The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Basketball Travels to Oxford to Face Miami (Ohio)
January 18 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 19 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Millett Hall (6,600) • Oxford, Ohio
Television: None
Audio Stream/Live Statistics:
Available at GoZips.com - 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 149-69 (.684) mark. Both his wins total and wins
percentage rank third all-time in program history. Dambrot is
257-139 (.649) in his 13th season as a collegiate head coach. He is
9-9 all-time against Miami (Ohio).
Miami (Ohio) Coach Charlie Coles (Miami (Ohio)
'65):
Coach Coles is in his 15th season as the head coach at Miami (Ohio)
and is the longest tenured coach in the MAC. He has a 245-196
record at Miami (Ohio) (.556) and is 337-280 (.546) overall in 21
seasons as a head coach. He is 16-16 against the Zips.
The Series: Miami (Ohio) holds a slim 23-20 lead in the series, which began during the 1914-15 season. Akron has won four-straight in the series and six of the last seven. The Zips are 3-3 at Millett Hall under head coach Keith Dambrot.
Last Time Out...
• The University of Akron men's basketball team dropped its
second-consecutive Mid-American Conference contest, falling 73-70
to the Buffalo Bulls (9-6, 1-2 MAC) on Jan. 16 at Alumni Arena in
Buffalo, N.Y.
• Akron closed the game shooting 50.9 percent from the field
(27-for-53) but committed a season-high 20 turnovers.
• Two missed free throws gave the Zips a chance to tie the
game and send it to overtime but Brett
McClanahan's 3-pointer from the corner would come up short.
• Junior guard Brett
McClanahan led the Zips with 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting.
• Senior forward Brett
McKnight finished with 12 points and junior forward Nikola
Cvetinovic and senior guard Darryl
Roberts had 10 points each.
• Sophomore center Zeke
Marshall posted his 13th multi-block performance of the season
(28th career) with two blocks.
• Freshman guard Alex
Abreu fell one assist shy of his career high with seven.
A Look at the RedHawks...
• Miami (Ohio) enters today's contest with an 7-10 record
(2-1 MAC) and is coming off a 62-53 loss to Bowling Green on Jan.
16. The RedHawks are tied for the MAC East lead with Kent State and
Bowling Green. Miami (Ohio) is led by junior forward Julian
Mavunga's 13.2 points per game. Antonio Ballard (12.3 ppg) and Nick
Winbush (12.1 ppg) are also averaging double figures. Mavunga is
the team's leading rebounder at 6.7 rebounds per game.
On The Line Versus Miami (Ohio)...
• An Akron victory will be the seventh win in the last ten
games.
• An Akron victory will be the fifth-straight win for the
Zips in the series and third win in the last four visits to Millett
Hall.
• A win will move Akron back to .500 in Mid-American
Conference play (2-2).
• 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 Miami (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).
Last Five Games...
• The Zips have posted a 3-2 record over the last five
contests, averaging 75.2 ppg and out-scoring their opponents by 4.4
points/game. Akron has turned the ball over an average of 11.2
times/game while forcing 18.0 turnovers (+6.8) while holding a 1.3
assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Seven Zips are averaging seven points or better during that
stretch, led by Brett
McKnight's 12.0 ppg. Brett
McClanahan (11.8 ppg), Zeke
Marshall (10.6 ppg) and Nikola
Cvetinovic (10.4 ppg) are averaging double figures in the
scoring column. Nikola
Cvetinovic leads the team with 6.0 rpg while Alex
Abreu is averaging a team-best 4.0 apg and 2.2 spg.
Pass the Rock...
• The Zips are third in the Mid-American Conference in
assists (14.53 apg) and are first in assist/turnover ratio (1.14).
Akron has dished out at least 10 dimes in 15 of 17 games this
season and has a 34-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 12 contests, Akron
returned to form, recording 99 total steals (8.3 spg).
Ball Protection...
• The Zips have been very protective of the ball this season,
turning the ball over just 12.8 times/game while forcing 16.5
turnovers/game. On the road, the Zips are averaging just 13.8
turnovers in nine games while committing 11.4 turnovers/game at
home in eight games. Akron has turned the ball over 10 times or
less in three of the last five games.
• Akron turns the ball over on 17.8 percent of its
possessions, tied for 63rd in the country and tops in the MAC. On
the flip side, Akron is forcing opponents into a turnover on 22.0
percent of their possessions, tied for 56th in the nation.
Season Records on the Line...
• Freshman guard Alex
Abreu, through 17 games, needs 26 assists to break the freshman
season record for assists (90). He also needs two steals to move
into the top-three on the freshman list.
• Sophomore center Zeke
Marshall is two blocks shy of second place on the sophomore
season blocks list (45). He needs 16 more blocked shots to own the
sophomore season record (58).
Player Notables...
• Freshman guard Alex
Abreu is assisting on 35.72 percent of the baskets made by the
Zips while on the floor, which is 26th in the country.
• While on the floor, sophomore center Zeke
Marshall is blocking 9.4 percent of the shots taken by Akron
opponents, which is 12th-best in the nation.
• Junior guard Brett
McClanahan has made three or more 3-point buckets in nine of 17
games this season.
• Senior guard Steve
McNees has recorded two or more steals in five of the last
eight games.
• Senior guard Darryl
Roberts has at least one assist in 16 of 17 games this
season.
• Junior forward Nikola
Cvetinovic has recorded at least five boards in nine of the
last ten games.
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).
Block Party...
• Through 17 games this season, sophomore center Zeke
Marshall has recorded 43 blocks and is averaging 2.5 bpg, first
in the MAC. He is on pace to record 80 blocks (32 games) this
season, which would smash the season record of 65 (Romeo Travis,
2006-07) and leave him 26 shy of Travis' career record of 165
blocks (2004-07).
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'
second-leading scorer (11.4 ppg, 18th in the MAC) and leading
rebounder with 6.2 rpg (10th in the MAC).
What a Difference a Year Makes...
• For junior guard Brett
McClanahan, a year has made a big difference. So far this
season, he is first on the team in points/game (11.7 ppg, 16th in
the MAC) and third in rebounds/game (4.2 rpg). He has reached
double-figures in seven of the last nine 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.
Century Club...
• Senior guard Darryl
Roberts joined fellow seniors Steve
McNees and Mike
Bardo as one of three members of the Zips' squad to have played
in 100-plus games. Roberts reached the milestone on Nov. 20 against
Youngstown State while McNees and Bardo joined the century club
last season. Brett
McKnight made his 100th appearance against Stetson (Dec. 22)
while Nikola
Cvetinovic (88) should surpass 100 games this season.
"Bench"-mark...
• The Akron bench has been a productive force over the last
six games, averaging 25.3 points/game while out-scoring the
opposition 152-78. Senior forward Brett
McKnight is leading the charge, averaging a team-best 13.3 ppg
during that stretch. Akron is 3-3 during the stretch.
A Look at the Polls...
• The Zips appeared in the Jan. 17 CollegeInsider.com
Mid-Major poll, receiving four votes. Additionally, four Akron
opponents appeared in the same poll, led by No. 7 Cleveland State
and No. 24 Ball State. Other opponents receiving votes included
Kent State (10) and Ohio (1). The Zips are 1-2 against these teams
so far this season.
• Two opponents were mentioned in the Jan. 17 AP and ESPN/USA
Today Coaches Polls. Minnesota was the only ranked opponent in both
polls, coming in at No. 15 in the AP Poll and No. 19 in the
ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. The Temple received votes in both the
ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll (44) and the AP poll (99).
Career Chart Watch...
• Two Zips, Steve
McNees and Mike
Bardo, have their sights set on the career games played record.
McNees (122) needs to appear in 16 games while Bardo (117) needs to
play in 21 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 .870 mark and attempt 92 more
attempts this season, he would break the previous mark of .834 held
by Jami Bosley (1998-00). He is 22-for-25 (.880) from the charity
stripe this season.
• Sophomore center Zeke
Marshall, with 43 blocks on the season, passed Rob Preston (86,
2001-06) for fourth on the career blocks list (102). He has 28
multi-block games for his career, including 13 this season. He is
now five blocks from third place (George Phillips, 107,
1996-2000).
• Senior Brett
McKnight needs 50 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 (256) passed Mark Alberts (248, 1988-93) for 10th place
on the career assists lists. He now needs six assists to pass Mike
Dowdell (261, 1984-87) for eighth place.
