NWAkron Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 (edited) 56 minutes ago, LZIp said: Great win. Feels like we were pretty cold in the 2nd half and all of Kent States fouls kind of gave it to us, but I’ll take it! Tonight’s unsung here - Garvin Clarke. Though not a lot of scoring, made a lot of good hustle plays. Unpacking my thoughts: 1. Santiago out early with the hand injury changed the game. I've always liked him. He's been there a long time. A reminder of how fleeting success can be. 2. The ball just wasn't going in for Kent. I think some of those rim outs and clunkers killed their confidence early in the hostile environment. 3. Payton wasn't much of a factor. Geez, Zips must be pretty toughh. 4. Kent really stepped up their defense during that run they had. Maybe they were tired in the final few minutes. 5. Ugh...Zips have 5 more weeks...and two Toledo games. Regular season champs means nothing nor does second place in the MAC West (as our Ball State friends would tell us) 6. Oh...and Tribble...still the coach's favorite. Edited February 4, 2023 by NWAkron 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1981 grad Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 I think Groce had a great game plan, double team Carry and let somebody else from Kent beat you. Freeman was often out on him chasing him around the perimeter on the double team and it forced Carry to pass the ball or take a rushed shot. I think he shot 2 for 13 from the 3 line. No dancing Carry tonight!!! I think the Zips shot the ball very well from the opening tip. When I looked at the scoreboard we had balanced scoring the first half. In the 2nd half Freeman and X took over the offense. We had a period of about 6 minutes late in the game when we did not score a basket but we got to the foul line and made our foul shots. It is amazing how the cream rises to the top in the big game and Freeman and X both had great games. Cannot wait for rematch at Kent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 Castenada solidified himself at the MAC POTY favorite. Carry solidified himself as a distant 3rd behind X and Freeman. Clarke was the Clarke of the last 1/3rd of last season. Great to see that guy re-emerge. Look out MAC if that keeps up. Can you imagine this team if Ali, Bandaego and Dawson were on it (like they should have been)? Freeman’s jersey should be raised to the rafters on the same night that LCJ’s and, if we win an NCAA tournament game, Castenada’s. Groce has brought in some awesome talent. Hope this game gives Tavari some experience and confidence going forward. He’s going to need to step up and fill some big shoes next season. Best Rowdy chant of the evening - “DON’T THROW OB-JECTS!” after that stupid, ignorant, unwarranted warning from the PA nimrod. Great college environment. Had a blast. Proud of my Zips! 🦘💪🏽🏀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoyalZIP Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 Wow. What a damn program win! I am falling in love with this team, did not see that coming a couple months ago. Of course, there's still time to mess it up, but I am going to enjoy the hell out of this weekend. Garvin Clarke, like the title game, came up as a hero. Guard play off the bench has been hit or miss for the Zips, and he was a banger, out of the park today. All over the place defensively. I wish he had a 3 go in, he certainly deserved it. X and Freeman played really well too. A Kent buddy of mine texted me mid way thru the 2nd half saying "X is having the game of his life." Ha. He's played 2 games better in the last 2 weeks. But really smart on defense and offensively. He cooled off when Kent challenged him a bit more. But it's his POY award to lose. He's a gamer and a winner. I want to buy an X jersey. Hank made a couple mistakes, for sure. But he was also solid. The only game in his career that he's played bigger than this stage was the semifinal against BG in 2019 as a young freshman. But this was his time to shine, what he came to Akron for, and he showed up. Much more awaits you, my friend. Sammy pretty good too. Couple bad fouls, but that is what it is. Tavari was one I was concerned about. Not many complaints from me. Greg hit a few early. Lots of TOs for him and the team, but great game overall. The Zips dared Kent to shoot it, and they shot themselves out of it. Even when Carry, Jacobs, Payton, etc. got inside, the Zips made it tough. Santiago would have made a difference, but Sullinger has emerged as a real deal guy for them and filled that void well. He was their best player. The first play the Zips ran that resulted in that alley-oop was so beautiful it nearly brought a tear to my eye. What a fun game. When you pop the opponent in the mouth early like the Zips did, it makes everything a little easier as the game goes on. They set the tone and were able to once against weather the storm in the 4th quarter. That is something I can see Groce emphasizing. They've nearly cost themselves the last four because of such stretches. Great to weather them and come out on top. Maybe more thoughts tomorrow. Still a marathon to go, folks. This was fun, enjoy it, but we got another big one in a couple days. Let's Go Zips!!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoyalZIP Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 Their fans are proud of the team for not letting the very disrespectful fans of ours getting in their heads. Rowdies kept their cool, anyone got insight on that? More hurt feelings? Also called out the students going on the floor. I remember the loss at Kent in 2011, the fans carried the team off the floor, and Akron upset them in the title game a week later. The world's smallest violin is blaring for the poor Flushes! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 Before I forget and regret it, I want to say how damn much I ❤ Tavari Johnson's remarkable look on the court. TJ is rockin' an amazing Wes Studi look-alike style, playing Magua from Last of the Mohicans, one of my all-time faves! So lookin' forward to his future conquests. 💙💚💛🧡 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWAkron Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 From Toledo message board. I think this guy thinks that was Akron's crowd for every game: Post: #16 RE: 2 Big MAC Games on National TV Friday Night! This Akron crowd is legit. Big Game Boomer picked Toledo as the best atmosphere in the state this weekend, but gonna be hard to top what's displayed tonight on national TV. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akzipper Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 1 hour ago, NWAkron said: From Toledo message board. I think this guy thinks that was Akron's crowd for every game: Post: #16 RE: 2 Big MAC Games on National TV Friday Night! This Akron crowd is legit. Big Game Boomer picked Toledo as the best atmosphere in the state this weekend, but gonna be hard to top what's displayed tonight on national TV. 😂 We wish. I think if you combine all the crowds from the previous home games together it might equal the crowd from last night. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 (edited) 7 hours ago, LoyalZIP said: Their fans are proud of the team for not letting the very disrespectful fans of ours getting in their heads. Rowdies kept their cool, anyone got insight on that? More hurt feelings? Also called out the students going on the floor. I remember the loss at Kent in 2011, the fans carried the team off the floor, and Akron upset them in the title game a week later. The world's smallest violin is blaring for the poor Flushes! They got their butts whooped, never led, and their body language was Can't State pee yellow poor. Jacobs flexed towards the students at one point, and they had some dirty fouls. Not sure that's I would call that "not letting the fans get in their heads." But sure, be proud your team didn't nearly start a brawl at the end of the game and leave the court flipping fans off after such an embarrassing loss. The standards at the adult preschool are extremely high, I see. Edited February 4, 2023 by Let'sGoZips94 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 1 hour ago, NWAkron said: From Toledo message board. I think this guy thinks that was Akron's crowd for every game: Post: #16 RE: 2 Big MAC Games on National TV Friday Night! This Akron crowd is legit. Big Game Boomer picked Toledo as the best atmosphere in the state this weekend, but gonna be hard to top what's displayed tonight on national TV. Will agree with that poster on one thing - it really did look like a big time college basketball atmosphere on national TV. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoyalZIP Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 A very happy Saturday morning, Zips Nation! Re watched the first half before I fell asleep and just watched the 2nd half this morning. Lots of similarities in the rough stretches of the Buffalo and Kent game. Not working to get good shots, not focused on taking care of the ball, etc. Fortunately, the defense maintained its focus and the Zips could come out on top. Hank, Greg, X all with pretty poor decisions made in that stretch. But they weathered the storm again. Impressive. Freeman did most of his scoring damage at the foul line, but he was superb in helping run the offense. That was one of the great team wins of the Groce era. 1400 students came to that game. 1400! They oversold the arena. I was skeptical of the sell-out because there were plenty of reserved seats open, but that truly was a capacity crowd. Much bigger than the final crowd before COVID even. Zips Nation showed out. We got another big one Tuesday! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoZips86 Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 Great win!! Atmosphere was awesome to be in, and Akron just looked like the better team last night. Go Zips!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akzipper Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 26 minutes ago, MDZip said: Will agree with that poster on one thing - it really did look like a big time college basketball atmosphere on national TV. I don't understand why Akron fans don't get it. Keep seeing comments on how awesome the atmosphere was and what a great game it was to be at. But it could be like that every game. It was like that for soccer ten years ago. Didn't matter if we were playing a Big Ten team or Bowling Green, the place was packed. You can show up for more games, not just the one's against a cross town rival. This team deserves better crowds on a consistent basis. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy-claws Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 9 hours ago, ewbrooman1 said: Don't know why they just didn't have Reghi call the game. The guy's been around long enough to handle this game right. Nothing quite says "You're a valuable game to us here at ESPN" like having your play-by-play and analyst working from their bedroom offices instead of actually being at the game and experiencing things. How in the world could they comment in the student section, the atmosphere, or even some of the plays and calls by watching on a monitor, while the kiddies are playing romper room in the next room? What a joke. This is the second Zips game that had "remote" announcers. Give me Michael Reghi and Jeff Phelps back..... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 Any highlights out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWAkron Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 Just now, zippy5 said: Any highlights out there? On Akron MBB instagram. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 TV 8 news just had highlights. It should repeat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 1 hour ago, MDZip said: Will agree with that poster on one thing - it really did look like a big time college basketball atmosphere on national TV. it WAS a big time college basketball atmosphere 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWAkron Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipsrowdy88 Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 What. A. Game. I FORGOT about how big Garvin Clarke is to this team. These guys are something else. They also DESERVE CROWDS LIKE THAT! IF YOU HAVE TICKETS OR A CHANCE TO GET THEM, LETS MAKE THAT HAPPEN ON TUESDAY FOR ANOTHER HUGE GAME! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.