Men's Basketball Heads To Ball State On Saturday

February 08 | Men's Basketball

GAME 23

Akron (16-6, 6-3 MAC) at Ball State (3-18, 2-7 MAC)

Saturday, February 9
7 p.m. EST
Worthen Arena (11,500)
Muncie, Ind.

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). (6:30 p.m. EST airtime)

Akron Coach Keith Dambrot (Akron ‘82):
Is in his fourth season with the Zips, maintaining an 84-33 (.718) mark in that time. He is 192-103 (.651) in his tenth season as a collegiate head coach. Dambrot is 3-5 all-time versus Ball State.

Ball State Coach Billy Taylor (Notre Dame '95):
Is in his first season on the sideline for the Cardinals, owning a 3-18 (.143) record during that span. In his sixth season as a collegiate head coach he is 84-87 (.491). This is his first time facing Akron.

The Series: Saturday serves as the 27th meeting between the two schools on the hardwood. Ball State leads the all-time series 15-11, but Akron has won three-straight match-ups. The Zips tallied a 70-52 victory at Rhodes Arena last season (Feb. 3, 2007), and earned a 75-58 decision in its last visit to Worthen Arena on Jan. 4, 2006. The Cardinals own a 10-3 edge in the series when playing in Muncie (10-2 at Worthen Arena).

Up Next: Akron returns home to face Northern Illinois on Tuesday, Feb. 12. Tip off is set for 8 p.m. EST due to a FSN Ohio telecast.

Akron Travels To Ball State On Saturday...
Continuing Mid-American Conference cross-divisional play, The University of Akron men's basketball team (16-6, 6-3) travels to Muncie, Ind., to take on MAC West foe Ball State (3-18, 2-7) on Saturday at 7 p.m. EST at Worthen Arena.

Tied for second place in the MAC's East Division, Akron looks to rebound from an 86-66 loss at Western Michigan on Wednesday. The Zips have lost three of their last five contests, and are 4-6 in games played outside of Akron this season.

Ball State looks to snap a five-game losing streak, with the most recent defeat coming at Kent State, 64-61, in overtime. All three of the team's win this season are at home, where it is 3-9.

Streaks, Storylines, Sidebars...
• Akron's trip to Muncie continues a stretch in which it plays four of five games on the road. The Zips are 4-6 away from Rhodes Arena this season (2-5 in true road games, 2-1 in neutral court contests). UA looks to snap a three-game road losing streak. The squad will play at home for the first time in 10 days on Tuesday (Feb. 12) when it plays host to Northern Illinois.
• Akron leads the MAC in five statistical categories – scoring (73.0 ppg), scoring margin (+9.4), 3-point field goal percentage (39.1 percent/191-of-489), 3-pointers made per game (8.7 mpg/29th nationally) and turnover margin (+3.4). The Zips rank second in the league in assists (14.1 apg) and assist-turnover ratio (1.0 a-to/310 assists, 299 turnovers).
• For the second-straight week, UA is listed No. 10 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.
• UA learned on Friday that Jeremiah Wood, a favorite for MAC Player of the Year, will be sidelined for at least four weeks due to a torn right lateral meniscus. The fifth-year senior is scheduled to have surgery on Saturday. He leads the Zips in scoring (13.4 ppg/10th in MAC) and rebounding (7.8/third in MAC), and is second in assists (2.4 apg). He is ninth in the league in field-goal percentage (51.1 percent/117-of-229). Wood has 1,009 career points (34th most in program history), and his 709 career rebounds rank 10th on the school's career list. He tore his right ACL in 2004-05.
• Since being added to the starting lineup 14 games ago, All-MAC candidate Nate Linhart has averaged 10.4 points (3rd on team in that span), 4.7 rebounds (2nd on team in that span) and 30.5 minutes (2nd on team in that span). He ranks second on the team in rebounds (4.2) and steals (30/16 in MAC play), and third in blocks (10) this season. Linhart had a career-high-tying 16 points (6-of-9 FGs/4-of-5 3FGs) at Western Michigan.
• Nick Dials, also a candidate for MAC Player of the Year, leads the league in assists (4.5 apg) and is UA's second leading scorer (12.5 ppg/16th in MAC). He averages a team-high 31 minutes as the starting point guard, and is the squad's most prolific free-throw shooter (86.5 percent/77-of-89, second in MAC, 25th nationally) and second-best 3-point shooter (39.7 percent/54-of-136), sixth in MAC). He is third in the MAC in assist-turnover ratio (2.0 a-to/99 assists, 50 TOs). Dials's 277 career assists rank him seventh on the school's career list, and has 946 points in his UA career. He has scored in double figures in four of the last five games, and led the team in assists in eight-straight contests (11 points and four assists at Western Michigan).

Head Coach Keith Dambrot...
• In his fourth season at the helm of the Akron program, head coach Keith Dambrot has led the Zips to an 84-33 (.718) record. That win total ties as the most in the MAC during that span, with Kent State (84-38).
• Dambrot's .718 winning percentage at UA is second-best in the history of the program. Tony Laterza leads that category at .751, after posting a 178-59 record from 1960-68.
• In his 10th season as a collegiate head coach, Dambrot has compiled a 192-103 (.651) record. That winning percentage ranks as second best among the MAC's active coaches, while the total number of wins is fourth most in that group. Kent State's Jim Christian leads the winning percentage list at .696 (128-56) in his sixth season (all at KSU). Miami's Charlie Coles leads the wins list at 296 in his 18th season.
• Dambrot's high level of success led to the University giving him a new seven-year contract in April 2007 – keeping him with the program through the 2014 season.

On The Line Versus Ball State...
• An Akron victory would be its third in four games.
• An Akron victory would snap a three-game road losing streak – losses at Kent State (75-69 on Jan. 23), at Central Michigan (65-64 on Jan. 26) and at Western Michigan (86-66 on Wednesday).
• An Akron victory would be its second-straight at Worthen Arena, and fourth consecutive in the all-time series with the Cardinals.

Western Michigan Postgame Notes...
• Akron lost 86-66 at Western Michigan on Wednesday at University Arena. The loss dropped the Zips out of a three-way-tie for first place in the league's East Division.
• Chris McKnight led Akron with a career-high 18 points, and Nate Linhart added a career-high-tying 16 for the Zips.
• Akron cut the Western Michigan lead to 58-49 with 10:48 to play, but could close the gap no further.
• WMU used a 30-8 run to take a 39-17 advantage, its biggest of the contest, with 5:28 remaining before halftime. The Broncos had a 47-33 cushion at the intermission.
• Linhart made 6-of-9 shots from the field, including 4-of-5 3-pointers. McKnight was true on 6-of-7 attempts from the floor, and made 3-of-3 treys.
• Nick Dials finished with 11 points and four assists for UA.
• The Zips lost their third-straight road game, and WMU's 86 points was the most given up by Akron this season.
• WMU shot 52.8 percent (28-of-53) from the field, 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from behind the arc and 78.6 percent (22-of-28) from the line.
• Akron shot 40.0 percent (20-of-50) from the floor, 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from long range and 69.6 percent (16-of-23) from the charity stripe.
• The Zips were out-rebounded 38-21 and got outscored in the paint, 38-14.
• Joe Reitz led WMU with 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Derek Drews shot 4-for-5 from 3-point range and scored 14 points for the Broncos, while David Kool added 13 points and led all players with eight assists.

News, Notes, Trends...
• Seven different Akron players have led the team in scoring this season. Additionally, five players have scored 20 points or more in a game, with two of those (Dials and Wood) having done so on three occasions each.
• Akron has won 22-straight games at Rhodes Arena – the fifth-longest streak of its kind in the nation. Tennessee is fourth on that list, with 27.
• The Zips, 12-0 at home this season, have been victorious in 43 of their last 44 home contests – dating to last December's 73-71 loss to top-25 ranked Nevada. UA is 52-2 at home under fourth-year coach Keith Dambrot.
• UA has won 25-straight league games at home, dating back to the 2004-05 season (a 57-54 loss to Kent State on Feb. 9, 2005).
• The Zips' combined margin of victory in their 12 home dates (12-0) this season is +18.8.
• UA's MAC-leading 8.7 3-pointers made per game ranks as the 29th-highest nationally. The Zips have made eight or more treys 17 times this season, doing so in 13 of the last 15 games. UA converted 10-of-24 at Western Michigan. The team nailing a season high 13 (season-high 31 attempts) versus North Carolina A&T (Dec. 19).
• UA has made at least one 3-pointer in 223-straight games, dating back to a Dec. 27, 2000 loss (98-67) to Purdue at Rhodes Arena.
• UA has had more assists than turnovers 10 times this season – going 10-0 in those games – but had 12 assists and 14 turnovers at Western Michigan. The Zips have had 11 or fewer TOs six times, and 13 or fewer on 13 occasions.
• Akron has moved itself into the league's top five (12 teams) in terms of free throw shooting, after being in the bottom third at one point this season. The Zips are averaging 71.1 percent (334-of-470) (fifth in MAC) from the line, but went 16-of-23 (69.9 percent) at Western Michigan.
• The Zips received votes three times this season in the Associated Press poll. Earning two tallies in the preseason edition, and five votes in week 1 and two votes in week 11.

Player Notables...
• Reserve point guard Steve McNees (redshirt-freshman) is averaging 6.8 points (7.1 in MAC play), 2.2 assists (1.8 in MAC play) and 22 minutes. His 39.8 percent (33-of-83) from 3-point range is the best on the squad and the fifth highest in the league. He had five points (1-7 FGs/0-3 3FGs/3-4 FTs), three assists and two rebounds at Western Michigan.
• Cedrick Middleton ranks third on the team in scoring (9.0 ppg/29th in MAC), and is first in steals (31/12th in MAC). He also averages 36.6 percent (37-of-101) from 3-point range (11th in MAC). Last year's MAC Sixth Man of the Year, he has been a starter in 17 of 22 games this season, coming off the bench in the last three contests.
• Quade Milum leads the team in field goal percentage (56.3 percent/63-of-112), and is just shy of the 3.0 made-per-game requirement to rank in that category in the MAC (was on that list prior to last game). He was 0-for-0 from the field in 13 minutes at Western Michigan, and was sidelined for much of that game after getting elbowed in the jaw.

Career Chart Watch...
• Jeremiah Wood's 1,009 career points (294 this season) (92 career games) rank him 34th on UA's career chart, after hitting his 1,000th point against Eastern Michigan (Feb. 2). His 709 rebounds (172 this season) rank him No. 10 on UA's all-time career list. Romeo Travis sits in the No. 9 spot, with 783 (2004-07/122 games).
• Two other UA seniors are on pace to become 1,000-point scorers – Cedrick Middleton (979) and Nick Dials (946).Dials has scored 1,031 points during his collegiate career, as he spent his freshman season at Ohio State (2003-04).
• Dials's 277 career assists (99 this season) in 88 career games played rank No. 7 on UA's career chart. Joe Jakubick is No. 6, with 300 (1980-84/108 games).
• Middleton's 113 steals (31 this season) in 117 career games played rank him No. 10 on UA's all-time career list. Mike Dowdell is No. 9, with 121 thefts (1984-87/80 games).
• Quade Milum's 58 career rejections (14 this season) in 109 career games played are the seventh most in program history. David Mason sits in the No. 6 spot, with 76 (1979-80 '80-81/49 games).