LZIp Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 Hunter not in, but Greg on that last possession doesn't make sense to me when you need a 3. Thornton also shot early. Acceptable games from Freeman, Tribble, and Hunter from the eye test. Need more from everyone else. Loss stinks, but don't think we could've collectively played much worse. Silver lining is we get to play a really good Drake team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziptrumpet87 Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 I blame the "best start undefeated" post 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoyalZIP Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 I predict Groce will say we stunk again. And he’s right. Vets were very bad. Guards bad. I really can’t believe or understand how the Zips stayed in it. This one sucks. Not the end of the world, but it sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1981 grad Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 Dawson played bad all game. Not sure why he was in the game at the end. We played poorly and still had a chance to win at the end. Hopefully we can learn from the experience and come back strong tomorrow. The large number of mistakes at the end cost us this game reminded me of our football team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reslife4Life Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 We made 2 threes in the second half. Island shooting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipsrule Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 We were 5 of 24 from 3 for 20.8%. Not good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoyalZIP Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 Had a bad feeling when our first FG attempt was a 3 that wasn’t even close. Dawson and Tavari looked way off shooting. And Thornton alligator armed a pair of wide open layups. Blown blockout in the last minute. Thrown away ball by Dawson. We really did look like the football Zips tonight. It felt a lot like the South Dakota State game, only the shots weren’t falling. Specifically Dawson, who came up huge in that game with clutch deep 3s. They didn’t fall today and that got to him. This is more like the early season losses I remember from years past. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 (edited) 51 minutes ago, zipsrule said: We were 5 of 24 from 3 for 20.8%. Not good. Looks even worse if you subtract Sammy Hunters numbers from the total. It's not like this team was going to go undefeated anyway. On the plus side this team has an opportunity to quickly redeem themselves with the game tomorrow. Let's see how we can respond. Edited November 21, 2023 by kreed5120 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 Ali Ali makes the difference in this game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyalBlu Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 3 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said: Ali Ali makes the difference in this game. True ... but when will he make a difference at all .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 We were flat from the start of the game. T Johnson and Thornton were no shows. Dawson was frustrated and took some really bad shots. Utah decided not to double and triple team Freeman so there weren't many open shots from the outside. On to the next game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 9 hours ago, kreed5120 said: It's not like this team was going to go undefeated anyway. This is how I feel. We weren't going to go undefeated, and without a P6 opponent on our schedule we were very unlikely to receive any Top 25 votes anyway (which I always covet). So, whatever, bad games happen. Let's learn from it & move on. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted November 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 They played poorly and were still in the game against a quality opponent. If we're still seeing these issues in February I'll be concerned but a down performance in November doesn't cause me much concern. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWAkron Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 10 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said: Ali Ali makes the difference in this game. And yesterday, you said Dawson would have made the difference last year. And for last night Ali would have made the difference. If only Groce nabbed Bass before Kent did...Bass would have made the difference... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoyalZIP Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 19 minutes ago, NWAkron said: And yesterday, you said Dawson would have made the difference last year. And for last night Ali would have made the difference. If only Groce nabbed Bass before Kent did...Bass would have made the difference... Kretzer and McAdams' shooting would've made the difference last night 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reslife4Life Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 Today's Kenpom has made some movement with the top 4 in the Caymans 67. Stephen F. Austin (pretty sure they were in the 80s yesterday) 87. Utah State 91. Akron 97. Drake (Huge drop down) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illini Zip Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 (edited) What do you say we don’t pee on the electric fence today. End the trip with a win. Go Zips!! Edited November 21, 2023 by Illini Zip 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 (edited) 3 hours ago, NWAkron said: And yesterday, you said Dawson would have made the difference last year. And for last night Ali would have made the difference. If only Groce nabbed Bass before Kent did...Bass would have made the difference... He also spent much of the previous 15 months criticizing Ali and saying the team was better without him... I'd say the main weakness on this team is they lack a LCJ or Castaneda type guard who can both create his own shot and create offense for others at an All-MAC level. Ali, while not the elite facilitator like the previous others I mentioned, has the ability to both create his shot and create open looks for others. Having him at the forward position should help ease some of those responsibilities from the guards. Edited November 21, 2023 by kreed5120 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reslife4Life Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 56 minutes ago, kreed5120 said: He also spent much of the previous 15 months criticizing Ali and saying the team was better without him... I'd say the main weakness on this team is they lack a LCJ or Castaneda type guard who can both create his own shot and create offense for others at an All-MAC level. Ali, while not the elite facilitator like the previous others I mentioned, has the ability to both create his shot and create open looks for others. Having him at the forward position should help ease some of those responsibilities from the guards. Again, he has to do both or this team doesn't improve. Really interested to see what version Ali we will see eventually. Nate Johnson might be the best chance we have at a guy that can create his own shot like the previous two. He has a good outside shot, it just needs to find him more often beyond the arc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoyalZIP Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 16 minutes ago, Reslife4Life said: Again, he has to do both or this team doesn't improve. Well, adding a pre-season All-MAC player, who previously led a MAC champion in scoring will in all likelihood improve the team, if nothing else, he will add quality depth. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 2 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said: Well, adding a pre-season All-MAC player, who previously led a MAC champion in scoring will in all likelihood improve the team, if nothing else, he will add quality depth. I'm as big of an Ali fan on here as anyone. However, minus last game, I found myself questioning where exactly he fits in with the way N Johnson and Dawson were playing to begin the season. I think N Johnson has took a big step forward. Dawson sort of is what he is at this point in his career, but that isn't a knock. Very good D and hustle player with the ability to knock down the 3 at a high rate. I was initially thinking Lyles would lose minutes with a rotation of Ali playing the 4 and Hunter playing the 5 when Freeman is getting a breather, but Lyles hasn't been getting any minutes as is. There are a lot of capable bodies and only so many minutes to go around. Ali is ideally going to take on 30 minutes a game. I see it cut into Johnson and Dawson's PT directly the most, and maybe Scott's indirectly the most. I'd think the players are aware of this already, and hope it doesn't affect the team dynamic in a negative way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 Ali is better than anyone he will take minutes from. Non-issue imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoyalZIP Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 Line has swung back and forth quite a bit. Now sitting at Drake -1.5 but it really just depends on the book. Neither team has looked great this week and I’m a skeptical traumatized Akron fan when it comes to nonconference games against top 100 squads. I’m expecting a pretty close loss, but a win would be damn cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 Some pregame thoughts... For me, the purpose of these games are to challenge the team to get better. In all likelihood, our season will come down to a few games in Cleveland. I want our guys to be battle-tested by the time those games come and think these experiences will help. Frontcourt depth is a concern for me. If Freeman ever gets in foul trouble (or worse, hurt) we will have that flaw exposed. I was hoping Baker would get minutes, but he's RS. Lyles hasn't played much. Hunter has size but doesn't rebound. The other concern is players who can create offense. Tavari has raw potential but hasn't put it together. Ali Ali will help this a lot, as mentioned earlier. I'm also curious if Prather Jr. will see the floor. When he signed Groce said, "He is an elite shooter that can create opportunities for himself and his teammates with his playmaking skills. Ryan is also a high-level defender that plays with motor and physicality." Sounds like exactly to type of player who can help offensively. Not sure if he's hurt or just not looking good in practice or what, but we need to see what he has to give this team at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper Posted November 21, 2023 Report Share Posted November 21, 2023 Prather has been hampered by injuries. He is very effective scorer but not a great defender. Hopefully his time to get some meaningful minutes is coming soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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