The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Basketball Plays Host to Middle Tennessee on Sunday
December 01 | Men's Basketball
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Middle Tennessee at Akron Game Notes in PDF Format
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Middle Tennessee (5-1, 1-0 Sun Belt) at Akron (3-2, 0-0 MAC)
Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012 • 2:00 p.m. ET
Akron, Ohio
James A. 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), for free at SportsRadio1350.com and on iHeartRadio. Steve French (play-by-play) and Joe Dunn (analyst) will have the call beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Akron Coach Keith Dambrot
(Akron, 1982):
Is in his ninth season at Akron, posting a 187-89 (.678) mark. Dambrot is 295-159 (.650) in 15 seasons as a collegiate head coach. He is 0-1 all-time against the Blue Raiders, with last season's 77-53 loss on Dec. 4 in Murfreesboro serving as his only meeting against MTSU.
The Series: Middle Tennessee owns a 15-9 advantage in the series which began during the 1979-80 season. These former Ohio Valley Conference foes last faced each other on Dec. 4, 2011, in Murfreesboro. The Zips fell 77-53. Akron is 7-5 at home in the series.
Zips Return Home to Face Middle Tennessee
After playing four of its first five games on the road, the Zips return to James A. Rhodes Arena to play host to Middle Tennessee.
News, Notes and Storylines
• Akron returns to action 14 days after posting a 2-1 record in the 2012 Puerto Rico Tip-Off in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
• The Zips are coming off a 85-60 win over Penn State on Nov. 18 to finish the 2012 Puerto Rico Tip-Off with a 2-1 record.
• Zeke Marshall led the way with 17 points, seven boards and six blocked shots to lead four Zips in double figures. Jake Kretzer (11), Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell (10) and Carmelo Betancourt (10) also reached double figures.
• Akron out-scored Penn State 53-24 in the second half after trailing the Nittany Lions 36-32 at halftime.
• Zeke Marshall's first blocked shot of the game broke a tie with Ohio's Jason Terry (262, 1992-96). He now needs 34 swats to take over sole possession of the MAC career blocked shots record (301, Lonnie Jones, Ball State).
• Senior center Zeke Marshall earned a spot on the all-tournament team after averaging 11.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.3 blocked shots per game. He set the tournament record for blocked shots over three games (13).
• Marshall also earned Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week honors on Nov. 19 after helping the Zips to a 3-1 record. For the week, he averaged 10.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.8 blocked shots per game while playing 25.5 minutes per game.
• Akron has four players scoring in double figures and six averaging 8.0 points per game or better, including Zeke Marshall (11.6), Brian Walsh (11.4), Jake Kretzer (10.8), Alex Abreu (10.8), Chauncey Gilliam (8.8) and Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell (8.0). In games through Nov. 29, the Zips are the only team in the MAC with six players averaging at least 8.0 ppg.
• The Zips are 39-17 (.696) in the month of December under ninth-year head coach Keith Dambrot, including a 26-3 mark at home (.897).
A Look at the Blue Raiders
Middle Tennessee returns to Rhodes Arena for the first time since Dec. 4, 1989. MTSU has a 5-1 mark this season, with a 1-0 record in Sun Belt Conference play following a 72-58 win at Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 29.
The Blue Raiders have two players scoring in double figures, including Marcos Knight (12.3 ppg) and Shawn Jones (10.5 ppg). Jones is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 7.0 rpg.
Last Time Out vs. MTSU
Akron, behind 14 points from Alex Abreu, fell 77-53 to Middle Tennessee on Dec. 4, 2011, in a non-conference road contest.
For the game, the Zips shot 28.6 percent from the floor (16-of-56) and 28.6 percent from 3-point range (4-of-14). Middle Tennessee closed the game shooting 50.9 percent from the floor (28-of-55) and 22.2 percent from long range (2-of-9).
Quincy Diggs also scored in double figures, posting 10 points. Nikola Cvetinovic led the Zips with 10 rebounds in addition to nine points.
MTSU held a 41-34 rebounding advantage and forced 13 Akron turnovers to just eight by the Blue Raiders.
MTSU's LaRon Dendy led all scorers with 19 points and 11 boards.
Akron vs. Penn State Recap
Down four at the half, the Zips used a 53-24 second half outburst to down Penn State 85-60 on Nov. 18 in the fifth-place game of the 2012 Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
The Zips shot an impressive 68.0 percent in the final 20 minutes, going 17-of-25 from the floor and 5-of-8 from long range. For the game, Akron shot 56.3 percent (27-of-48) and 50.0 percent from behind the arc (8-of-16). Penn State was just 7-of-28 from the floor in the second half (25.0 percent) and 20-of-55 for the game (36.4 percent).
Zeke Marshall led the way with 17 points, seven boards and six blocked shots to lead four Zips in double figures. Jake Kretzer (11), Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell (10) and Carmelo Betancourt (10) also reached double figures.
D.J. Newbill led Penn State with a game-high 20 points.
Just How Young Are They?
• Akron entered the season as the ninth-youngest teams in the nation, with 16 players having a total of 15 seasons of collegiate experience (0.94 years/letters won per player). In fact, 12 of 16 players have one year or less in the experience column prior to 2012-13.
• Last season, the Zips had 15 players with a total of 19 seasons of collegiate experience, the 20th-youngest team in Division I basketball (1.27 years/letters won per player. Akron is one of just four teams to appear on this list in each of the past two seasons (Navy, Illinois State and Wright State).
Who to Guard Tonight?
One aspect of the Zips' lineup that makes it so hard to defend is the ability for any player to lead the squad in scoring on any given night. Last season, eight different players led Akron in scoring, with only two players leading the way in the scoring column in back-to-back games. So far this season, four players have had a least a share of the top-scoring honors, with Brian Walsh as the only player to lead the Zips in back-to-back game.
Home Cooking
Akron is 105-17 (.861) at Rhodes Arena under eighth-year head coach Keith Dambrot (1-0 overall, 0-0 MAC this season). The Zips have recorded 10-straight winning campaigns at home, including last season, and have won at least 13 home contests in seven-of-eight years. UA's last losing record at home came in 1995-96 (2-11).
The Road Warrior
Akron takes to the road a lot in the first eight games of the season, playing six of those contests away from Rhodes Arena. The Zips have already played at Coastal Carolina and three games in Puerto Rico, with road games left at Creighton and at Detroit. In all, UA will travel 6,504 miles.
One bright side to the long road stretch...the Zips will play six-straight home contests beginning with a matchup with Arkansas-Pine Bluff at the JAR on Dec. 18.
Welcome to December
• The Zips are 39-17 (.696) in the month of December under ninth-year head coach Keith Dambrot, including a 26-3 mark at home (.897).
• Akron has won 13 of its last 14 December games at home, with UA's only loss coming against VCU in overtime on Dec. 29, 2011 (76-75).
A Tale of Two Halves
• The Zips have seen a major difference in their play between the first and second halves of games this season.
• Akron is out-scoring opponents by a slim 4.6 points per game in the first half, while allowing the competition to shoot 44.5 percent from the floor and 46.9 percent from long range.
• However, the second half has been a different story. The Zips are +13.0 points per game in the scoring column while holding opponents to just 33.8 percent shooting from the floor and 20.0 percent from behind the arc.
• UA is shooting 4.5 percent better in the second half (48.9 vs. 44.4) and is converting on 73.2 percent from the charity stripe, compared to 68.1 percent in the first 20 minutes.
Solid Bench Play
• The Akron bench has been the catalyst for success under ninth-year head coach Keith Dambrot and this year is no different.
• The Zips' bench holds a +16.4 scoring advantage over the competition (31.2-14.8) and a +2.2 rebounding edge (14.6-12.4). The Akron reserves have dished out 24 assists to just eight by the competition.
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 in each of the last seven seasons. In fact, only 17 teams (Akron, Butler, BYU, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Louisville, Marquette, North Carolina, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, San Diego State, Syracuse, Texas, Utah State and Xavier) have won 20-plus games in the last seven seasons.
• Taking things one step further, the Zips are one of only seven programs with at least 22-plus wins during that same stretch (Akron, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Ohio State, Pittsburgh and Utah State).
• On the coaching side of 20-win seasons, head coach Keith Dambrot is currently tied for 13th place among active coaches with current 20-plus game winning streaks (7) and tied for the tenth-longest streak at the same program. Only two coaches [Mark Few, Gonzaga (13); Stew Morrill, Utah State (12)] have posted longer streaks of 20-win seasons solely at mid-major programs.
RPI Watch
• Entering today's game, the Zips check in at No. 59 in the Ken Pom RPI rankings (Nov. 28).
• So far, Akron has played two teams inside the top 130 of the RPI, including Oklahoma State (No. 25) and Penn State (No. 129). Five of the Zips' next seven games come against teams in the top 135 of the RPI, including No. 57 MTSU, No. 32 Creighton, No. 133 Detroit, No. 112 Cleveland State and No. 96 Princeton.
• UA could add one more high-RPI opponent with its home game in the 2013 Sears BracketBusters event.
MAC Freshman of the Year Resume
Freshman wing Jake Kretzer is building a nice resume for Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year consideration. He ranks first for 3-pointers made (13), first in 3-point percentage (.500), second in offensive rebounding (2.4 rpg), third in scoring (10.8 ppg), tied for sixth in field goal percentage (.500) and tied for eighth in assists (1.8 apg) among all MAC freshmen in games through Nov. 29.
1,000 Point Club
Senior center Zeke Marshall is on pace to become the 40th member of Akron's 1,000-point club. Marshall needs 105 points to join the group.
– 895 - Zeke Marshall (2010-Present)
39. 1,013 - Sam Serves (1942-47)
38. 1,023 - Nate Linhart (2006-09)
37. 1,041 - Hank Vaughn (1946-50)
36. 1,046 - Dru Joyce (2004-07)
35. 1,055 - Bobby Walker (1946-50)
Inside the Scoring Numbers
The Zips have been one of the top defensive squads in the league over the last nine seasons. In 276 games under head coach Keith Dambrot, the Zips have held 200 opponents to 70 points or less, going 161-39 (.805). Akron has held 155 of those foes to 65 points or less, going 135-20 (.871). On the flip side, Akron is 26-50 when allowing 70-plus points (.342).
Looking for No. 200 & 300
Head coach Keith Dambrot can reach two coaching milestones this season. He needs 13 wins to become just the second coach in school history with 200 wins at Akron, joining Russell Beichly (286, 1941-59). Dambrot is also just five wins away from winning his 300th career game (15 seasons).
Block Party
Senior center Zeke Marshall continues to be one of the premier shot blockers in the nation. In games through Nov. 25, Marshall has more blocked shots (22) than 211 DI programs, in addition to equalling 11 programs with 22 swats.
The Century Club
Junior guard Alex Abreu has appeared in 72 games in two-plus seasons for the Zips. Barring injury, Abreu and the Zips need to play in three postseason games for him to reach the century mark this season, joining senior center Zeke Marshall.
Long Range Defense
The Akron defense finished the 2011-12 season allowing opponents to connect on just 30.1 percent from behind the 3-point arc (18th nationally). So far this season, the Zips are holding opponents to a 33.8 3-point percentage.
Marshall MAC East Player of the Week
Zeke Marshall was named Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week, the league office announced on Nov. 19.
Marshall helped the Zips to a 3-1 record the previous week, including a 2-1 mark at the 2012 Puerto Rico Tip-Off in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. He averaged 10.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.8 blocked shots per game while playing 25.5 minutes per game.
In 21 minutes against John Carroll, Marshall had eight points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots in the 97-53 win. He recorded a double-double in game one in Puerto Rico, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 points while blocking two shots in a 69-65 overtime loss to tournament-champion Oklahoma State.
Marshall helped the Zips to back-to-back blowouts, posting six points, eight boards and five blocked shots against UNC Asheville (82-63) and 17 points, seven boards and six blocked shots against Penn State (85-60).
Career List Watch
• Senior center Zeke Marshall, with 268 blocked shots in his career, broke the career mark at Akron against Detroit on Nov. 26, 2011. Marshall also owns the single-game (9), single season (94), freshman (59), sophomore (92) and junior season (95), and Akron Rhodes Arena single-game (7) blocked shot records.
• For the third-straight season, the career games played school record could be equalled or eclipsed. Senior center Zeke Marshall has appeared in 110 games over the last three seasons. He would need to appear in 31 games to tie and 32 games to break the school record of 141, set by Steve McNees (2008-11) and Nikola Cvetinovic (2009-12).
• After breaking the freshman and sophomore season assists records, junior guard Alex Abreu is setting his sights on moving up the career top-10. Against Penn State on Nov. 18, he became just the ninth player in UA history with 300 career assists (304). He is currently eighth on the all-time UA list and needs 15 dimes to pass Steve McNees (318, 2007-11) for seventh place.
Looking at the MAC Record Book
• Senior center Zeke Marshall passed Ohio's John Devereaux (260, 1980-84) and Jason Terry (262, 1992-96) in Puerto Rico to take over sole possession of second place on the MAC list for blocked shots (268). At his current pace of 4.4 blocked shots per game this season, he should break the MAC record of 301 (Lonnie Jones, BSU, 1998-02) in roughly eight more games.
• Compared to other coaches all-time in the MAC, head coach Keith Dambrot is fifth in league history with a .627 win percentage while coaching in the league (207-123 overall; 187-89 Akron, 20-34 CMU), fifth in overall wins (207), sixth in league games winning percentage (.620, 103-63) and seventh in conference wins (103).
A Look at the Polls
• Three opponents appeared in the Nov. 26 editions of the AP and USA TODAY Coaches polls. Creighton (11/11) and Oklahoma State (15/17) appeared in both polls while Ohio (8/10) received votes in both.
• Akron is ranked 17th in the Nov. 26 edition of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. Six of UA's mid-major opponents appeared in the rankings, including No. 1 Creighton, No. 3 Ohio and No. 10 Middle Tennessee. Kent State (51), Cleveland State (13) and Western Michigan (12) all received votes.
Let's Go Streaking
• Akron has enjoyed seven-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; 22-12 in 2011-12). 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 eight seasons (19-10 in '04-05).
• UA has advanced to the postseason in five-straight and six of the last seven years, participating in the NCAA Tournament in 2009 and 2011, the National Invitation Tournament in 2006, 2008 and 2012, and the CBI in 2010.
• The Zips have appeared in the MAC tournament championship game six-straight times, with those being the only six appearances in their 20 years in the league. The run is also the second-longest active streak in the nation behind Gonzaga (15).
• Akron has hit at least one 3-point bucket in 382-consecutive games, 276-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 is at 32 games. Akron has shut out opponents from behind the arc seven times under Dambrot.
