Rufus Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 Hell of a season, Zips. I had hopes that Akron could hang tough with Arizona, but that was a tough matchup across the country. Akron was the best team in the MAC all year from the start of the conference season through Cleveland. I look forward to our battles next year, as always! Much respect. 🫡 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 I didn't see the second half, but the margin of victory is shocking. I really thought Akron had a chance at halftime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 Arizona was a pretty poor shooting team and one of the worst 3P defensive teams in the country. Tonight, they were superb. Not sure many teams in the country would've beaten them, let alone Akron with how poorly we shot the ball. Nevertheless, great season. Here's to hoping the boys decide to run it back, we add the missing pieces, 3-peat, and finally break through next year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZippyRulz Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 It sure would be nice to be a 12 or 11 seed playing a 5 or 6 seed. Hopefully we can get there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted March 22 Author Report Share Posted March 22 8 hours ago, 1981 grad said: Nate did draw some fouls and did get to the foul line to score 13 points. Arizona was the best team we played all year. He had some good looks but could not hit. He also saw double teams quite often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exit322 Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 10 hours ago, Zippy87 said: ...and not having only two post players Well that didn't help either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 5 hours ago, ZippyRulz said: It sure would be nice to be a 12 or 11 seed playing a 5 or 6 seed. Hopefully we can get there. Have to schedule better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyalBlu Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 Groce is right. Akron's schedule was 'competitive.' The two Sun Belt games, Milwaukee, Yale are the 'competitive' non-conference games Akron should be playing. Akron's non-con SOS was second-best in the MAC per Kenpom. However, the Zips never played a game above their class. That is the measure, especially going forward. Being 'Best in (Mid-Major/MAC) Class' is great in and of itself. But the object is to step up, in non-conference. Can't wait until the NCAA to see how you measure up. Those recently successful Buffalo MAC teams 'played up' often in the non-conference. That is where Akron has to step up, especially if the bulk of this still young team returns for 2025-2026. If that means a 25-win season instead of 28, that is worth it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted March 22 Author Report Share Posted March 22 The reality is that as a MAC basketball program this is about as good as it is ever going to get. Maybe someday you might pull off an upset and make it to the round of 32. The only way for it to get better would be for the university and athletic program to completely sell out for basketball, abandoning the financial commitment to the other sports in the athletic department (within the limits of Title IX). That then takes you out of the MAC and searching for another conference. I don't see the university doing any of this. It was a wonderful season. It ended on a down note but it sure was fun in 2025. This was a great group of kids and their comradery and fun nature wore off on Zips fans. We'd be blessed to get most of them back next year and with fewer new faces the team should come up to speed much faster next year then they did this year. Go Zips! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1981 grad Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 I thought for this game to be competitive we had to play our best game shooting well and we had to rebound. We did neither. How many times are you going to see a game where Nate played 36 minutes with 0 rebounds. And it was not for lack of effort. Arizona had the height but they were also athletic and were a good rebounding team and shot blockers. They did shoot well from 3 but many of those were wide open looks. The Arizona defense did not give us many open looks from the 3 line and we saw some forced shots. The lack of rebounding has always been our weakness when playing quadrant one teams. (St Marys) The x and o can only go so far. As many of us had said on this board, we needed another big man who is strong on the boards. I also think Okonkwo and Lyles can improve their rebounding skills. I really enjoyed watching the Zips play this year that set a team record for wins. I thought this team showed true grit coming back from 18 points in the championship game. I thought the first Miami game showed just how good the Zips could be when they are shooting the ball well. Most importantly, this team was smart articulate and played for each other. Really looking forward to next year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 1 hour ago, LZIp said: Have to schedule better. More importantly you have to win the measuring stick games. Had we beaten St. Mary's and Yale during OOC play we probably would have been a 12 seed. Scheduling tougher doesn't mean anything if you just lose those games by double figures. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 (edited) To look at it a different way, we were the only Ohio program to make the 64 bracket, and the only Ohio public college in the tournament. There’s that I guess. Edited March 22 by Spin 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoopsFan03 Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 16 minutes ago, Spin said: To look at it a different way, we were the only Ohio program to make the 64 bracket, and the only Ohio public college in the tournament. There’s that I guess. Exactly. As disappointed as I am with the ending. We had a great season. Remember we lost our best 3 players last year. In my opinion, we are losing. #6 and #8 this year. The future is very bright. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illini Zip Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 I have just shared my frustrations with the state of the MAC and college basketball in general. But I too want to thank the guys for an entertaining and successful year. And even though we the fan base are dying to get this NCAA monkey off of our back, this year was another step in the right direction. And every player who contributes along the way is appreciated and deserves to be celebrated. So thank you to Seth, Isaiah and Evan. You all seem like great dudes and it’s been a pleasure watching from afar. And now, Tavari, back in the weight room with you. Marvin and Amani improve your driving and shooting and Okonkwo, free throws and finishing around the rim. Because we know Groce & Company with the help of Bud Wentz are not quitting. And I’m not going anywhere either. I have a scholarship chart that apparently needs a couple more spots added to it. Go Zips!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 (edited) Go Creighton. F the SEC and their 14 bids (6 of them have already been eliminated!). Edited March 23 by MDZip 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZipsBBjunkie Posted Sunday at 02:00 AM Report Share Posted Sunday at 02:00 AM On 3/20/2025 at 6:12 PM, ZipsBBjunkie said: McNeese manager is darling of the dance already. I’m sure he’ll transfer to NC State along with Wade and many from the team. That’s when you know we’re in a different world - when the manager makes news as a major transfer. What I tell ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UAZipster0305 Posted Sunday at 01:53 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 01:53 PM https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_men's_basketball_tournament_all-time_team_records Interestingly, of all the teams to play in the men's NCAAT and not win a game only Boise State (10) and Eastern Kentucky (8) are more than our total of 7 without winning, and we are tied with Long Island University, Nebraska, and South Dakota State So, we are due to win a NCAAT game! 😁😆 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted Sunday at 02:42 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 02:42 PM 12 hours ago, ZipsBBjunkie said: What I tell ya. Happy this kid's 15 minutes are up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted Sunday at 05:05 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 05:05 PM 2 hours ago, Zippy87 said: Happy this kid's 15 minutes are up. Good for him for cashing in on those 15 minutes, though. With that being said, the tendency for this younger generation to find a new word in the dictionary and use it to label everything is annoying. "Blessed" "Aura" etc. Puke. In a lighter note, we're witnessing the death of March Madness this year. Minimal upsets and potentially zero mid majors in the Sweet Sixteen. Congrats, greedy suits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illini Zip Posted Sunday at 05:40 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 05:40 PM (edited) 35 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said: In a lighter note, we're witnessing the death of March Madness this year. Minimal upsets and potentially zero mid majors in the Sweet Sixteen. Congrats, greedy suits. 💯💯💯 Edited Sunday at 05:40 PM by Illini Zip 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UAZipster0305 Posted Sunday at 06:50 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 06:50 PM (edited) 1 hour ago, Illini Zip said: 💯💯💯 And just like that, most things about the NCAAT that appealed to the casual fan are gone. If this continues into the future, there will be viewer apathy, and ratings and advertising will suffer. The suits are always so short-sighted. I was only planning to watch games featuring Cinderellas. Since there are none, I've lost substantial interest. There are other things I can spend my spring weekend days enjoying. Edited Sunday at 06:51 PM by UAZipster0305 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted Sunday at 07:00 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 07:00 PM I think it's just a fluky year. It's not like all the 11-15 seeds were 30 point dogs. The upsets just didn't happen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyalBlu Posted Monday at 12:40 AM Report Share Posted Monday at 12:40 AM They may not have been 30-point dogs ... but a lot of them were 30-point losers just the same. A ton of non-competitive games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted Monday at 01:49 AM Report Share Posted Monday at 01:49 AM 6 hours ago, zippy5 said: I think it's just a fluky year. It's not like all the 11-15 seeds were 30 point dogs. The upsets just didn't happen Yes, I saw some statistics earlier. I forget the exact numbers, but something like only 2 teams that were the 12-16 seeds shot above 30% from 3. A common theme for Cinderellas is they get hot from 3. That's probably more important than ever since top teams are more experienced and deeper than they have been in recent years past. It just didn't happen this year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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