Game 8- Milwaukee

[clarkwgriswold]

The Milwaukee Panthers come to the JAR Saturday to face the Zips.  The Panthers are 2-4 going into a Tuesday night game against Dominican of Illinois.  As a former Catholic schoolboy in Akron, I can attest that Dominican nuns are quite tough. 

 

Milwaukee thus far has wins over Hampton and Little Rock and losses to Wofford, Indiana, Texas Tech and Wichita State.

 

6’4” senior guard, former MAC player (Toledo/WMU) transfer Seth Hubbard leads the Panthers at 16 ppg.  6’8” senior forward and Louisville transfer Danilo Jovanovich is second in scoring at 12 ppg while leading rebounding at 5.8 rpg.

 

As you will recall, the Panther thumped the Zips 100-81 at Milwaukee last year. The Panthers were picked to finish first out of 11 teams in the Horizon League in the conference’s official preseason poll.

[csims0917]

Trading Card Night!

[Let'sGoZips94]

5 minutes ago, csims0917 said:

Trading Card Night!

 

If anybody gets extras, let me know. I'm working at my local sports card shop and can't attend. I can transfer a ticket to the game in exchange for the cards, too. Send me a PM if interested. 

[Zippy87]

Preseason preview from Mid-Major Madness:

 

In his fourth year at Milwaukee, head coach Bart Lundy is in position to break through and make his first March Madness appearance. He put together an experienced backcourt through the portal that should be among the league’s best. Redshirt senior Amar Augillard earned preseason All-League first team honors, joining the Panthers after averaging 13.3 points at Fresno State last season. His running mate, Seth Hubbard, earned preseason All-League second team honors. Hubbard played two seasons at Western Michigan, averaging 14.1 points in 2023-24. He spent last season at Toledo and averaged 8.4 points. Lundy’s squad was near the bottom of the conference in 3-point shooting last season but should be much improved from deep with the backcourt portal additions.

 

Joining the new-look backcourt on the preseason All-League teams is returning forward Faizon Fields, who earned second-team honors. He averaged 6.7 points and 4.9 rebounds last season for the Panthers and will anchor the frontcourt. Milwaukee led the league in both offensive and total rebounds in 2024-25 and will look to continue that success. Danilo Jovanovich will also return in the frontcourt, and Lundy landed three transfers to bolster the unit: Sekou Konneh from DePaul; Tate Mackenzie from JUCO Howard College; and Chandler Jackson from JUCO Parkland College. Being an elite rebounding team helped Milwaukee finish within a game of the regular-season league crown last year, and dominating the glass again will help them take the next step.

[Zips1991]

8 hours ago, Zippy87 said:

Preseason preview from Mid-Major Madness:

 

In his fourth year at Milwaukee, head coach Bart Lundy is in position to break through and make his first March Madness appearance. He put together an experienced backcourt through the portal that should be among the league’s best. Redshirt senior Amar Augillard earned preseason All-League first team honors, joining the Panthers after averaging 13.3 points at Fresno State last season. His running mate, Seth Hubbard, earned preseason All-League second team honors. Hubbard played two seasons at Western Michigan, averaging 14.1 points in 2023-24. He spent last season at Toledo and averaged 8.4 points. Lundy’s squad was near the bottom of the conference in 3-point shooting last season but should be much improved from deep with the backcourt portal additions.

 

Joining the new-look backcourt on the preseason All-League teams is returning forward Faizon Fields, who earned second-team honors. He averaged 6.7 points and 4.9 rebounds last season for the Panthers and will anchor the frontcourt. Milwaukee led the league in both offensive and total rebounds in 2024-25 and will look to continue that success. Danilo Jovanovich will also return in the frontcourt, and Lundy landed three transfers to bolster the unit: Sekou Konneh from DePaul; Tate Mackenzie from JUCO Howard College; and Chandler Jackson from JUCO Parkland College. Being an elite rebounding team helped Milwaukee finish within a game of the regular-season league crown last year, and dominating the glass again will help them take the next step.

With all due respect to Milwaukee, if we can't beat them at home, our team isn't what we're hoping.

[tpsjugglerdude]

Let's take a look at the numbers leading into this matchup using ChatGPT's deep research function. 
 

Scoring Offense: Akron averages about 94.9 points per game, a huge number, whereas Milwaukee averages 74.8 points (in Division I games). The Zips’ fast-paced, efficient offense (50.6% team FG) has routinely topped 90 points, while the Panthers have been held under 75 in four of their seven games.
 

Scoring Defense: Akron allows 74.1 points per game, compared to 83.3 allowed by Milwaukee. The Zips have generally played better team defense, holding opponents to 42.8% shooting and 33% from three. Milwaukee, by contrast, has struggled defensively, especially on the perimeter – opponents have hit nearly 39% of threes against them, contributing to the Panthers’ high points-against.
 

Rebounding: Akron holds a slight edge, averaging 35.4 rebounds per game to Milwaukee’s 31.5. Akron’s rebounding effort is balanced (four players grab ~4–6 boards per game), and they have a +5.5 rebounding margin on average. Milwaukee is roughly even with opponents on the boards (about 37 per game each), with Jovanovich and Fields leading the way. Securing defensive rebounds will be critical for Milwaukee to prevent Akron’s second-chance points.
 

Playmaking: The Zips exhibit great ball movement, averaging 20.1 assists per game – a reflection of Coach John Groce’s emphasis on sharing the ball. Milwaukee averages 12.2 assists, indicating a more one-on-one oriented offense. Akron’s offense is more fluid and balanced, evidenced by multiple games where four or more players scored in double figures (a regular occurrence last season as well).
 

Turnovers: Both teams take care of the ball reasonably well. Akron commits 9.7 turnovers per game, slightly better than Milwaukee’s 10.7. Notably, Akron’s defense has been adept at forcing turnovers (opponents commit ~15.6 per game against them), which fuels their transition offense. Milwaukee will need to handle Akron’s ball pressure – in last year’s meeting, Akron actually forced 22 Milwaukee turnovers, but the Zips couldn’t capitalize enough. Keeping turnover numbers low will be a focal point for the Panthers.

[kreed5120]

11 minutes ago, tpsjugglerdude said:

Let's take a look at the numbers leading into this matchup using ChatGPT's deep research function. 
 

Scoring Offense: Akron averages about 94.9 points per game, a huge number, whereas Milwaukee averages 74.8 points (in Division I games). The Zips’ fast-paced, efficient offense (50.6% team FG) has routinely topped 90 points, while the Panthers have been held under 75 in four of their seven games.
 

Scoring Defense: Akron allows 74.1 points per game, compared to 83.3 allowed by Milwaukee. The Zips have generally played better team defense, holding opponents to 42.8% shooting and 33% from three. Milwaukee, by contrast, has struggled defensively, especially on the perimeter – opponents have hit nearly 39% of threes against them, contributing to the Panthers’ high points-against.
 

Rebounding: Akron holds a slight edge, averaging 35.4 rebounds per game to Milwaukee’s 31.5. Akron’s rebounding effort is balanced (four players grab ~4–6 boards per game), and they have a +5.5 rebounding margin on average. Milwaukee is roughly even with opponents on the boards (about 37 per game each), with Jovanovich and Fields leading the way. Securing defensive rebounds will be critical for Milwaukee to prevent Akron’s second-chance points.
 

Playmaking: The Zips exhibit great ball movement, averaging 20.1 assists per game – a reflection of Coach John Groce’s emphasis on sharing the ball. Milwaukee averages 12.2 assists, indicating a more one-on-one oriented offense. Akron’s offense is more fluid and balanced, evidenced by multiple games where four or more players scored in double figures (a regular occurrence last season as well).
 

Turnovers: Both teams take care of the ball reasonably well. Akron commits 9.7 turnovers per game, slightly better than Milwaukee’s 10.7. Notably, Akron’s defense has been adept at forcing turnovers (opponents commit ~15.6 per game against them), which fuels their transition offense. Milwaukee will need to handle Akron’s ball pressure – in last year’s meeting, Akron actually forced 22 Milwaukee turnovers, but the Zips couldn’t capitalize enough. Keeping turnover numbers low will be a focal point for the Panthers.

Chatgpt is going to leave @clarkwgriswold jobless with his game preview write-ups.

[Illini Zip]

15 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

Chatgpt is going to leave @clarkwgriswold jobless with his game preview write-ups.

And much of ESPN. 

[kreed5120]

15 minutes ago, Illini Zip said:

And much of ESPN. 

 

That's fine, all the good analytical people who could offer insight and breakdown match-ups have long been chased off. It's mainly just now loud mouth clowns who think whoever screams louder has the better argument.