both Can't and OU (back when the #1 seed had a double bye to the semis) in the semis and championship game respectively. Keep in mind that OU team was the exact same OU team from the previous season's Sweet Sixteen run, minus the coach; MAC-traveler-now-Boston-College-staple Jim Christian took over after Groce's impressive run, but couldn't get out of that group what Groce could. The NCAA Selection Show had a camera in the JAR for Akron's seeding reaction, which of course was 12 (should have been 10 or 11 as previously mentioned, thanks to Abreu). And of course, the season finished with an embarrassing 46 pt. loss to Shaka's VCU Rams in the "Second Round" of the Big Dance. The season brought the most national attention any Akron program has probably had, both positively and negatively. During the 19 game streak, our marketing department decided to capitalize on the Twitter hype at the time, putting their Twitter handles on the back of the warm ups or something like that (maybe a hashtag?). It garnered national attention, and quite frankly some awesome street cred for the program. Then the Abreu issue was the negative publicity. 

 

Pure talent wise, I think this Akron team is better. We're more athletic, deeper, and bigger. 2012-13 was propelled by a rare 7 footer in Zeke, Tree, and Abreu. LCJ, Cheese, Banks, Reece, Williams, etc., is a deeper, more athletic group by quite a bit. This team most certainly has a chance to accomplish more than 2012-13, but until they do, '12-13 is King. Great year. 

That team was bigger but they were not that athletic. Many missed bunnies, lived by the 3. Tree and Zeke were able to dominate the boards due to Zekes height and Trees hops.

This team is way more athletic and can play a faster game. We will see how they do.