Favorite MAC Championship Win

[NWAkron]

Which was your favorite win or meant the most to you?  Feel free to add reasons.

[1981 grad]

Great Poll!!!  I am going with Shammah Scott for three because it was the most recent and symobolizes a player who just hit some great buzzer beaters the entire season.  He had several amazing shots at the end of the half during the season and if I had to rank them for difficulty they would be a 10.  Each year we ask outselves who should get the ball with the game on the line.  Last year we had the answer, Shammah Scott.  

[ZipForNow]

2024. I was at the game for 2024, 2025 and 2026, all epic, but the sheer improbability of this win against a hated rival in 2024 was my favorite. All three of those games had endings that unleashed absolute euphoria in the Zips section I was in. 

[ZipForNow]

6 hours ago, 1981 grad said:

Great Poll!!!  I am going with Shammah Scott for three because it was the most recent and symobolizes a player who just hit some great buzzer beaters the entire season.  He had several amazing shots at the end of the half during the season and if I had to rank them for difficulty they would be a 10.  Each year we ask outselves who should get the ball with the game on the line.  Last year we had the answer, Shammah Scott.  

Great comment, but be sure to take the actual poll!

[NWAkron]

went with 2022.   minimal stress and a dismantling of Kent.

[csims0917]

2024 felt like redemption to me. I was a freshman for the 21-22 season and got very down on the team cause of the mess with Trimble and losing to weak teams at the end of the regular season, so I worked during the MAC tournament final and regretted it for 2 years because I should've trusted the core more. I was fully locked in. Then we lost in 22-23 and just made me feel like I really missed out on something special. During the 23-24 season I watched all 35 games beginning to end and attended every home game and the MAC championship and the stress and highs and lows of that game were unmatched. I loved the 25 and 26 comebacks but those I felt like we were cold (while Miami was white hot) or underperforming (refusing to go into the paint against toledo) which cause more frustration than stress. 23-24 just felt like the perfect story, Ali coming back, Tribble with the free throws, and Freeman with the craziest rebound I've ever seen live to cap off the best season in modern Akron history. Plus, the Rollins foul and the best Kent meme ever with Sendy. I bawled my eyes out after that 23-24 title win because of how much that team meant to me especially after meeting them all. Idk if I'll ever be as connected with a team than I was with that core. Cinema

Edited yesterday at 02:10 PM by csims0917

[Let'sGoZips94]

The only one I could easily not choose is 2009 because it was very ho-hum. Double digit win vs. Buffalo (meh) and even though it was our first, there were no other storylines. 

 

2011 was one of the greatest championship games in college basketball history IMO. Major rivalry, OT, 2 blocks to win it, fight at the end - it had everything. 

 

2013 was an unexpected beatdown - given the Abreu situation - against a team that was in the Sweet Sixteen the year prior (albeit a different coach). Semi rivalry and a packed house in Cleveland with one of the best teams in Akron basketball history cutting down the nets.

 

2022 was awesome because of the Diss Track storylines. Major rivalry and an absolute butt whooping of PCCC. 

 

2024 was hilarious given how it ended. Major rivalry, incredible finish, and the start of an on-going 3Peat.

 

2025 was simply an incredible comeback capped off by a fantastic finish. Semi-rivalry, big bro/little bro storylines, and the beginning of one of the most unlikeable teams in Miami OH. 

 

2026 was 2025 but with an even better finish. Shammah's shot will go down as one of the greatest shots in Akron basketball history. The view I had straight on from behind Shammah made it even better, tracking the ball all the way just praying the distance was right because it could not have been better aligned. Not to mention prevented Toledo from ending their 46+ year drought. 

 

 

 

I voted 2025 simply because it was the first championship game my daughters were in attendance for and my wife was pregnant with my son so technically he was there, too. 

 

That being said, we've been very blessed over the last 20 years with incredible March basketball at Akron. Go Zips!

Edited yesterday at 02:24 PM by Let'sGoZips94

[NWAkron]

was close between 2022 and 2026.  2022 for personal reasons (and that very fortunate win over Buffalo in the quarters) made that the best tournament experience for me.  But the Toledo win...geez...just knew Shammas' shot was going in and I'm almost always not that confident of anything a Zip throws up from 3.  If I had to rank them all:

 

2022

2026

2025

2011

2013

2024

2009

[csims0917]

It's a beautiful thing we all have different stories. Some fanbases all have one game, or worse none. Shows how spoiled we have been for great moments

[kreed5120]

3 hours ago, csims0917 said:

It's a beautiful thing we all have different stories. Some fanbases all have one game, or worse none. Shows how spoiled we have been for great moments

 

Hey now, even a poverty program like Toledo has some moments. You just need a 8mm film projector to see them.

Edited 23 hours ago by kreed5120

[1981 grad]

11 hours ago, ZipForNow said:

Great comment, but be sure to take the actual poll!

I thought I had already voted but I did vote again just to make sure.

[Sergeant Zip]

2009 - Without this one, do the others happen? (yes)

 

1. got Keith his 1st (I hate Doug Penno and banked shots)
2. 3rd straight MAC Championship game
3. 5th seed (knocked out Miami for some redemption) 
4. beat Toledo in OT in the 1st round (freshman Humpty Hitchens forced OT with a 3)
5. Nate Linhart, McKnight brothers, Steve McNees
6. 4th straight 20-win season

 

Edited 8 hours ago by Sergeant Zip