Men's Basketball Set For Re-Match With Austin Peay

December 14 | Men's Basketball

GAME 9

Akron (6-2) at Austin Peay (4-5)

Saturday, December 15
7:30 p.m. CST (8:30 EST)
Dave Aaron Arena (7,257)
Clarksville, Tenn.

Television: None

Radio: Akron-ISP Sports Network – SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron, WERE (1490 AM) in Cleveland and through the ZipsZone on GoZips.com. Steve French (play-by-play) and Joe Dunn (color). (8 p.m. EST airtime)

Akron Coach Keith Dambrot (Akron ‘82):
Is in his fourth season with the Zips, maintaining a 74-29 (.718) mark in that time. He is 182-99 (.648) in his tenth season as a collegiate head coach. He is 1-0 all-time versus Austin Peay.

Austin Peay Coach Dave Loos (Memphis ‘70):
Is in his 18th season on the sideline for the Governors, owning a 275-240 (.534) mark in that time. He is 357-294 (.548) in his 22nd season as a collegiate head coach. He is 0-1 all-time versus Akron.

The Series: Saturday marks the 19th meeting between the two schools on the hardwood, with Akron leading 10-8. The meeting serves as a return game from last season's O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters match-up in Akron (Feb. 17, 2007), which the Zips claimed 74-57. The two programs competed in the Ohio Valley Conference from 1980-81 through 1986-87. The teams last met at APSU on Feb. 23, 1987 (a 63-58 Akron loss).

Up Next: Akron opens its second three-game homestand of the season on Dec. 19, when it plays host to North Carolina A&T at 7 p.m. EST at Rhodes Arena.

Akron Set For Re-Match With Austin Peay...
Following a week off for final exams, the University of Akron men's basketball team (6-2) travels to Clarksville, Tenn., to take on Austin Peay (4-5) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CST (8:30 p.m. EST). The meeting serves as a return game from last season's O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters match-up in Akron (Feb. 17, 2007), which the Zips claimed 74-57.

In its last outing, Akron scored a 96-47 win over North Carolina Central (Dec. 8) to run its win streak at home to 14 games (seventh longest home win streak in the nation). The Zips enter Saturday's game winners in five of their last six outings.

Austin Peay, which also sat idle this week due to final exams, looks to bounce back from a 72-62 loss at Evansville on Dec. 8. The Governors have won two of their last three contests, and are 2-0 at home this season.

Streaks, Storylines, Sidebars...
• UA is ranked 11th in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.

• Akron's trip to Austin Peay is its lone road game in a five-game stretch that started last Saturday versus NC Central. The Zips begin a three-game homestand on Dec. 19 against North Carolina A&T, and then play host to Youngstown State (Dec. 21) and Illinois-Chicago (Dec. 29).

• Chris McKnight led four UA players in double figures with a career-high 17 points and career-high-tying 8 rebounds in its rout of NC Central.

• Akron dominated in nearly every statistical category versus NC Central, shooting season highs in field goals (57.8 percent/37-of-64) and 3-point field goals (55.6 percent/10-of-18), while dishing out a season-best 26 assists. The Zips were also equally impressive defensively, scoring 41 points off of 22 NCCU turnovers, and out-rebounded the Eagles 41-29.

• MAC Player-of-the-Year candidate and Preseason All-MAC choice Jeremiah Wood leads the Zips in scoring (15.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.1), and is second in assists (2.4 apg). He notched his third double-double of the season at Winthrop (Dec. 4) (17 pts, 13 rebs), and has 15 in his career. Wood had eight points, seven boards and three dishes versus NC Central.

• Nick Dials, UA's second-leading scorer (12.4 ppg), leads the team in assists (4.0 apg) and is averaging a team-high 30 minutes-per-game. He shares the point guard responsibilities with redshirt-freshman Steve McNees (6.6 ppg/2.1 apg/22 mpg).

• Cedrick Middleton, ranks third on the team in scoring (11.8 ppg), and is first in steals (14/1.8 spg) and 3-point percentage (44.4/16-of-36). Last year's MAC Sixth Man of the Year, he has been a starter in six of eight games (five straight) this season.

• Dials and Middleton have combined to make 37 of UA's 60 3-pointers this season (Dials 21, Middleton 16). Against NC Central, Dials was 4-of-5 from long range and Middleton converted on 2-of-3 behind the arc. The Zips are averaging 7.5 3-pointers made per game, which ranks third in the MAC.

• Quade Milum's team-high 61.5 field goal percentage (32-of-52) (minimum 3.0 made per game) ranks him as second-best in the Mid-American Conference this season. He also leads the team in blocks (5/0.6 bpg) and is listed fourth in scoring (9.5 ppg).