Toledo- 1/28/22

[NWAkron]

Coming back from 19 down is incredibly tough if not impossible.

 

Some stats:  Akron missed 10 FTs.  Ouch.  and Xavier was 1-3.  He may need some mental rest.

Toledo shot 59% from the floor and wins by only 8.

That defense in those crucial minutes was amazing.  Even if they got it a little closer, I think Toledo would have held them off.

Get some rest.  Beating Miami twice next weekend will be really sweet.

[1981 grad]

34 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

Uh oh. Clarke in. Doesn’t really matter at this point.

We made a nice run with Clark in and he had a couple of steals.  Glad to see him stay on the floor the 2nd half and get some minutes.

[monrowe]

The zips need better strength and conditioning they get pushed around a lot.Toledo bullied theZips.

 

 

 

[Zip4Roos]

This team has good talent and they are playing good, just not pretty and not great.  Plenty of top teir talent. But then again you wouldn't know that by hanging out on this board or thread.  There is a lot of negative energy.  

 

For my two cents. I like this team. They can do some damage. 

[Blue & Gold]

9 minutes ago, 1981 grad said:

We made a nice run with Clark in and he had a couple of steals.  Glad to see him stay on the floor the 2nd half and get some minutes.

We did. We made our run with Clarke on the floor and X on the bench.

[Blue & Gold]

Coach rather upset at officials during postgame. (Due to cheap fouls on Freeman)

 

[Blue & Gold]

Coach mentioning Moss’ 3 point shooting wasn’t planned for. Apparently he’s been a 20% 3-point shooter this year.

[NWAkron]

7 minutes ago, Zip4Roos said:

This team has good talent and they are playing good, just not pretty and not great.  Plenty of top teir talent. But then again you wouldn't know that by hanging out on this board or thread.  There is a lot of negative energy.  

 

For my two cents. I like this team. They can do some damage. 

guilty as charged.   Zips kept it real. 

[LoyalZIP]

That one hurt. Groce talked a lot on the post game about the toughness and resiliency, this group is just a bit short on talent to truly be a great team. They’re good. But they’ve still got a lot to prove. Tonight, the Zips showed me they are capable of winning a championship. I do not think it’s going to happen, but going into the year I was expecting the team to be good enough to win a title, and I haven’t been sold on it. But tonight they almost came back against a top 60 team when things looked bleak. This is with a bad game from X. 
 

This little break couldn’t come at a better time. That was a brutal stretch of tough, emotional games, especially coming right after a loss at Kent. I think I love this team. Well, sometimes. I do believe in them. Can’t wait to watch them again Friday! Go Zips!

[Illini Zip]

I was trying to listen to Groce's post-game interview on the way home from the sports bar. He was so pissed initially and eventually calmed down. What was he saying about the fact that they have video? He thought the fouls on Freeman were complete bunk. Anything else I missed?

 

Specifically, what had him so angry?

Edited January 29, 2022 by Illini Zip

[Blue & Gold]

6 minutes ago, Illini Zip said:

I was trying to listen to Groce's post-game interview on the way home from the sports bar. He was so pissed initially and eventually calmed down. What was he saying about the fact that they have video? He thought the fouls on Freeman were complete bunk. Anything else I missed?

 

Specifically, what had him so angry?

I guess they've got an iPad & the coaches can somehow review the fouls on the bench.  Must have the CBS Sports feed?  Idk.  But he though the first 2 fouls on Freeman were ticky-tack & he was upset it cut into his PT.

[Illini Zip]

Just now, Blue & Gold said:

I guess they've got an iPad & the coaches can somehow review the fouls on the bench.  Must have the CBS Sports feed?  Idk.  But he though the first 2 fouls on Freeman were ticky-tack & he was upset it cut into his PT.

 

Thanks!! That makes sense now. And he mentioned I think that Toledo started the second half on a run with Freeman on the bench with 3 fouls. 

[kreed5120]

The main positive I'll take away is I felt the Zips were the team that played with more effort. I can't say that for some of the previous games. We just lost to the better team.

 

We're a vastly better team with Freeman on the floor vs him off. We need to get more quality minutes out of Aziz.

[LoyalZIP]

As of this year, the MAC now provides iPads with live replays on them for the teams to use on the bench. Groce commented that it’s not good for the officiating industry, that must be infuriating to see bad calls as many times as you want while the game is still going. 

[Illini Zip]

Does anyone know if we have the same Strength and Conditioning Coach? Not looking to be critical with all of the Covid protocols recently, but this upcoming off-season is going to be important for the program going forward.

[Illini Zip]

Freeman: 17 points and 10 rebounds in only 25 minutes.

[Let'sGoZips94]

Groce's 2009-10 Bobcats team was very young (Cooper & co. Freshman year). They were 17-14 in the regular season, and 7-9 in the MAC. They went on to win 5 straight - 4 MAC tourney games (including a Championship Game victory over Akron) and a 1st Round W over Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament. 

 

This team reminds me of that team. They're gritty, hearty, and play for a full 40 minutes. March will be interesting, but right now they have to figure out how to limit the long stretches of woes on offense. It kills their energy on defense, creating a lose lose situation. 

 

They can beat anyone. The inconsistency is just frustrating.

[LZIp]

8 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Groce's 2009-10 Bobcats team was very young (Cooper & co. Freshman year). They were 17-14 in the regular season, and 7-9 in the MAC. They went on to win 5 straight - 4 MAC tourney games (including a Championship Game victory over Akron) and a 1st Round W over Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament. 

 

This team reminds me of that team. They're gritty, hearty, and play for a full 40 minutes. March will be interesting, but right now they have to figure out how to limit the long stretches of woes on offense. It kills their energy on defense, creating a lose lose situation. 

 

They can beat anyone. The inconsistency is just frustrating.

This team is easy to like. Lot of good kids who work hard and have talent, but there isn’t a DJ Cooper or LCJ on this team. I like X a lot, but all of Groce’s best teams in the MAC (can’t speak for Illinois) have had stud Combo guards who had the ability to take over games. To me he doesn’t fit into that role and nobody else on the team appears to be a 1st team All MAC/POY caliber player, so that makes winning in Cle a long shot IMO.

Edited January 29, 2022 by LZIp

[Blue & Gold]

We could have really used Jermaine Marshall this year.

[NWAkron]

1 hour ago, LZIp said:

This team is easy to like. Lot of good kids who work hard and have talent, but there isn’t a DJ Cooper or LCJ on this team. I like X a lot, but all of Groce’s best teams in the MAC (can’t speak for Illinois) have had stud Combo guards who had the ability to take over games. To me he doesn’t fit into that role and nobody else on the team appears to be a 1st team All MAC/POY caliber player, so that makes winning in Cle a long shot IMO.

I guess we should call it a day.

[clarkwgriswold]

This team, at least right now, is exactly what the MAC Pre-season Coaches Poll predicted them to be- the 4th or 5th best team in the MAC.  That means they're going to lose some games that will frustrate us.  In reality, we've all been a little spoiled as Zips fans.

 

That doesn't mean they can't make a run when the time comes.  In reality, as long as they make it to Cleveland we all know that what happens between now and March 4th makes little difference. 

[Blue & Gold]

Here's a good postgame article from GT.

 

Though did Freeman finish with 17-and-9, or 16-and-10?

 

GT mentions Coach's 2 big factors in last night's game, 1) Freeman's foul trouble, and 2) the unexpected scoring from UT's Moss.

[1981 grad]

19 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

I guess they've got an iPad & the coaches can somehow review the fouls on the bench.  Must have the CBS Sports feed?  Idk.  But he though the first 2 fouls on Freeman were ticky-tack & he was upset it cut into his PT.

Actually, the 1st and 4th fouls were compete garbage calls.  The were away from the play and did not effect the play.  It was almost like the refs wanted to take Freeman out of the game.  The 2nd foul was legit and the 3rd foul could have gone 50/50 although the commentators indicated it was not a foul.  However, the refs did not foul him out and there were some plays where they could have blown their whistle.  They seemed to give him a little leeway after the 4th foul.

[NWAkron]

7 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

This team, at least right now, is exactly what the MAC Pre-season Coaches Poll predicted them to be- the 4th or 5th best team in MAC.  In reality, we've all been a little spoiled as Zips fans.

 

 

In reality, Groce I believe is highest paid Coach in the MAC.   We should expect to be spoiled.  He's here to win championships.  Not be 4th or 5th 

[Let'sGoZips94]

10 hours ago, LZIp said:

This team is easy to like. Lot of good kids who work hard and have talent, but there isn’t a DJ Cooper or LCJ on this team. I like X a lot, but all of Groce’s best teams in the MAC (can’t speak for Illinois) have had stud Combo guards who had the ability to take over games. To me he doesn’t fit into that role and nobody else on the team appears to be a 1st team All MAC/POY caliber player, so that makes winning in Cle a long shot IMO.

 

Agreed. My biggest critique has been the guard play, as it's a guard league/game, and Groce typically has a stud guard that can take over the game. X has vastly improved as the season has worn on, consistent with his confidence growth. I think he can be probably 80-90% of what LCJ/Cooper were, but really lacks the supporting cast on the offensive side. Really disappointed our 2 scoring freshman guards apparently aren't thought to be good enough to contribute more than the pieces we have from a scoring standpoint. 

 

Edited January 30, 2022 by Let'sGoZips94