Men's Basketball Preps For Bowling Green

January 13 | Men's Basketball

GAME 15

Akron (10-4, 1-1 MAC) at
Bowling Green (10-5, 1-1 MAC)

Sunday, January 14
2 p.m. EST
Anderson Arena (4,700)
Bowling Green, Ohio

Television: None

Radio: Akron-ISP Sports Network - WARF (1350 AM) in Akron, WERE (1300 AM) in Cleveland and on the Internet at GoZips.com. Steve French (play-by-play) and Joe Dunn (color). (1:30 p.m. EST airtime).

Akron Coach Keith Dambrot (Akron '82):
Is in his third season with the Zips, owning a 52-24 (.684) mark in that time. He is 160-94 (.630) in his ninth season as a collegiate head coach. He is 4-3 all-time versus Bowling Green.

BGSU Coach Dan Dakich (Indiana '85):
Is in his 10th season on the sideline for the Falcons and as a collegiate head coach, owning a 153-127 (.546) mark in that time. He is 8-9 all-time versus Akron.

The Series: Sunday serves as the 38th meeting between the two schools on the hardwood. BGSU leads the all-time series, 23-14. The Zips have won three-straight overall matchups, and two in-a-row at Anderson Arena. Akron swept last season's two meetings, when the Zips posted a 77-72 overtime win at BGSU (Jan. 29, 2006) and 77-62 victory in Akron (Feb. 14, 2006).

Up Next: Akron plays host to rival Kent State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. EST.

Zips Travel To Bowling Green...
The University of Akron men's basketball team (10-4, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) continues league play with a Sunday matinee at Bowling Green (10-5, 1-1 MAC). Tip off is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST at Anderson Arena.

Akron has won three of its last four games, and looks for its second straight victory following a thrilling 54-52 win over Miami (Ohio) on Thursday at Rhodes Arena. UA's Dru Joyce scored a floating layup with two seconds left to push the Zips past the RedHawks.

Bowling Green will look to rebound from a 67-49 loss at Ohio on Thursday.

Streaks, Storylines, Sidebars...
• Akron is 4-2 in road games (best in the MAC) and 5-3 (1-1 neutral) in games played away from Rhodes Arena this season.
• The Zips have posted a win in consecutive visits to Anderson Arena. UA edged BGSU 77-72 in overtime last season (Jan. 29, 2006) and Dru Joyce hit a layup as time expired to lift the Zips to a 71-69 victory on Feb. 3, 2005.
• One of the top shooting teams in the MAC this season, Akron is averaging 48.6 percent (403-of-829) from the floor and 39.4 percent (117-of-297) from behind the arc.
• UA has shot 50 percent or better from the field in eight of 14 contests this season, but enters Sunday's game following a season-low 38.2 percent (21-of-55) showing from the field against Miami. The Zips have shot below 50 percent in their last three games.
• Miami also held Akron to a season-low clip from behind the arc, holding them to 21.1 percent (4-of-14). That tied the Zips fewest makes from 3-range this season (4-of-14 vs. UALR/Nov. 13).
• The Zips have converted 42 percent or better from 3-point range in seven of the last 11 games (have not done so in three straight), and have made 10 or more 3-pointers in a contest six times this season (season-high 14 versus Tiffin/Nov. 19). UA is averaging 8.4 three-pointers made a game.
• UA has just one player averaging double-figure points, with MAC Player-of-the Year candidate Romeo Travis leading the charge at 13.9 ppg. Five other Zips are averaging 7.6 ppg or better ( Cedrick Middleton-9.6, Jeremiah Wood-9.3, Dru Joyce-9.3, Nick Dials-9.2, Quade Milum-7.6).
• Through 13 games seven different Akron players have led the team in scoring, with all seven of those averaging 20 minutes or more per game.
• Travis ranks 21st on Akron's career scoring chart with 1,194 points (103 career games), and is 17 points shy of the 20th spot on that list. He is also the program's all-time blocked shots leader, with 125. Travis has come off the bench in three of the last five games, being in the starting unit against Miami.
• Joyce ranks second on UA's career assists chart with 428 (104 games), and has averaged 6.3 assists over the last three games (two vs. Miami, seven at Ohio/Jan. 6, season-high-tying 10 at Youngstown State/Jan. 2). He has 68 dishes (team-high 4.9 apg) and 25 turnovers, good for a 2.7 assist-turnover ratio. He had a single-season school record 165 dishes (79 TOs) in 2005-06.

On The Line Versus BGSU...
• An Akron victory would be its third-consecutive defeat of Bowling Green at Anderson Arena.
• An Akron victory would make it winners of four of its last five games.
• An Akron victory would improve its record to 5-2 in road games and 6-3 (1-1 neutral) in games played away from Rhodes Arena this season. Both records would be tops in the MAC.

News, Notes, Trends...
• Akron set or tied a season low in six statistical categories on Thursday against Miami - total points (54), field goals made (21), field-goal percentage (38.2 percent/21-of-55), 3-point field-goal percentage (21.1 percent/4-of-19), assists (six) and blocks (one).
• The Zips dropped five spots to No. 18 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.
• Akron is 5-1 at home this season, with the lone loss coming to top-25 ranked Nevada, 73-71, on Dec. 22. That loss snapped a stretch of 21-straight victories at home for the Zips - what was the nation's fourth-longest home win streak.
• Akron's four losses this season have come by a combined 15 points.
• The Zips are 9-2 this season when leading at the half, the losses came at Ohio (Jan. 6) and at UIC (Dec. 16). UA has trailed at the intermission twice, losing both times (versus UALR/Nov. 13 and against Nevada/Dec. 22).
• UA has compiled 53 blocked shots (3.8 bpg) this season (Leaders: Romeo Travis-24, Quade Milum-12), putting it on pace to have 118 for the season. The program's single-season record is 111 (2004-05), and the Zips' 102 rejections in 2005-06 rank second on that chart.
• In the game at UIC (Dec. 16), Akron gave up over 80 points for just the seventh time under third-year coach Keith Dambrot - the program is 0-7 in those contests.
• The Zips are 32-2 at home under Dambrot.
• Under Dambrot, UA is great at rebounding from a loss, as the Zips have dropped consecutive games just twice under the third-year mentor (yet to do so in 2006-07 and once in each of the last two seasons).
• Dambrot signed a new five-year contract on Dec. 22, extending his relationship with the university through June 30, 2011.
• Akron recently announced time changes to three of its games due to television. The Zips game against Western Michigan on Jan. 27 will now tip at 4 p.m. EST for ESPN2, while the Feb. 3 contest versus Ball State was moved to 4 p.m. for an FSN Ohio telecast. Additionally, UA's regular-season finale at Kent State has been moved to 7:30 p.m. for FSN Ohio.
• Akron received one vote in the Associated Press' preseason poll for the first time in program history, and maintained that position on the poll's week 2 list.
• Akron was a hot topic during the preseason. The Zips were picked to win the MAC's East Division in the league's media poll as well as by CBSSportsline.com magazine, Sporting News, Street & Smith's, Lindy's and Athlon. CBSSportsline.com magazine also ranked them 20th nationally on its list of this season's top-64 teams.
• Dru Joyce and Romeo Travis are graduates of Akron's St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, where they were teammates of NBA All-Star LeBron James. UA coach Keith Dambrot mentored the trio, and won two Ohio state championships, at the prep school before coming to UA as an assistant coach for the 2001-02 season.
• Akron finished the 2005-06 season with a 23-10 record, the most wins in the program's Division I era (joined in 1980-81), and notched the school's first D-I postseason victory in the form of an 80-73 overtime win at Temple (March 14) in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament. UA fell 71-60 at Creighton (March 16) in the next round.

Zips Player Notables...
• Romeo Travis ranks 21st on Akron's career scoring chart with 1,194 points (103 games), and is 17 points shy of the 20th spot on the list - occupied by Jerry Sloan (1,210/1964-68/100 games).
• Travis has scored in double figures in 11 games this season. He had 12 points against Miami (Ohio), after scoring 13 at Ohio (Jan. 6). Ten of his points versus the Bobcats came in the final three minutes of the game. His season-high of 24 points came at UIC (Dec. 16) (four off his career best), and he has hit that double-digit mark 65 times in 103 career games.
• Travis became UA's all-time blocks leader during the second half of the Binghamton (Dec. 6) game, passing Bruce Weinkein (109/1998-2001/100 games) on that list. He now has 125 rejections (103 games), and leads the team with 25 (1.9 bpg) this season (one versus Miami and five at Ohio/Jan. 6). He had a career-best six stuffs at UIC (Dec. 16).
• Dru Joyce's 428 career assists (104 games) is second most in school history, and is 49 away from the top spot held by Eric McLaughlin (476/1985-89/115 games). Joyce's 4.9 apg this season leads the team, and he maintains a 2.7 assist-turnover ratio (68 assists compared to 25 turnovers). He has had a season-high 10 dishes twice (at UIC/Dec. 16, at Youngstown State/Jan. 2).
• Cedrick Middleton is second on the team in scoring (9.6 ppg), third in assists (2.2 apg) and fourth in steals (16/1.1 spg). He had six points and two assists in 27 minutes against Miami, after getting a career-high 20 points in 30 minutes at Ohio (Jan. 6).
• Quade Milum has been a member of the starting lineup in six of the last seven games, and seven times this season (also versus Tiffin/Nov. 19). He had two points in 10 minutes off the bench against Miami. His 4.5 rpg is third on the team, while his 7.6 ppg ranks sixth. He has scored in double figures four times this season, including a career-high 17 at Youngstown State (Jan. 2).
• Jeremiah Wood leads the club in rebounding (7.0 rpg) and is third in scoring (9.3 ppg). He has two double-doubles this season, but has gone five-straight games without double-figure points and six-straight without double-digit boards.
• Nick Dials and Nate Linhart each have just one miss from the line this season (Dials: 21-of-22, Linhart: 7-of-8). Neither went to the line against Miami. Dials was 2-of-2 in charity shots at Ohio (Jan. 6), while Linhart's last trip to the stripe was against Winston-Salem State (Dec. 9) (1-of-2).
• Dials has started in all 14 games, scoring in double figures six times. He had six points against Miami, after hitting double-figure points for the first time in five games at Ohio (Jan. 6) - scoring 10 points in 20 minutes.His 3.1 apg is second on the squad, as is his 18 steals (1.3 spg).