Game 21- Ohio U

[clarkwgriswold]

Jeff Boals, an Akron assistant from 2006 to 2009, bring his Ohio U Bobcats to the JAR for a Saturday afternoon game.  It is hard to believe, but Boals is now in the 4th year at the helm in Athens.  The Bobcats come in at 11-9 overall and 304 in the MAC, with their MAC wins over Ball State, CMU and WMU and losses to Buffalo, BG, PCCC and Toledo.  They have had a rough time on the road, posting a 2-7 away record with wins over only Chicago State and YSU.

 

The Bobcats are led by big man Dwight Wilson, a 6'8" graduate student forward,  who leads the team in scoring (15.5 ppg) and rebounding (9.9 rpg). They have 3 guards, Miles Brown, AJ Brown and Jaylin Hunter that average between 10.2 and 10.6 ppg.  The Wilson/Freeman showdown should be a good one as Wilson is second in the league in RPG while Enrique is first and Wilson is first in FG% to Enrique's 4th.  Guard Miles Brown is shooting an impressive .476 on threes for second in the conference.  The Bobcats also lead the MAC in rebounding.  They are 4th in the league in average points scored and 5th in points surrendered.

[NWAkron]

Kittens Attack has this game figured out:

 

 

"Akron will be a tough game, good chance for a huge win. I think they will overly key in on DW and we need to have Hunter, Roderick & the Brown Bros spot and and drain their open threes. Simple as that.

Last Edited: 1/25/2023 8:06:56 AM by Andrew Ruck"

Edited January 25, 2023 by NWAkron

[LoyalZIP]

Correct. Double-header at the JAR Saturday. Men at 2pm and the women follow. 

[Let'sGoZips94]

Whoops. Didn't realize this weekend's game was the Akron home game. 

 

Man, just a simple visit to BobcatAttack and I come back spewing nonsense. My apologies. 

[NWAkron]

1 hour ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Whoops. Didn't realize this weekend's game was the Akron home game. 

 

Man, just a simple visit to BobcatAttack and I come back spewing nonsense. My apologies. 

You are so funny!  But they will do it for you.  I wonder if they ever found the band.

 

[LoyalZIP]

There was a fun post on Kitten Attack I read while doing some pre-season scouting. It was in regards to the preseason All-MAC teams. One of them said something like”Castaneda from Akron on 2nd team. Seriously? Come on.”

 

And I tend to agree. Should have been First Team!

[kreed5120]

22 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said:

There was a fun post on Kitten Attack I read while doing some pre-season scouting. It was in regards to the preseason All-MAC teams. One of them said something like”Castaneda from Akron on 2nd team. Seriously? Come on.”

 

And I tend to agree. Should have been First Team!

I would think as of right now the MAC POY is a 3 horse race between Castaneda, Carry, and Dennis. 

[Hilltopper]

Unfortunately I will be cruising around the Caribbean Saturday so I won't be able to make it to the game. I have four seats(lower level row 2 accross from the bench), 4 Tommy Evans lounge passes(includes a free buffet) and a lot 2 parking pass. If somebody wants them send me a PM. All I ask is you don't emabarrass me and with your presence make the Zips lose.

[NWAkron]

Very, very tough stretch of basketball coming up for the Zips:  Ohio, @Buffalo, Ravenna, Toledo, Ohio.

 

Zips won the games they should and had an understandable, short-handed loss in Muncie.    Going 4-1 in this stretch would be my highest expectations.  3-2 is more realistic.

[kreed5120]

13 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

Very, very tough stretch of basketball coming up for the Zips:  Ohio, @Buffalo, Ravenna, Toledo, Ohio.

 

Zips won the games they should and had an understandable, short-handed loss in Muncie.    Going 4-1 in this stretch would be my highest expectations.  3-2 is more realistic.

The reality is we've probably played the easiest conference schedule in the MAC thus far. Granted we took advantage of it by going 6-1. Out of our final 11 conference games we play Kent 2x, Toledo 2x, Ball State 1x, Ohio 2x, and Buffalo 2x. That's 9 out of our final 11 against teams that are in the top half of the MAC (per the computer rankings).

[Rufus]

Nobody in our fan base knows what to expect game to game. Our one consistency has been inconsistency, basically. Wilson has been solid in the post but the surrounding cast has been wildly hit or miss. Boals is playing a lot of guys minutes, going deeper in the bench than the team has gone the past few years. Road play has not been great, so for me, I'm hoping for a competitive game but know it could go in literally any direction possible and it wouldn't be all that surprising.  

[NWAkron]

1 hour ago, Rufus said:

Nobody in our fan base knows what to expect game to game. Our one consistency has been inconsistency, basically. Wilson has been solid in the post but the surrounding cast has been wildly hit or miss. Boals is playing a lot of guys minutes, going deeper in the bench than the team has gone the past few years. Road play has not been great, so for me, I'm hoping for a competitive game but know it could go in literally any direction possible and it wouldn't be all that surprising.  

Same here.  I guess we are awaiting Cleveland, and with NIU's win the other night and Carry taking an early victory lap maybe all the fan bases in the top half are wondering  what will happen in March.  

[Blue & Gold]

 

[indians4841ks]

15 hours ago, NWAkron said:

Same here.  I guess we are awaiting Cleveland, and with NIU's win the other night and Carry taking an early victory lap maybe all the fan bases in the top half are wondering  what will happen in March.  

What is this about Carry taking an early victory lap? Did he say something that I missed?

[Blue & Gold]

47 minutes ago, indians4841ks said:

What is this about Carry taking an early victory lap? Did he say something that I missed?

He won some northeast Ohio sports award but I’m pretty sure it’s concerning 2022.

[Salt21]

On 1/25/2023 at 5:43 PM, Hilltopper said:

Unfortunately I will be cruising around the Caribbean Saturday so I won't be able to make it to the game. I have four seats(lower level row 2 accross from the bench), 4 Tommy Evans lounge passes(includes a free buffet) and a lot 2 parking pass. If somebody wants them send me a PM. All I ask is you don't emabarrass me and with your presence make the Zips lose.

@Hilltopper, I'd be interested in the tickets if you still have them available.

[LoyalZIP]

Ohio is one of the team’s I’ve watched the least of this year in the MAC. With that said, they are certainly better and more dangerous than the record suggests. Dwight Wilson is back and he’s like Big Dog if he had more muscle. He’s a load. And he’s a hell of a player. They beat WMU at home on Tuesday, and he was electric against an opponent that Freeman struggled with. The Zips will need to show much more effort on the defensive end and on the boards. The effort they put up against Miami will not win many MAC games. The Bobcats have nice pieces all over the floor. And they’re pretty long and athletic. I’d like to see the Zips control the pace and get back to their game on defense. The open looks have been plentiful, they just will not fall with consistency. Keep the defense at the level it needs to be, and you’ll always have a chance. Go Zips!

[Blue & Gold]

 

[LoyalZIP]

The line for today opened at Zips -4.5 but has grown to as much as -7.5 at some books. Sitting at -6.5 now. That’s an awful lot of points for how Akron’s been shooting the ball. An easy cover would be nice. It’s about to get real for this team, they’re being out through the gauntlet. 

[NWAkron]

9 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said:

The line for today opened at Zips -4.5 but has grown to as much as -7.5 at some books. Sitting at -6.5 now. That’s an awful lot of points for how Akron’s been shooting the ball. An easy cover would be nice. It’s about to get real for this team, they’re being out through the gauntlet. 

For some reason, I feel better after watching that mess of a game last night.

[Blue & Gold]

41 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

For some reason, I feel better after watching that mess of a game last night.

Did Kent not look so hot?

[NWAkron]

12 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

Did Kent not look so hot?

@LoyalZip would have a better take.  I see how Kent wins.  They hustle and have hands everywhere.  If the opponent isn't disciplined and focused, the game could easily get away from them.  But Kent throws up a lot of shots and a lot of misses...at least last night.  I think Freeman is going to have a lot of trouble.  That being said...Kent certainly wasn't this amazing team circa Buffalo 2018-19.

 

Side note:  it was apparently Pajama Bottom night at the MAC Center.  Nothing but Klass with a capital "K" in Ravenna.

Edited January 28, 2023 by NWAkron

[LoyalZIP]

21 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

@LoyalZip would have a better take.  I see how Kent wins.  They hustle and have hands everywhere.  If the opponent isn't disciplined and focused, the game could easily get away from them.  But Kent throws up a lot of shots and a lot of misses...at least last night.  I think Freeman is going to have a lot of trouble.  That being said...Kent certainly wasn't this amazing team circa Buffalo 2018-19.

 

Side note:  it was apparently Pajama Bottom night at the MAC Center.  Nothing but Klass with a capital "K" in Ravenna.

You nailed it right on the head. When Kent is focused, they will be tough to beat. As in taking smart shots and letting things come to them. Buffalo panicked early and fell behind but then hung around there all night. They are not Buffalo. They are still great, and absolutely the MAC favorite. But far from the best MAC team I’ve ever seen. 

[Z.I.P.]

2 hours ago, NWAkron said:

@LoyalZip would have a better take.  I see how Kent wins.  They hustle and have hands everywhere.  If the opponent isn't disciplined and focused, the game could easily get away from them.  But Kent throws up a lot of shots and a lot of misses...at least last night.  I think Freeman is going to have a lot of trouble.  That being said...Kent certainly wasn't this amazing team circa Buffalo 2018-19.

 

Side note:  it was apparently Pajama Bottom night at the MAC Center.  Nothing but Klass with a capital "K" in Ravenna.

Volume looks like the Word of the Season in college basketball shooting. 🏀  Akron also, even with Groce's style is taking more shots and possessions than in the past. Is it just me, or are 3-point %'s down throughout CBB this year? It sure seems that way, but teams aren't slowing the shooting parade.

[NWAkron]

In the meantime, hopefully the Zips are remaining focused on the task at hand today and Tuesday