The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Ohio
Men's Basketball Plays Host to Detroit Saturday
November 25 | Men's Basketball
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Detroit at Akron Game Notes in PDF Format
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Detroit (3-3) at Akron (2-2)
Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Akron, Ohio
Rhodes Arena (5,500)
Television: None.
Webcast/Live Statistics:
Available at GoZips.com – webcast and live statistics free of charge.
Radio: SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship) and for free at SportsRadio1350.com. Steve French (play-by-play) and Joe Dunn (analyst) (6:30 p.m. ET airtime).
Akron Coach Keith Dambrot
(Akron, 1982):
Is in his eighth season at Akron, posting a 164-77 (.680) mark. Dambrot is 272-147 (.649) in 13 seasons as a collegiate head coach. He is 2-0 against Detroit overall and is 1-0 against the Titans at Akron.
The Series: The series, which began during the 1935-36 season, is tied at 3-3, with the Zips winning three of the last four meetings. Akron posted a 77-69 road win last season (Dec. 1, 2010). UA owns a 1-0 advantage at Rhodes Arena thanks to an 82-74 win on Dec. 2, 1987.
News, Notes and Storylines
• Akron dropped two games on the road, including a 62-59 loss to Valparaiso (Nov. 18) and an 81-76 decision to Duquesne (Nov. 19) to conclude the 2011 2K Sports Classic with a 2-2 record.
• Sophomore forward Demetrius Treadwell was named to the Valparaiso Subregional All-Tournament team after averaging 11.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in the two games at Valpo.
• For the seventh time under head coach Keith Dambrot, Akron held an opponent without a 3-point bucket with its shut out of Valparaiso (0-of-14).
• Against Valparaiso on Nov. 18, sophomore point guard Alex Abreu became the first player since Dru Joyce (Jan. 2, 2007) to record 10 assists in a game. Abreu is one of 11 players in school history to record at least 10 dimes in a game (22 occurrences).
• Junior center Zeke Marshall, with eight blocks over the weekend, tied Romeo Travis' (2004-07) school record for career blocked shots with his 165th swat. Marshall reached the milestone in just 75 games.
• Freshman guard Adedeji Ibitayo made his collegiate debut against Duquesne on Nov. 19, playing six minutes and recording one assist.
• The Zips return home looking to push its winning streak at Rhodes Arena to 10 games. Under eighth-year head coach Keith Dambrot, Akron has two home winning streaks of 10 or more games, including a 22-game winning streak (2006-07 to 2007-08) and a 21-game winning streak (2004-05 to 2006-07).
• Akron has seven players averaging 8.3 or more points per game, including Quincy Diggs (12.0), Nick Harney (9.5), Brian Walsh (9.0), Zeke Marshall (8.5), Nikola Cvetinovic (8.3), Brett McClanahan (8.3) and Demetrius Treadwell (8.3).
• The Zips are 23-11 (.676) in the month of November under head coach Keith Dambrot.
• While on the court, Zeke Marshall is blocking 17.99 percent of the shots taken by Akron opponents, which is seventh in the nation.
A Look at the Titans
Detroit enters tonight's contest with a 3-3 record and are coming off a 1-2 performance at the CBE Classic in Bowling Green. The Titans fell 86-73 to George Washington on Nov. 21 and 81-67 to Bowling Green on Nov. 22. The Titans rebounded to down Austin Peay 94-93 in overtime on Nov. 23.
The Titans have five players scoring in double figures, led by Chase Simon's 15.2 ppg. Ray McCallum (14.3 ppg), Nick Minnerath (12.0 ppg), Jason Calliste (11.5 ppg) and Doug Anderson (10.8 ppg) are also in double figures.
Last Time Out Against Detroit
The Zips, led by Nikola Cvetinovic's 18 points, defeated the Detroit Titans 77-69 in Detroit on Dec. 2, 2010.
Cvetinovic finished the game with a team-best seven boards and four steals while Darryl Roberts (13), Brett McClanahan (11) and Steve McNees (10) scored in double figures for the Zips.
Akron finished the game shooting 49.2 percent from the floor (30-for-61) and 41.2 percent from long range (7-for-17). Akron held Detroit (4-4) to 44.6 percent from the field (25-for-66) and 46.7 percent from 3-point range (7-for-15).
Akron-Duquesne Recap
The Zips closed out the 2011 2K Sports Classic with an 81-76 loss to Duquesne on Nov. 19.
Junior center Zeke Marshall led the way for the Zips with 19 points, four rebounds and four blocked shots. He tied Romeo Travis (165, 2004-07) for the school record in the category.
Brett McClanahan pitched in with 18 points while Brian Walsh had 11 and Demetrius Treadwell finished with 10 points.
For the game, Akron shot 57.1 percent from the floor (28-of-49) while connecting on 6-of-13 3-point attempts (46.2 percent). Duquesne shot 54.5 percent from the field (30-of-55) and was 4-of-13 from long range (30.8 percent).
Akron-Valparaiso Recap
Akron dropped a 62-59 decision to the Valparaiso Crusaders on Nov. 18 at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
Sophomore forward Demetrius Treadwell and junior forward Quincy Diggs led the way for Akron with 13 points each while sophomore forward Nick Harney had 11 points. Sophomore guard Alex Abreu dished out a career-high 10 assists while Treadwell had eight boards.
For the game, Akron shot 43.3 percent from the floor (26-of-60) while Valparaiso was 19-of-46 from the field (41.3 percent). The Crusaders were held scoreless from long range (0-of-14) while the Zips were 4-of-11 (36.4 percent).
Home Cooking
Akron is 92-15 (.860) at Rhodes Arena under eighth-year head coach Keith Dambrot (1-0 overall, 0-0 MAC this season). The Zips have recorded nine-straight winning seasons at home overall and have won at least 13 home contests in six of the last seven years. In fact, the Zips have not posted a losing home record since 1995-96 (2-11).
Let the Block Party Continue
Junior center Zeke Marshall picked up right where he left off last season. Marshall is averaging 3.5 blocked shots per game on the early season, including at least four blocks in three-of-four games. Against Duquesne, he tied Romeo Travis (165, 2004-07) for the school record in the category.
For his career, he has 44 multi-block games and has four or more blocked shots in 13 career games. He has blocked at least one shot in 18-straight and in 66-of-77 career games.
Making an Early Impact
Sophomores Brian Walsh, Nick Harney and Demetrius Treadwell have stepped into the Akron rotation early this season to make an immediate impact. The three have combined to average 26.8 points and 11.3 rebounds over the first four games.
Harney is tied for second on the team in scoring (9.5 ppg) and is averaging 3.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
Walsh is averaging 9.0 ppg and 2.5 rpg for the Zips to start the season while Treadwell leads the team in rebounding (5.5 rpg) and is averaging 8.3 ppg.
Horizon League Schedule
This season, the Zips will face off against four teams from the Horizon League (Valparaiso, Detroit, Cleveland State and Youngstown State).
Overall, the Zips are 121-86 (.585) against the conference and are 0-1 so far this season (L, 62-59 at Valparaiso).
Bench Power
The Akron bench has provided a ton of productivity early on this season. In four games, the Zips' bench players hold a 123-53 scoring advantage and are averaging 30.8 points/game.
Inside the Scoring Numbers
The Zips have been one of the better defensive squads in the league under eighth-year head coach Keith Dambrot. In 241 games, the Zips have held 176 opponents to 70 points or less, going 141-35 (.801). Akron has held 137 of those foes to 65 points or less, going 118-19 (.861). On the flip side, Akron is 23-42 when allowing 70-plus points (.354).
A Look at the Polls
• Six opponents appeared in the latest AP-Top 25 and three in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls. Mississippi State was the only ranked team (No. 24) in the AP poll while receiving 58 votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Cleveland State (94/20) and Marshall (1/1) received votes in both poles. In the AP poll, Kent State (7), Middle Tennessee (2) and West Virginia (1) also received votes.
• The Zips enter the weekend ranked No. 18 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll (Nov. 14). Additionally, seven Akron opponents also appeared in the poll, including No. 3 Cleveland State, No. 6 Kent State, No. 19 VCU, No. 16 Detroit, No. 22 Middle Tennessee and No. 24 Valparaiso. Miami (Ohio) received 18 votes.
• For the first time since Nov. 12, 2007, the Zips are receiving votes in the AP poll. Akron received one vote in the Nov. 14 edition of the poll.
A Winning Standard
Since taking over the program before the 2004-05 season, eighth-year head coach Keith Dambrot has created a winning mentality in the program that has not been seen in 110-plus seasons of basketball. Of the five senior classes to win 90 or more games in their career, four of those have come under Dambrot. The current senior class of Nikola Cvetinovic, Brett McClanahan and Kyle Petersen currently sit at 72 wins and need 26 more to tie the school record for most wins in a career (97).
• Class of 2010 (2007-10) – 97 wins
• Class of 2009 (2006-09) – 96 wins
• Class of 2011 (2007-11) – 94 wins
• Class of 2008 (2005-08) – 92 wins
• Class of 1966 (1963-66) – 91 wins
Career List Watch
• Senior forward Nikola Cvetinovic is on pace to break Steve McNees' (141, 2008-11) record for career games played. Currently sitting at 111 contests, Cvetinovic needs to appear in 31 games to take over the top spot. Looking at the schedule, the Zips would have to play in four postseason contests for Cvetinovic to take over the top spot.
• Junior center Zeke Marshall, with 165 blocked shots in his career, needs just one swat to pass Romeo Travis (165, 2004-07) for the career mark. Marshall already owns the single-game (9), single-season (92), freshman season (59) and sophomore season (92) blocked shot records.
• After breaking the freshman season assists record (128), sophomore guard Alex Abreu is setting his sights on the career top-10. He currently has 147 assists and needs 115 dimes to pass Mike Dowdell (261, 1984-87) for tenth place. Abreu's 128 dimes last season were also the ninth-best of any season in program history.
Looking at the MAC Record Book
• Junior center Zeke Marshall entered the season in 14th place on the career blocked shots list for the Mid-American Conference (165). He needs 11 swats to pass Dan Roundfield (CMU, 1972-75) to move into the top-10 (175). Should he have a repeat performance of 92 blocked shots from last year, Marshall would finish the season in fifth place (243). If Marshall posts the same number of blocks the next two seasons as he did the last two seasons (151), he would break Lonnie Jones' (Ball State, 1998-2002) conference record of 301 by one blocked shot.
• Compared to other coaches all-time in the MAC, head coach Keith Dambrot is tied for fifth place with a .624 win percentage while coaching in the MAC (184-111 overall; 164-77 Akron, 20-34 CMU), eighth in overall wins (184), 10th in conference wins (90) and 11th in league games winning percentage (.600, 90-60).
Winning Ways
• In his time at Akron, head coach Keith Dambrot has led the Zips to a 164-77 (.680) record, the most wins of any UA coach in their first seven season. He ranks third in UA history in wins (164) and winning percentage (.680).
• Through his first seven seasons, Dambrot led the Zips to a 162-75 record (.684). The program's 162 wins are tied for the top spot in the MAC and tied for 29th-best in the nation during that period.
1,000-Point Club
For the second-consecutive season, a Zips' student-athlete has the potential to join the Akron 1,000-point club. Senior forward Nikola Cvetinovic enters the season with 853 career points and needs 147 points to become the 39th player to break the 1,000-mark. If he maintains his 7.7 ppg career scoring average, he will score his 1,000th point against Eastern Michigan on Feb. 4.
The Century Club
• Senior guard Brett McClanahan enters the 2011-12 campaign having appeared in 96 career games. Barring injury, he will play in his 100th-career game, joining senior forward Nikola Cvetinovic, at Cleveland State (Dec. 10).
• Junior center Zeke Marshall is also closing in on the 100 games played mark. He currently sits at 75 games and needs to appear in 25 more contests to reach the century mark. If he doesn't miss a game, he will play in his 100th game at Ohio on Feb. 25.
The Drive for 500
This season, the Zips will have the opportunity to notch win No. 500 as a Division I program. Currently sitting at 481 wins, Akron needs 19 victories to reach the 500 plateau.
Climbing the Coaching Ladder
Eighth-year head coach Keith Dambrot continues to climb the coaching ranks at The University of Akron. Currently sitting at 164 wins at the helm of the Blue and Gold, Dambrot needs 15 wins to pass Tony Laterza (178, 1960-68) for second place on the career wins list. Russell Beichly (1941-59) owns the school record with 286 career victories.
Let's Go Streaking
• Akron has enjoyed six-straight 20-win seasons (23-10 in 2005-06; 26-7 in 2006-07; 24-11 in 2007-08; 23-13 in 2008-09; 24-11 in 2009-10; 23-13 in 2010-11). It is the longest streak of 20-win seasons in school history. The Zips have won at least 19 games in each of head coach Keith Dambrot's first seven seasons (19-10 in '04-05).
• UA has advanced to the postseason in four-straight and five of the last six years, participating in the NCAA Tournament in 2009 and 2011, the National Invitation Tournament in 2008 and 2006, and the College Basketball Invitational in 2010.
• The Zips have appeared in the MAC tournament championship game five-straight times, with those being the only five appearances in their 19 years in the league.
• Akron has hit at least one 3-point bucket in 347-consecutive games, 241-straight under head coach Keith Dambrot. The last time the Zips missed from long range was Dec. 27, 2000, against Purdue at Rhodes Arena (0-for-10). The UA opponents' streak of 3-point buckets ended at 12-straight games at Valparaiso on Nov. 18 (0-of-14). Akron has shut out opponents from behind the arc seven times under coach Dambrot.
How Hard is it to Win 20 Games?
• The Akron Zips are the only team in the Mid-American Conference to have won 20-plus games the last six seasons. How hard is it to win 20-plus games on a regular basis? At the end of the 2010-11 season, only 20 teams, including Akron, were able to reach 20 or more wins (5.8 percent) in the last six seasons.
• On the coaching side of 20-win seasons, head coach Keith Dambrot is currently tied for 14th place among active coaches with current 20-plus game winning streaks (6). Eighteen active coaches in Division I basketball have posted longer streaks of 20-win seasons than Dambrot and only three of those coaches (Mark Few, Gonzaga; Stew Morrill, Utah State; Dana Altman, Creighton) have posted longer streaks of 20-win seasons than Dambrot solely at mid-major programs.
Zips Sign Three to 2012-13 Freshman Class
On Nov. 16, head coach Keith Dambrot announced that Carmelo Betancourt (San Juan, Puerto Rico), Jake Kretzer (Waverly, Ohio) and Reggie McAdams (Elida, Ohio) signed national letters of intent to play for the Zips in 2012.
Betancourt, a 5-11 point guard, was a starter on the U19 Puerto Rican National Team at the 2011 Nike Global Challenge and represented his native country at the 2010 Jordan Brand Classic International Game.
Kretzer, a 6-7 small forward, comes to Akron as one of the top-ranked players in the state of Ohio. He averaged 21.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game as a junior while earning All-Ohio honorable mention honors for the second-consecutive season.
McAdams, a 6-6 guard, will join Akron as the No. 5 recruit on the 2012 ESPNU Top Ohio Recruits list. The senior at Elida High School averaged 19.5 points per game during his junior season and went over the 1,000-points mark for his career. He was named second-team All-Ohio after being selected as the Western Buckeye League Player of the Year.
Defending the Crown
For the second time in three seasons, the Zips open up play as the defending Mid-American Conference champions. Since joining the Division I ranks, Akron posted records of 21-9 (1986-87) and 24-11 (2009-10) in the season following a conference championship.
Repeating as tournament champion in the MAC is no east feat. Since the tournament began in 1980, only two teams, Ball State (1989-90) and Kent State (2001-02), have successfully repeated as tourney champs.
Lights, Camera, Action
The Zips will appear on television five times this season, with the potential for nine additional TV games to be added to the schedule. Akron won its first TV game, a 68-58 road win over Mississippi State, on Nov. 9 on ESPNU. Last season Akron went 9-7 on TV.
Akron and the SEC
The Zips improved to 2-3 against the Southeastern Conference (2-0 vs. Mississippi State; 0-1 vs. Alabama; 0-2 vs. Kentucky). Akron head coach Keith Dambrot is 2-0 against the SEC, with both victories coming against the Bulldogs.
