The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Basketball Concludes Michigan Road Trip Saturday at Central Michigan
January 24 | Men's Basketball
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Akron at Central Michigan Game Notes in PDF Format
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Akron (12-6, 4-1 MAC) at Central Michigan (7-10, 0-5 MAC)
Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014 • 7 p.m. ET
McGuirk Arena (5,300)
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
Television: None.
Webcast/Live Statistics: Available at GoZips.com – webcast and live statistics free of charge.
Radio: Akron-IMG Sports Network – 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 6:30 p.m. ET.
Akron Coach Keith Dambrot (Akron, 1982): Is in his 10th season at Akron, posting a 222-100 (.689) mark. Dambrot is 330-170 (.660) in 16 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Coach Dambrot is 10-1 all-time against CMU, with all 11 meetings coming at Akron.
Series: Akron owns a 28-13 lead in the series which began during the 1938-39 season. The Zips have won six-straight and 13 of the last 14 meetings overall. UA is 10-8 on the road in the series, winning 74-64 in its last meeting in Mount Pleasant (Jan. 28, 2012). The Zips have won 5-of-6 on the road in the series.
Schedule Note: Akron's Feb. 1 contest at Kent State will air on TWC Sports Channel and will tip off at 6 p.m. ET.
Akron Concludes Two-Game Michigan Road Trip
The Zips will conclude its two-game road trip through the state of Michigan on Saturday against Central Michigan.
News, Notes and Storylines
• Akron opened up a 20-3 lead by the 11-minute mark and never looked back in a 78-68 win at Central Michigan on Wednesday.
• Jake Kretzer torched the Eagles for a career-high 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field (7-of-12 3-pointers). Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell earned his third-straight double-double (18 points, 11 boards) to go with five blocked shots and Quincy Diggs added 14 points, seven boards and four swats.
• The Zips blocked 14 shots against EMU, one shy of the school record of 15 vs. Kent State in the 2011 MAC Title game (March 12, 2011).
• In MAC play, the Zips have posted wins in 31 of the last 37 league contests (13-3 in 2012; 14-2 in 2013; 4-1 in 2014).
• UA is 62-21 (.747) in the month of January under 10th-year head coach Keith Dambrot, having won 21 of the last 23 games in the first month of the year.
• UA has won 19 of its last 20 contests against opponents from the MAC's West Division, including nine-straight on the road.
• Jake Kretzer's seven made 3-pointers at Eastern Michigan are the most since Jami Bosley hit eight long balls at Bowling Green on Feb. 11, 1998.
• Akron has hit 10 or more 3-pointers in seven games this season. The Zips are 6-1 when they make double-digit long balls in a contest. Akron is third in the Mid-American Conference in 3-pointers made per game (7.3).
• Nine of the 11 Akron players to see action this season have at least one game with 11 points. Three of those players have at least one 20-point performance: Quincy Diggs (3), Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell (2) and Jake Kretzer (1).
• Akron has won 22-plus games in each of the last eight seasons, one of only six Division I programs to do so. The other five teams are Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Ohio State and Pittsburgh.
Scouting the Chippewas
Central Michigan enters tonight's game with a 7-10 record and is 0-5 in MAC play. The Chippewas are coming off an 86-80 road loss at Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday. CMU is 5-4 at home (0-2 MAC), losing two-straight.
Two Chippewas are averaging double figures in the scoring column, including Chris Fowler (17.2 ppg) and John Simons (11.1 ppg). Simons is the team's leading rebounder (6.4 rpg).
On the Line vs. Central Michigan
• A victory would be the seventh-straight win and the 14th in the last 15 meetings with CMU.
• A win would guarantee the Zips enter the Ball State game with at least a share of the MAC East lead for the 39th-consecutive league game.
• With a win, head coach Keith Dambrot will tie Toledo's Stan Joplin for sixth on the all-time MAC league wins list (122).
What You May Not Know About the Series
• Central Michigan is one of just two teams in the MAC in which the Zips have a winning road record against (10-8). Akron is 8-7 at Northern Illinois.
• Tenth-year head coach Keith Dambrot coached at Central Michigan from 1991-93.
Last Time Out vs. Central Michigan
An 11-point spurt over a 1:26 stretch was the key run for the Zips as they extended their winning streak to 14 games with a 68-56 victory over Central Michigan in Akron on Feb. 5, 2013.
For 37 minutes, the Chippewas battled toe-to-toe with the Zips, but nine-straight points beginning with two Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell buckets – the first with 2:39 remaining – was the difference.
Treadwell would make three-straight buckets, including a monster dunk with 1:48 remaining, to spur Akron's 11-0 run to end the game. He finished the game with 12 points, five boards and three assists while playing most of the contest in foul trouble.
Alex Abreu was the only other Zip in double figures, posting 15 points and seven assists. He was 5-of-9 from the field to lead Akron, which shot 49.1 percent from the floor (26-of-53) and 37.0 percent from behind the arc (10-of-27).
Kyle Randall led Central Michigan with a game-high 22 points.
Akron at Eastern Michigan Recap
Jake Kretzer scored a career-high 25 points and Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell posted his third-straight double-double as Akron defeated Eastern Michigan 78-68 on Wednesday night.
Krezter finished the game connecting on 9-of-18 from the field, including 7-of-12 from 3-point range, to go with seven boards. The last Zips' player with seven or more made 3-pointers in a game was Jami Bosley, who made eight threes at Bowling Green on Feb. 11, 1998.
Treadwell finished with 18 points, 11 boards and a career-high five blocked shots, while Quincy Diggs pitched in with 14 points, seven boards and a personal-best four swats.
As a team, the Zips connected on 46.6 percent from the field (27-of-58) and 52.6 percent from behind the arc (10-of-19). Akron blocked 14 shots, one shy of the school record, and had 19 assists. Carmelo Betancourt had eight of those assists, a career high for the sophomore.
January is a Good Month
• Akron is 62-21 (.747) in the month of January under 10th-year head coach Keith Dambrot, having won 21 of its last 23 games in the first month of the year.
• The Zips are even better at home during the month, posting a 34-4 mark (.895) at the JAR in January. UA has gone undefeated at home in 6-of-10 January slates under Dambrot and has won 9-of-10 at home.
The New Block Party
There's a new block party in Akron following the graduation of Zeke Marshall, the all-time blocked shots leader at Akron and in the Mid-American Conference.
Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell became the first player not named Zeke Marshall to swat five shots in a game in the past eight seasons (at Eastern Michigan). Quincy Diggs, Pat Forsythe and Isaiah Johnson have each posted at least one game with four blocked shots this season. They are the only four players with four swats in a game since the 2007-08 season.
MAC Play Notes
• Akron is just the 13th team in the MAC's 67-year history to open play as a two-time defending regular season champion.
• The Zips were the last undefeated team in MAC play this season, going 3-0. This was the third-straight season that Akron was the last team to post a loss against a league foe (3-0 in 2011-12; 13-0 in 2012-13).
• Akron is 76-34 against the West Division (.691), including winners of 19-of-20 contests, since divisional play began during the 1997-98 season (46-13 under head coach Keith Dambrot). The Zips last road lost to a MAC West team came on Feb. 2, 2011, at Eastern Michigan (60-56).
• The Zips have posted a 21-6 mark in the last 27 games against the MAC East dating back to the start of the 2012 league schedule. Akron is 3-1 against the MAC East at the conference tournament during that stretch.
• Akron is 22-4 at home in league play since the start of the 2011 MAC schedule.
• UA has seen a ton of success in league play since the start of the 2004-05 season. Akron is 111-42 overall (.725), including a 65-11 mark in MAC play at home (.855). The Zips' 111 wins are the most in the league during that stretch.
• The Zips have won 31 of their last 37 regular-season MAC games.
• Since 2011, the Zips are 17-2 in the month of January against MAC teams.
Going for the Three-peat
As the two-time defending Mid-American Conference regular season champions, the Zips will look to do something that is rare in the league...win three-straight regular season crowns. In 67 years of basketball, 12 teams before the Zips had a chance to three-peat (including shared titles), with only one program claiming three-straight regular season titles. From 1948 through 1951, founding member Cincinnati won four-straight titles. In fact, of the 11 previous back-to-back champs not to three-peat, only three finished second in their bid for a third title.
Collecting MAC Wins at a Record Pace
Akron enters the 2014 MAC season looking place its name in the league record books.
With a 31-6 record in conference play over the last two-plus seasons, the Zips have a chance to challenge several league marks.
The first is for overall MAC wins over a three-year stretch. Kent State won 43 games from 2000-02 while playing 54 league games (43-11). With the Zips only playing one 18-game schedule (50 total games), Akron will have to go 16-2 to tie the Kent State mark.
The only team to break 40 wins in 50 games (two 16-game, one 18-game schedule) was Kent State from 2006-08 (40-10). For Akron to break the 50-game wins record, the Zips will need to go 14-4 in league play.
Overall, nine teams have won 40 or more conference games over a three-year stretch.
The most wins for Akron in a three-year stretch in MAC play is 38, as the Zips went 38-12 from 2006-08 and 38-14 from 2005-07.
Inside the Scoring Numbers
The Zips have been one of the top defensive squads in the league over the last 10 seasons. In 322 games under head coach Keith Dambrot, the Zips have held 232 opponents to 70 points or less, going 191-41 (.823). Akron has held 180 of those foes to 65 points or less, going 160-20 (.889). The Zips are 31-59 (.344) when allowing more than 70 points.
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. Last season, eight different players led Akron in scoring, with only two players holding top scoring honors in back-to-back games. Zeke Marshall was the only player to lead the Zips in scoring in more than back-to-back games, leading Akron in four-straight contests.
• So far this season, six Zips have had at least a share of top scoring honors, with Quincy Diggs and Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell being the only player to lead the Zips in scoring in back-to-back games.
Road Warriors
• Like their non-conference schedule, the Zips will open Mid-American Conference play in a familiar way...on the road. Akron will play seven of its first 11 league games on the road.
• During the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Zips put their frequent flyer memberships to work. Akron played four true road games and three games in Hawaii at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. Adding up the round trip miles, the Zips logged 15,941 miles before MAC play began in January.
The Quest for 1,500 Wins
Akron is on a quest to join some elite programs this season. Entering the 2013-14 campaign, 49 Division I teams had won at least 1,500 games all-time. So far this season, Minnesota, USC, Montana State, North Dakota and California have joined that group to push that number to 54 programs.
In games through Jan. 23, there are currently five teams, including the Zips, within reach of that milestone this season. Akron has 1,496 wins, the most by any Mid-American Conference team.
RPI Watch
• In games through Jan. 23, the Zips hold the No. 94 spot in the RPI Forecast rankings.
• The Zips have nine opponents on their schedule with an RPI of 125 or higher, including Iowa State (15), Toledo (45), Saint Mary's (47), Ohio (60), Eastern Michigan (74), Oregon State (100), Buffalo (104), Cleveland State (106) and Middle Tennessee (115). Oral Roberts (132), Kent State (137), Western Michigan (157) and South Carolina (161) are just outside the top-125.
#4PetesSake
On Dec. 14, director of basketball operations Dan Peters took a medical leave of absence to begin treatment for pancreatic cancer. The Zips will honor Peters by wearing a patch this season with a purple ribbon and the words "4 Pete's Sake."
