The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Basketball Set To Face Winthrop On Tuesday
November 18 | Men's Basketball
Winthrop (1-1) at Akron (1-0)
Tuesday, November 18
7 p.m. EST
Rhodes Arena (5,500)
Akron, Ohio
Television: None
Webcast/Audio Stream: Available at GoZips.com
through ZipsZone
subscription package.
Radio: Akron-ISP Sports Network – SportsRadio
1350 AM (WARF) in Akron and through the
ZipsZone
at GoZips.com. Steve French (play-by-play) and Joe Dunn (color)
(6:30 p.m. EST airtime).
Akron Coach Keith Dambrot (Akron '82):
Is in his fifth season with the Zips, maintaining a 93-38 (.709)
mark in that time. He is 201-108 (.650) in his 11th season as a
collegiate head coach. He is 0-1 all-time versus Winthrop.
Winthrop Coach Randy Peele (Virginia Wesleyan
'83):
Is in his second season on the sideline for the Eagles, owning a
23-13 (.639) record in that time. In his sixth year as a collegiate
head coach he is 69-82 (.457). He is 2-0 all-time versus Akron,
having also faced the Zips in 1995 as head coach of UNC
Greensboro.
The Series: Tuesday serves as the second all-time meeting
between the two teams on the hardwood, with Winthrop claiming last
season's first meeting 68-58 in Rock Hill, S.C. (Dec. 4, 2007).
Up Next: Akron travels to No. 5/6-ranked
Pittsburgh on Friday as part of the Legends Classic (televised by
FSN Pittsburgh and ESPN Regional). The Zips last faced the Panthers
in 1987, when UA was coached by Bob Huggins (63-67 UA loss on Dec.
21, 1987). Pitt was ranked No. 3 at that time.
Zips Continue Homestand Versus Winthrop...
The University of Akron men's basketball team (1-0) continues a
two-game, season-opening homestand by playing host to Winthrop
(1-1) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EST at Rhodes Arena.
The Zips, who are receiving votes in the CollegeInsider.com
Mid-Major Top 25, opened the season with a 56-46 victory over
Canisius on Saturday.
The Eagles, who are also receiving votes in the mid-major poll,
will play their third game in five days. The squad opened the
season with a 67-42 win over North Greenville on Friday and then
suffered an 86-63 loss at South Carolina on Sunday. Winthrop has
made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in four-straight seasons
and in eight of the last 10 years.
Streaks, Storylines, Sidebars...
• Akron, has won 45 of its last 49 games at Rhodes Arena
and the team is 54-5 at home under fifth-year coach Keith
Dambrot.
• The Zips look to avenge last season's 68-58 loss at
Winthrop. In that game, UA led 55-45 with 4:46 remaining, but got
outscored 23-3 the rest of the way. Of the players who return from
that meeting, Winthrop claims an 18-17 margin in points.
• On Saturday versus Canisius, Akron trailed 26-22 at the
half, but outscored the Griffins 25-9 over the last 12 minutes of
regulation. UA was outrebounded 47-27, but scored 27 points off
Canisius' 30 turnovers, had 14 steals (nine in the second half) and
outscored its bench 32-17. The Zips shot 35 percent (21-of-60) from
the field and 50 percent (6-of-12) from the line.
• Brett McKnight scored all 12 of his game-high and
career-high-tying points in the second half of Saturday's win over
Canisius. He compiled his point total in about a 5-minute span,
converting three layups, one 3-pointer and three free throws during
that stretch. He came off the bench to log just 17 minutes in the
contest, with 10 of those coming in the second period. Darryl
Roberts was UA's only other double-figure scorer in the game,
tallying 10 points in 28 minutes off the bench.
• For the second-consecutive season, the Zips were picked
to finish fourth in the MAC's East Division in a preseason media
poll released last month.
• Akron returns two starters (Chris
McKnight and Nate Linhart) and eight letterwinners in 2008-09,
but also fields one of the youngest teams in the nation, with 12
members of its 17-man roster being underclassmen and nine of those
being in their first season of collegiate competition.
• Linhart is UA's top-returning scorer (8.5 ppg). He
ranked among the MAC's top 3-point shooters last season (38.0
percent) and led the Zips in steals (1.6 spg). While he was the
team's fourth-leading scorer, he trailed now departed letterwinner
Jeremiah Wood as its second-best rebounder (4.7
rpg). Linhart was a starter in 28 of 35 games played last season,
and was one of 10 players selected to the 2008 Preseason All-MAC
Team.
• Akron went 24-11 overall (11-5 in MAC play) a season
ago, reached the league tournament championship game for the
second-consecutive year and advanced to the second round of the NIT
for the second time in three seasons – defeating Florida State
65-60 in overtime on the road and then falling 68-63 at eventual
tournament runner-up Massachusetts.
