Quarterfinal MBB: Akron

 And now we come to the end...where one loss ends the whole thing.  

We are thrilled to be here. At 2-7 with starters out and the rest of the team coughing up a lung, this did not look very likely.  But we got a little healthier, moved to a zone defense and started getting stops and then came home strong enough to finish 8th (SOLE POSSESSION OF 8th!) and get to Cleveland.  Our guys earned it.  It did not have to go this way.

There are many reasons to think that we have next to no shot tomorrow, however.  Among them:

• Akron's two-decade dominance over us.
• The 10.5 point spread
• Their 17-1 record.
• Number one offense and number two defense in the MAC
• Best shooting and hardest to shoot against in the MAC.
• #1 defending both the 2FG and 3FG.
• #1 shooting the 2FG and #3 shooting the 3FG.
• Strong on the boards both ways
• #8 in preventing FTs.

On paper, you know, it doesn't look great.

Two things give me hope. 

One was January 3, 2025, the one and only time BG and Akron played this year. BG had basically what they have now except Thomas is out and Humphrey is back.  

BG led the game for 36:04.  In fact, BG had 2 shots at the rim inside :25 down 2, but couldn't convert and lost by 3.  So, we know we can play with them.

Second, I was starting to look back to see the last time a #8 beat the #1, and it turns out IT WAS LAST YEAR.   Kent beat UT and ended up in the final.

So it can happen.

Nate Johnson ended up as the MAC Player of the year and the Defensive Player of the Year.  You have to be careful when looking at their stats.  No one has big numbers because their minutes are so limited.  Nate Johnson plays 31 minutes a game, the highest they have.  They have 9 players who average 14 minutes a game or more. They are #24 in the country in bench minutes and #1 in the MAC.

Sharron Young had 17 off the bench in the first game. Okonkwo had 9 rebounds and 3 blocks.  For BG, Trey Thomas had 19 and Butler had 15.

This is our sixth meeting in the MAC tourney.  BG won the first two, and UA won the last 3.  That includes 2009, the year BG was #1 seed. It was a semi.  In 2016, BG made a tourney run, beating Kent at MACC, CMU in Cleveland and then lost to UA in the semi. And in 2021, BG lost in the final Turner/Plowden team.  Turner was badly injured, insisted on playing, but BG came up short.

Nothing but upside here folks.  Why Not Us?