Games 5, 6 & 7- The Paradise Jam

[Let'sGoZips94]

Iona just hit a 3 with 1.5 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 70. 

[Illini Zip]

Evansville started 2, 6-10 forwards and brought a 6-6 and 6-9 forward off the bench for significant minutes against Oregon State. I imagine we will play bigger, but how much bigger? Against Iona a fast team that likes to run we played a lot of five guard lineup; Tavari, Scott, Young, Evan and Eric. Groce said after the Purdue game that one positive was Purdue had trouble guarding us as well. So do we try to run Evansville off the court? Do we give Lyles, Marvin, Oggie, Barre and maybe even Brisco the call? Or split the difference with just more Amani, Marvin and Oggie than we saw in game 1?

[ZipsBBjunkie]

2 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

UMass falls to Green Bay 79-75.

 

If Frank Martin can't turn this around one would have to think he'll quickly find himself on the hot seat. UMass isn't paying him $1.2 million and their collective isn't spending in the neighborhood of $2 million on players just so UMass can be an average to below average MAC team. 

Serious question - did it help

or hurt the MAC to take UMass if basketball also struggles?

[kreed5120]

34 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Iona just hit a 3 with 1.5 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 70. 

They rallied from a 19 point 2nd half deficit to win in 3OT.

[Let'sGoZips94]

27 minutes ago, ZipsBBjunkie said:

Serious question - did it help

or hurt the MAC to take UMass if basketball also struggles?

 

The next TV deal will tell us the answer. 

[Illini Zip]

I believe it was double-OT. That would mean that with an additional 10 minutes of play Iona still scored 5 points less than us in regulation yesterday. (91 vs our 96) And Oregon State doesn’t strike me as a defensive juggernaut. 

[kreed5120]

14 minutes ago, Illini Zip said:

I believe it was double-OT. That would mean that with an additional 10 minutes of play Iona still scored 5 points less than us in regulation yesterday. (91 vs our 96) And Oregon State doesn’t strike me as a defensive juggernaut. 

 

Yes, I guess it went to only 2OT. I turned it on with about 15 minutes left in the 2nd half.

 

It was a really great game. Iona looked a bit lost defensively and forced too much offensively, which allowed OSU to build that lead. They regained their composure and never quit fighting. Much like they did against us. Difference is I feel we were able to respond to Iona's runs by running the score back up to 20 everytime they got it down to ~12.

[Let'sGoZips94]

Iona was substantially more athletic than Oregon State albeit less skilled.  Which says a lot about Akron. 

[csims0917]

Iona is a very nice squad. Completely brand new roster so they should keep moving up 

[RoyalBlu]

9 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

 

The committee's main complaint about conferences like MVC or A10 getting at-large bids is SOS and lack of quality wins.

 

Playing the directional Michigan's and the other dumpster fire MAC teams would feed that narrative. It would make sense for a GW or a Duquesne to schedule a school like Akron, which has consistently been in or around the top 100 for a few years now, but mostly everyone else in the MAC is a waste. Toledo a few years back would have been solid too or Buffalo before that.

 

The real problem is the selection committee. If they offered more incentives for those games getting played, they would be scheduled. The problem is the cartel of the P5 (including Big East) has stacked the deck so that they take all the at-large bids and all the other 27 conferences have to fight over maybe 2-3 at-large bids in total. 

 

Personally ... the culprit and the fix are with THE NET. It is set up for .500 power conference teams that pull a home upset over a T25 team they annually play 2 or 3 times a year vs. an Akron team that is 'upset' by (for example EMU) it also plays 2-3 times a year. One team is rewarded, one is penalized.

 

I suggest THE NET add another metric to the equation: Every team is penalized for playing more than 2 teams 150 spots or lower than them in THE NET from the previous season (and mid-majors should be penalized as well for playing more than one non D1 (NAIA, D2, D3) game. This is a non-con metric, so THE NET from the end of last season is used until Jan 1.

 

This means a power conference program can't load up on 4 or 5 HBCUs or backend Ivys for 7-8 wins before conference play. Then got 8-10 in conference play and still make the NCAA Tournament. Right now (11/22/25) I believe there are 5 MAC teams Kenpom 153 or higher. That means a ton of power conference  teams would have to play MAC teams -- even if all of them were on the road -- I'd take them. Over the long haul the MAC would get its share up upsets. The league power ranking would rise and the chances for an at-large team would increase.

 

It would be easier for the NCAA to say no at-large team is eligible unless it is above .500 in league play. But that's too easy, simple and absolute. Or, no team can be an at-large team with a non-con SOS less than 150 spots below its NET ranking and have less than 20 regular season wins overall. Again, pretty easy, simple and absolute which it why it has no chance of happening, either.

 

 

[Illini Zip]

Anybody happen to know what is Groce’s best Kenpom ranking at Akron? Today’s 71 has to be it or close, right?

[clarkwgriswold]

Evansville comes into tonight's game at 4-3 with wins against Oregon State,  Henderson State, Calumet College of St. Joseph and Oakland City.  They've lost to Purdue, Middle Tennessee and UT-Arlington.

 

Evansville appears to have some talented bigs.   6'10" Australian junior forward Joshua Hughes leads the team in scoring and rebounding averaging 13.2 ppg and 7 rpg.  6'10" Butler transfer senior forward Connor Turnbull contributes 12.8 ppg and 4 rpg.  6'9" senior forward Miami and St. Louis transfer AJ Casey adds 8 ppg and 5.3 rpg.

[Illini Zip]

For those wondering, Evansville lost by 31 to Purdue. But their 2 starting bigs still scored 15 and 14 points against Purdue’s bigs. 

[UAZipster0305]

On 11/22/2025 at 5:14 AM, 1981 grad said:

I know the Zips have never one an NCAA game.  I do know they have won an NIT game and I believe their first NIT win was against Temple in Philly when their long  time coach was retiring.  However, I know in recent times they have not won a preseason tourney even though they have played in some beatable fields.  I did a quick search and AI indicated they have never won a major preseason tourney.  But I do have a vague memory of them winning a preseseason tourney in the past. (wishful thinking?) Does anyone with a better memory than me and a more in depth knowledge of this team (Capt Kangaroo?) know if I am correct and if they did win a preseason tourney with the year and location?

Under KD we beat both Temple and Florida State in the post-season NIT, but in different seasons. I do not know the years though.

 

In the Iona preview on gozips.com there is an excellent history of MBB's performance in mid-season tournaments. To my surprise, we have won several. It is under the "Regular Season Tournaments" heading.

 

https://gozips.com/news/2025/11/20/mens-basketball-zips-begin-paradise-jam-with-iona-on-friday

[Illini Zip]

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Groce mentioned using the shot fake a time or two over the last 48 hours.