One glaring omission to this thread was the fact WE BLEW ANOTHER BIG LEAD!!!!!!!  AT HOME!!!!!

There are plenty of positives to take from tonight. 

• Walt played with amazing toughness...much like he did in NCAAs
• Coop started to take over game when needed (but also took some bad, ill-advised shots)
• We showed heart throughout an entire game....like we cared.  Can't say i've seen that every game
• Unbelievable atmosphere...need more like it.  Not just for super-hyped games
• Wilkins, ball-handling aside, made some big buckets. 

But there were a lot of negatives....again.

You have to find a way to have the mental toughness and burning desire to CRUSH teams.  Up 18 in the first half with Akron showing some BAD body language.....BURY THEM!  I saw this team flat quit last year in that beatdown at the Convo.  They had that same look in their eye tonight and we go out and let an 18-point lead fall to 11 at half...and the disappear in less than five minutes to start the 2nd.  Absolutely unacceptable.  We blew a 15-point lead to Kent.  Where is the killer instinct?  We crushed both of those teams at home last year....and this year let big leads slip away.  Just don't get it.  30-32 great minues.....with 8-10 really, really bad ones sprinkled in.  Have to find a way around that in March if they are going to do any damage.

Nick and Ivo are........well.......I don't have the words.

Nick:  8-40 3pt FG since Miami.  He HAS to be better from long range.  15-19 from 2pt range in that same time.  Why he doesn't try to get to rim more or knock down 10-12 footers....I have no idea.  He needs to more than a one-dimensional player....has showed glimpses....but not enough.  Needs to evolve....especially when his deep ball isn't falling

Ivo:  Mentally gone.  He has no confidence.  Scared to do anything.  Making horrific decisions.  Just a lost cause right now....which is so disappointing.  When he was good...he was very helpful. Now...I can't trust him to bring anything to the table...especially in big games.

Two games vs. Kent 3-10, 6 pts, 6 rebs, 4 steals, 5 fouls 
Two games vs. Akron 0-2, 0 pts, 2 rebs, 8 fouls

HOW DO YOU ONLY TAKE TWO SHOTS IN 2 GAMES VS. AKRON......C'MON MAN!!!!!

He's dangerous when he's hitting 15-footers......but he's not even attempting them.  Just wasted minutes.

At BG, At Buffalo and home to Miami.....on paper, should be three wins.  But I'm not sure how this team will respond.  Mentally they've been all over the map this year.  Especially on the road.  I hope they show up for the next two...because with the wrong mindset....they could be L's

I feel better about beating Akron in Cleveland after the effort tonight compared the the "give-up" I saw at Akron.  But bottom line.....they have to play 40 minutes.  Can NOT get away with lapses vs. Akron...they have proven it time and time again they WILL NOT DIE.  So many come-from-behind wins in this league.  I think it will catch up with them eventually......but a sound win over them in Cleveland wouldn't hurt....rather than a nailbiter or another blown huge lead. 

Why don't you stop being an ignorant fan and realize Akron is a very good team.  Give them credit.  They could have easily given up at half-time. We actually have shown how much we've grown and played a really good 45minutes.  Akron came out on top.  Don't be sour.  We're lucky that March is ahead of us.  Stay positive.

Why do so many of you defend this team with the defense that Akron is a good team with a chip on its shoulder? We should have a chip on our shoulders from being demolished at Kron. We have an OUTSTANDING group of seniors. We were NCAA Sweet 16 qualifiers. Yes Akron is solid but 19 points from Kretzer? REALLY! Quit excusing it.

Have you considered that this year, maybe just maybe, Akron is a better team than us?  They are, plain and simple.  We simply have no answer for Treadwell and Marshall (when Marshall's on).

Last year's Sweet 16 run is long gone.  That season ended at the final buzzer against the Tar Heels.  There's never ever a guarantee any team, even with most of its players returning, will again make it to the Sweet 16.  It's not a birthright.

Like Monroe said, overall we played well, Akron played better.  It happens.

This sort of silliness blows my mind. I guess this is what happens in prosperous societies where people have time to complain about situations in which they would never find themselves (playing and coaching.) I have done both and it is harder than it looks. Imagine the sort of mindset it takes to watch a close game lost to the team with the longest winning streak in the country and you have to run to your keyboard to make fun of the coach and those who think because he only (until last night) lost one conference game he shouldn't be fired. Driving back from the game with a group of friends, we wondered if this sort of madness would happen on the the message board. Someone check their iphone and of course it did. God Help Us from these sorts of budding Einsteins!

News flash to posters: one certain three year shooting guard dribbled the ball out of bounds of his leg and has totally lost confidence in his play.  One 6'9" forward was on the bench for extended time because of his lack of rebounding, defense and scoring too. One point guard never went for the ball when we tried to get it in bounds and at the most inopportune times took a three and/or missed free throws.  Another big guy couldn't finish at the rim.  Another small guy couldnt finish at the rim and was seen guarding zeke because our defenders dont work thru picks, they switch all the time creating size mismatches.

Bottom line is Akron has better pieces than us: they have bigger guys who do rebound, and last night they had better shooters who knocked em down (see final shooting percentages).  In the end, they made FEWER mistakes than we did. In cleveland, we will need to play with fewer mistakes and hope they make a couple more..  If that happens and we REBOUND the ball, we might squeeze out a victory when it really counts.