The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Basketball Opens New Year against Oral Roberts
January 02 | Men's Basketball
Mon., Jan. 3 • 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 147-67 (.687) mark. Both his wins total and wins percentage rank third all-time in program history. Dambrot is 255-137 (.651) in his 13th season as a collegiate head coach. This is Akron's second meeting against Oral Roberts under coach Dambrot.
Oral Roberts Coach Scott Sutton (Oklahoma State
'94):
Coach Sutton is in his 12th season as the head coach at Oral
Roberts. He has a career record of 209-149 (.584). This is his
second meeting against the Zips (0-1).
The Series: The Zips hold a 3-0 lead in the series, including a 1-0 record at Rhodes Arena (91-72, Feb. 22, 1989). The Zips last faced Oral Roberts on Dec. 2, 2006, a 61-59 win on the road.
Last Time Out...
• The Zips returned home to post an 87-60 victory over
Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 29. The win closed out the 2010 portion
of the schedule and improved Akron's home record to 4-1.
• The win was the Zips' fourth in five games following a
short two-game losing streak.
• For the first time this season, Akron had five players
score in double figures. The last time the Zips had five scorers in
double figures was the Mid-American Conference Tournament
Quarterfinal contest against Eastern Michigan on March 10,
2010.
• With three dimes in the contest, senior guard Steve
McNees moved into 10th place on the all-time list with 249
career assists, passing Mark Alberts (248, 1988-93).
• Senior center Mike
Bardo tied Nate Linhart (2006-09) for ninth on the career
blocks list with 53.
• Freshman guard Alex
Abreu posted career highs for points (16) and steals (five)
while sophomore forward Quincy
Diggs recorded career highs for points (15) and assists
(four).
A Look at the Golden Eagles...
• Oral Roberts enters tonight's contest with a 5-10 record
and is coming off an 85-77 loss to Summit League foe Oakland on
Dec. 30. The Golden Eagles have four players scoring in double
figures, lead by Dominique Morrison's 18.4 ppg, followed by Steven
Roundtree (12.5 ppg), Warren Niles (11.9 ppg) and Damen Bell-Holter
(11.7 ppg). Bell-Holter leads the team in rebounding (7.1 rpg).
Home Cooking...
• Akron is 81-14 at Rhodes Arena under seventh-year head
coach Keith
Dambrot (4-1 overall, 0-0 MAC this season). UA went 13-5 (6-2
MAC) at home last season. The Zips have recorded eight-straight
winning seasons at home.
Closing in on Akron Win #150...
• Seventh-year head coach Keith
Dambrot continues to climb the Akron coaching rankings and is
closing in on win No. 150. He is currently at 147 wins and needs
just seven more to become the third coach to win 150 games at
Akron, joining Russell Beichly (286) and Tony Laterza (178).
Home Sweet Home...
• After spending 17 of 31 days in December on the road and
traveling approximately 7,631 miles, the Zips are playing the
second game of a four-game homestand.
On The Line Versus Oral Roberts...
• An Akron victory would be the fifth in six games.
• An Akron victory would ensure the Zips open MAC play with
at least nine victories for the third time in four seasons (eight
in 2008-09).
• A win would extend Akron's home winning streak to three
games.
Career Chart Watch...
• Two Zips, Steve
McNees and Mike
Bardo, have their sights set on the career games played record.
McNees (118) needs to appear in 20 games while Bardo (113) needs to
play in 25 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 100 more
attempts this season, he would break the previous mark of .834 held
by Jami Bosley (1998-00). He is 15-for-17 (.882) from the charity
stripe this season.
• Sophomore center Zeke
Marshall, with 33 blocks on the season, passed Rob Preston (86,
2001-06) for fourth on the career blocks list (92). 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 25 multi-block games for his career,
including 10 this season. He is now 15 blocks from third place
(George Phillips, 107, 1996-2000).
• Senior Brett
McKnight needs 99 points to become the 38th member of the
1,000-point club.
• Senior center Mike
Bardo is tied for ninth place on the career blocks list with 53
and needs one block to break a deadlock with Nate Linhart (53,
2006-09).
• Senior guard Steve
McNees (249) passed Mark Alberts (248, 1988-93) for 10th place
on the career assists lists. He now needs 12 assists to pass Mike
Dowdell (261, 1984-87) for eighth place.
Pass the Rock...
• The Zips are second in the Mid-American Conference in
assists (14.69 apg) and are second in assist/turnover ratio (1.14).
Akron has dished out at least 10 dimes in 11 of 13 games this
season and has a 40-assist advantage over its opponents.
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 is averaging 15.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg over
the last two 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 first on the team in points/game (12.1 ppg, 13th in
the MAC) and third in rebounds/game (4.5 rpg). He has reached
double-figures in the last five 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'
second-leading scorer (11.9 ppg, 16th in the MAC) and leading
rebounder with 6.2 rpg (11th in the MAC).
What a Week in Las Vegas...
• Freshman guard Alex
Abreu continues to show improvements during his inaugural
campaign. During the Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas, Abreu
earned a spot on the All-Tournament team after averaging 7.0 ppg,
5.7 apg, 2.7 spg and 2.3 rpg. He also committed just four
turnovers, four fewer than he created.
Block Party...
• Sophomore center Zeke
Marshall picked up where he left off last season on the
defensive end of the court. Through 13 games this season, he has
recorded 33 blocks and has posted 2.5 bpg, first in the MAC. He is
on pace to record 80 blocks 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).
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 eight contests, Akron
returned to form, recording 71 total steals (8.9 spg).
Ball Protection...
• The Zips have been very protective of the ball this season,
turning the ball over just 12.9 times/game while forcing 16.2
turnovers/game. On the road, the Zips are averaging just 13.3
turnovers in eight games while committing 12.4 turnovers/game at
home in five games.
Dialing Long Distance...
• Brett
McClanahan, Darryl
Roberts and Steve
McNees have been dialed in from long distance. The three have
combined to hit 73 of the Zips' 106 3-point buckets.
• Over the last three games, the Zips have connected on 40
3-point buckets (40-for-105) while holding their opponents to just
18 3-pointers (18-for-59).
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).
