Game 11- Murray State

[Illini Zip]

There have been more “And 1” fouls called in this game than the rest of this season combined.

[csims0917]

Get within 2 and then get down by 10. 

[AkronAlumnus]

Plenty of time left.  Go Zips!! 

[AkronAlumnus]

Officiating seems awfully one-sided but only listening on AM640

[1981 grad]

The Zips are just not helping themselves on defense.  They need to move quicker to the ball on both defense and on rebounding.   I do not think the refs have been one sided.  We are 6 of 12 from the foul line.

[kreed5120]

I feel the talks of this being Groce's best Akron team was premature. We've been able to run up the score on the bad teams we've faced, but haven't been able to beat the good teams on our schedule. Our best win is against #161 Iona. 

 

Hopefully Groce can use this as a teaching moment as this is the worst Akron half-court defense we've seen in maybe 5 years. I think we have the bodies and athletes to improve, but we need to play smarter defense and be more disciplined.

[Illini Zip]

Joe Dunn says he and David could take the Murray State announcers. 🤣

[clarkwgriswold]

Chippy game.

[1981 grad]

I cannot remember the last time we hit a three and they are drilling open three pointers.  We collapse in the paint leaving guys open for 3 pointers.  

[clarkwgriswold]

Groce may have a coronary if they give up 100.

[LZIp]

Defense was optional today. To Murray State’s credit, they didn’t seem to miss either!

[1981 grad]

2 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Groce may have a coronary if they give up 100.

They hit 100 already.  They will go for 120.  They are just red hot from the 3 line in the past 5 minutes.  Murray State is just playing lights out from beyond the Arc.

[Illini Zip]

We’re on the receiving end of the Miami game (home) from last year. 

[1981 grad]

Does anyone know what the record is for the most points scored against the Zips.  We might be approaching that number.

[MDZip]

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxJ4Jnwjeo-a_n8WzdD-Q4LOFRVic6XtpI?si=stUyAoB2t-zUmneV

Edited December 13, 2025 by MDZip

[csims0917]

115 in regulation is embarrassing 

[Illini Zip]

6 minutes ago, MDZip said:

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxJ4Jnwjeo-a_n8WzdD-Q4LOFRVic6XtpI?si=stUyAoB2t-zUmneV 

Thank you!! I haven’t laughed that hard in such a long time. 

[Illini Zip]

1 minute ago, csims0917 said:

115 in regulation is embarrassing 

Our offensive rating goes up, but our defensive rating goes way down. 🤦‍♂️

[kreed5120]

1 minute ago, Illini Zip said:

Our offensive rating goes up, but our defensive rating goes way down. 🤦‍♂️

I think we were around #16 in kenpom offensive rating and moved up to #14 after the game. We were around #150 in defense heading into the game. Now we're at #206. You have to go back to 2018 to find a year our defense was rated this low.

[RoyalBlu]

Shooting 50-percent from the field, 40-percent behind the arc ... and losing by 15 to fellow mid-major is a head-scratcher. Would love to run this one back tomorrow if we could just to see if this sticks. Problem is, in two quality mid-major losses Zips have let Yale and Murray State shoot 60-percet and win.

 

The positive is ... that's what it's going to take to get the job done against the Zips! 

 

The negative is ... it's already happened twice with 2/3rd of the season still to play.

 

[clarkwgriswold]

Groce has said again and again that the way this team gets being just being good is by improving defensively.  Clearly, they're still just good.

[Illini Zip]

I didn’t see the live action, but it sounds like Barre is improving which would help with drives to the hoop. But the wide open perimeter, poor free throw shooting and rebounding (second chance points) are whole team issues. The good news is we still have time to figure it out. The bad news is we are now likely to get another lousy seed if we make the Tourney. 

[ZippyforPresident]

Murray State is a quality mid major. Akron isn't going to beat anyone worthwhile without effort and intelligence on D. That's just a fact. Giving up 97 to Yale was a red flag. Allowing Murray State to put up 115 in 40 minutes is flat out embarrassing. 

Edited December 14, 2025 by ZippyforPresident

[HoopsFan03]

Is Stank in the witness protection program? Can someone try to explain 0 minutes vs 8 for Halligan?

[Illini Zip]

3 minutes ago, HoopsFan03 said:

Is Stank in the witness protection program? Can someone try to explain 0 minutes vs 8 for Halligan?

I will try…Halligan brings defensive understanding and effort. We have plenty of offense right now. We need to figure out how to stop teams. Or maybe Groce is sending the team a message???