The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Basketball Closes Homestand Wednesday Against Ohio
January 11 | Men's Basketball
Wed., Jan. 12 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Rhodes Arena (5,500) • Akron, Ohio
Television: None.
Webcast/Audio Stream/Live Statistics:
Available at GoZips.com - webcast and audio stream through
subscription, live statistics free of charge.
Radio: Akron Sports Network from IMG College - SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron and on the Internet at GoZips.com. Steve French (play-by-play) and Joe Dunn (analyst) (6:30 p.m. ET airtime).
Akron Coach Keith
Dambrot (Akron '82):
Coach Dambrot is in his seventh season at the helm for the Zips,
posting a 149-67 (.690) mark. Both his wins total and wins
percentage rank third all-time in program history. Dambrot is
257-137 (.652) in his 13th season as a collegiate head coach. He is
11-6 all-time against the Bobcats.
Ohio Coach John Groce (Taylor '94):
Coach Groce is in his third season as the head coach at Ohio. He
has a 44-40 record at OU (.524). He is 2-3 against the Zips.
The Series: Ohio owns a slim 31-30 advantage in the series, which dates back to the 1911-12 season. The Bobcats won the last meeting between the two programs, an 81-75 overtime victory in the MAC Title game on March 13, 2010. The Zips have won three-of-four in the series and seven-straight at Rhodes Arena.
Last Time Out...
• The University of Akron men's basketball team improved to
6-1 at home this season with a 65-62 victory over rival Kent State
(9-6, 0-1 MAC) on Jan. 8 at Rhodes Arena.
• The victory ended a three-game skid to the Golden Flashes
and improved Akron's record to 6-1 in MAC home openers under head
coach Keith
Dambrot.
• The Zips, trailing 55-53 with just over four minutes
remaining, were powered to a 61-55 lead with one minute left thanks
to eight-straight points by sophomore center Zeke
Marshall.
• Sophomore center Zeke
Marshall posted his second double-double of the season (third
career), recording game highs for points (20) and rebounds (11). He
added three blocks, his 13th multi-block game in 15 contests.
• Senior forward Brett
McKnight continued to provide an offensive "pop" off the bench,
knocking down 19 points in 22 minutes.
• Senior center Mike
Bardo moved into ninth place on the career blocks list,
swatting the 54th shot of his career.
A Look at the Bobcats...
• Ohio enters tonight's contest with a 7-8 record (0-1 MAC)
and is coming off a 92-88 triple overtime loss to Miami (Ohio) on
Jan. 9. The Bobcats have lost two-straight contests, both in
overtime, and are playing their first road game since Dec. 18. OU
is lead by sophomore guard D.J. Cooper's 19.2 points and 7.7
assists per game. Tommy Freeman (11.0 ppg) and DeVaughn Washington
(10.7 ppg) are also averaging double figures.
On The Line Versus Ohio...
• An Akron victory would be the seventh win in the last eight
games.
• An Akron victory would be the fourth win in the last five
meetings.
• A win would extend Akron's home winning streak to five
games.
• A victory will move head coach Keith
Dambrot into a tie for ninth place with Jim Larranaga (Bowling
Green, 1987-97) for total wins as a MAC head coach with 170.
Looking for Akron Win #150...
• Seventh-year head coach Keith
Dambrot will look to capture career win No. 150 in his Akron
career tonight against Ohio. He is currently at 149 wins and needs
just one more to become the third coach to win 150 games at Akron,
joining Russell Beichly (286) and Tony Laterza (178).
Home Cooking...
• Akron is 83-14 at Rhodes Arena under seventh-year head
coach Keith
Dambrot (6-1 overall, 1-0 MAC this season). UA went 13-5 (6-2
MAC) at home last season. The Zips have recorded eight-straight
winning seasons at home.
Last Five Games...
• The Zips have posted a 4-1 record over the last five
contests, averaging 73.8 ppg and out-scoring their opponents by 8.4
points/game. Akron has turned the ball over an average of 10.6
times/game while forcing 18.8 turnovers while holding a 1.4
assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Six Zips are averaging seven points or better during that
stretch, led by Brett
McKnight's 13.6 ppg. Brett
McClanahan (11.8 ppg) and Zeke
Marshall (10.8 ppg) are averaging double figures in the scoring
column. Zeke
Marshall leads the team with 5.4 rpg while Alex
Abreu is averaging a team-best 4.0 apg and 2.6 spg.
Marshall Named MAC Co-POW...
• Sophomore center Zeke
Marshall was named MAC East Co-Division Player of the Week on
Jan. 10. He helped the Zips to a 2-0 record the previous week (W,
84-80 vs. Oral Roberts; W, 65-62 vs. Kent State). He averaged 16.0
points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, 1.0 steal and 1.0 assist while
shooting 63.6 percent from the field (14-for-22) and 66.7 percent
from the line (4-for-6).
Pass the Rock...
• The Zips are fourth in the Mid-American Conference in
assists (14.47 apg) and are second in assist/turnover ratio (1.18).
Akron has dished out at least 10 dimes in 13 of 15 games this
season and has a 42-assist advantage over its opponents.
Stealing the Show...
• After opening the season with a 15-steal performance
against Millikin (Nov. 12), the Zips recorded just four steals over
its next three games (1.3 spg). Over the last 10 contests, Akron
returned to form, recording 85 total steals (8.5 spg).
Ball Protection...
• The Zips have been very protective of the ball this season,
turning the ball over just 12.3 times/game while forcing 16.5
turnovers/game. On the road, the Zips are averaging just 13.3
turnovers in eight games while committing 11.1 turnovers/game at
home in seven games. Akron has turner the ball over 10 times or
less in the last three games.
"Bench"-mark...
• The Akron bench has been a productive force over the last
four games, averaging 25.8 points/game while out-scoring the
opposition 103-40. Senior forward Brett
McKnight is leading the charge, averaging a team-best 15.0 ppg
during that stretch. Akron is 3-1 during the stretch.
Spreading Out the Points...
• For the first time in nearly 12 years, the Zips had five or
more players score in double figures in back-to-back games. Against
Arkansas-Pine Bluff, five Zips reached double figures while six
players hit double-digits in the scoring column against Oral
Roberts. The last time this happened was Jan. 30 and Feb. 3, 1999.
Akron has not had three-straight games with five-plus players in
double figures in the Division I Era (1980-81).
Career Chart Watch...
• Two Zips, Steve
McNees and Mike
Bardo, have their sights set on the career games played record.
McNees (120) needs to appear in 18 games while Bardo (115) needs to
play in 23 games to break Chris
McKnight's record of 137 career games played (2006-10).
• Senior Darryl
Roberts is on pace to set the career mark for free throw
percentage. Should he maintain his .873 mark and attempt 96 more
attempts this season, he would break the previous mark of .834 held
by Jami Bosley (1998-00). He is 19-for-21 (.905) from the charity
stripe this season.
• Sophomore center Zeke
Marshall, with 40 blocks on the season, passed Rob Preston (86,
2001-06) for fourth on the career blocks list (99). So far this
season, he has passed Quade Milum (65, 2005-08), David Mason (76,
1979-80, 80-81), Joel Price (82, 1978-79, 80-81) and Rob Preston
(86, 2001-06). He has 27 multi-block games for his career,
including 12 this season. He is now eight blocks from third place
(George Phillips, 107, 1996-2000).
• Senior Brett
McKnight needs 70 points to become the 38th member of the
1,000-point club.
• Senior center Mike
Bardo moved into ninth place on the career blocks list with his
54th-career block, breaking a tie with Nate Linhart (53,
2006-09).
• Senior guard Steve
McNees (253) passed Mark Alberts (248, 1988-93) for 10th place
on the career assists lists. He now needs nine assists to pass Mike
Dowdell (261, 1984-87) for eighth place.
Big Time Play off the Bench...
• Senior forward Brett
McKnight came off the bench to score 20 points against Miami
(Fla.) on Dec. 23, including 16 in the second half and 14-straight
during an Akron 16-0 run. He posted 19 points in a victory over
Kent State on Jan. 8, helping the Zips to a 65-62 victory. He is
averaging 15.0 ppg and 3.5 rpg over the last four contests.
What a Difference a Year Makes...
• For junior guard Brett
McClanahan, a year has made a big difference. So far this
season, he is second on the team in points/game (11.7 ppg, 18th in
the MAC) and third in rebounds/game (4.1 rpg). He has reached
double-figures in six of the last seven contests. He recorded his
first double-double against Youngstown State (22 points, 10
rebounds) on Nov. 20. Last season, he averaged 3.3 points and 1.5
boards per game.
Junior Leadership...
• Another junior stepping up to help lead the Zips this
season has been forward Nikola
Cvetinovic. Entering the season with a career average of 5.6
points and 3.4 rebounds per game, he has stepped up as the Zips'
leading scorer (11.8 ppg, 16th in the MAC) and leading rebounder
with 6.1 rpg (11th in the MAC).
First Half Marksmanship...
• Against Arkansas-Little Rock (Dec. 21) and Stetson (Dec.
22), the Zips made 19 3-point baskets (19-for-36). In the previous
nine games, Akron made just 25 3-pointers in the first half
(25-for-92).
Block Party...
• Through 15 games this season, sophomore center Zeke
Marshall has recorded 40 blocks and is averaging 2.7 bpg, first
in the MAC. He is on pace to record 86 blocks (32 games) this
season, which would smash the season record of 65 (Romeo Travis,
2006-07) and leave him 20 shy of Travis' career record of 165
blocks (2004-07).
A Look at the Polls...
• Six Akron opponents appeared in the Jan. 10
CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll, led by No. 7 Cleveland State.
Other opponents receiving votes included Kent State (35), Buffalo
(18), Ohio (11), Detroit (10) and Ball State (4). The Zips are 2-1
against these teams with three opponents to play.
• Two opponents were mentioned in the Jan. 10 AP and ESPN/USA
Today Coaches Polls. Temple was the only ranked opponent in both
polls, coming in at No. 19 in the AP Poll and No. 23 in the
ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. The Golden Gophers were ranked 25th in
the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and received 123 votes in the AP
poll.
