The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Basketball Opens MAC Play on Wednesday at Ball State
January 07 | Men's Basketball
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Akron (8-5, 0-0 MAC) at Ball State (3-8, 0-0 MAC)
Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014 • 7 p.m. ET
Worthen Arena (11,500)
Muncie, Ind.
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 218-99 (.688) mark. Dambrot is 326-169 (.659) in 16 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Coach Dambrot is 9-5 all-time vs. Ball State, including a 9-0 mark at Akron.
Series: Akron leads the series 17-15 and is riding a nine-game winning streak vs. Ball State. The Zips are 7-10 in Muncie, winning the last four games. UA downed BSU 71-64 last season in Akron (Jan. 25). Akron's last loss to BSU came on March 8, 2004, in the opening round of the MAC Tournament, a 76-72 loss in Muncie.
Akron Opens MAC Play at Ball State
The Zips will open Mid-American Conference play on Wednesday at Ball State.
News, Notes and Storylines
• Akron closed out non-conference on Jan. 2 with a 59-58 win over Marshall.
• Isaiah Johnson was the lone Zip in double figures, scoring 12 points to go along with seven boards (six offensive).
• The Zips have won 30 of their last 38 games dating back to last season (.789).
• In MAC play, the Zips have posted wins in 27 of the last 32 league contests (13-3 in 2012; 14-2 in 2013).
• Akron is just the 13th team in the MAC's 67-year history to open play as a two-time defending regular season champion.
• UA is 58-20 (.744) in the month of January under 10th-year head coach Keith Dambrot, having won 12-straight and 17-of-18 in the first month of the year.
• UA is 14-7 in MAC openers (5-6 on the road) since joining the league in 1992.
• UA has won 15-straight regular season and 17-straight games overall against MAC West opponents. Both streaks are the longest active cross-divisional winning streaks in the league.
• The Zips are 6-3, including winners of four straight, when opening Mid-American Conference play under head coach Keith Dambrot.
• Akron has hit 10 or more 3-pointers in six games this season, including six of the last 10 contests. The Zips are 5-1 when they make double-digit long balls in a contest. Akron is second in the Mid-American Conference in 3-pointers made per game (7.5).
• Nine of the 11 Akron players to see action this season have at least one game with 11 points.
• In games through Jan. 3, senior forward Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell ranks 72nd in the nation in double-doubles (4).
• 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 Cardinals
Ball State enters tonight's game with a 3-8 mark following a 94-58 win over Oakland City on Jan. 3. The Cardinals are 3-2 at home, having lost two of their last three games at Worthen Arena.
Four Cardinals are scoring in double figures, including Zavier Turner (13.4 ppg), Jesse Berry (11.3 ppg), Majok Majok (10.8 ppg) and Chris Bond (10.5 ppg). Majok is the team's leading rebounder (10.6 rpg).
On the Line vs. Ball State
• A victory be the 10th-straight win against the Cardinals.
• A win would guarantee the Zips enter the Ohio game with at least a share of the MAC East lead for the 34th-consecutive league game.
• Akron can extend its regular-season winning streak vs. MAC West opponents to 16 game (18 overall) with a victory.
What You May Not Know About the Series
• The Zips own the longest winning streak in the series nine games (current).
• Eight of Akron's 16 wins in the series have come by double digits, including three games in the Zips' current winning streak.
Last Time Out vs. Ball State
Nick Harney finished with 15 points to lead three Akron players in double figures as the Zips ran their win streak to eight games with a 71-64 victory over Ball State on Jan. 26, 2013.
Harney converted 6-of-13 field goals on his way toward notching his seventh double-figure scoring game of the year and fifth in as many games. He also finished with two steals and four rebounds.
Zeke Marshall and Alex Abreu rounded out the double-digit scorers for Akron with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Marshall had a team-high six rebounds to go with three blocked shots, while Abreu was responsible for seven assists in a team-high 30 minutes.
Majok Majok led Ball State with a career-high 26 points and 13 rebounds.
Marshall at Akron Recap
The Zips closed out their non-conference on Jan. 2 as they held on late to down the Marshall Thundering Herd 59-58.
Leading 59-52 with 2:18 reaming in the game, the Zips saw Marshall's half-court heave for the win bounce off the rim. Akron was held scoreless down the stretch while Marshall scored on three of its last five possessions.
Freshman Isaiah Johnson was the lone Zip in double figures, scoring 12 points to go along with seven boards (six offensive) and two steals in 16 minutes. Pat Forsythe added nine points and six boards.
The Akron bench proved to be the catalyst as they scored 37 of the Zips' 59 points and held a 37-12 advantage over Marshall's reserves.
Marshall's Ryan Taylor led all players with 16 points.
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.
League Play Notes
• UA is 14-7 in MAC openers (5-6 on the road) since joining the league in 1992.
• Akron is 74-33 against the West Division (.692), including winners of 15-straight regular-season contests, since divisional play began during the 1997-98 season (44-12 under head coach Keith Dambrot).
• UA has seen a ton of success in league play since the start of the 2004-05 season. Akron is 107-41 overall (.723), including a 64-10 mark in MAC play at home (.865). The Zips' 107 wins are the most in the league during that stretch.
• The Zips have won 27 of their last 32 and 33 of the last 40 regular-season MAC games.
Collecting MAC Wins at a Record Pace
Akron enters the 2014 MAC season looking place its name in the league record books.
With a 27-5 record in conference play over the last two season, 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 schedules) 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.
Akron's most wins in a three-year stretch in MAC play is 38 as the Zips went 38-12 in 2006-08 and 38-14 in 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 317 games under head coach Keith Dambrot, the Zips have held 229 opponents to 70 points or less, going 188-41 (.821). Akron has held 179 of those foes to 65 points or less, going 159-20 (.888). The Zips are 30-58 (.341) when allowing more than 70 points.
January is a Good Month
• Akron is 58-20 (.744) in the month of January under 10th-year head coach Keith Dambrot, having won 12-straight and 17 of its last 18 games in the first month of the year.
• The Zips are even better at home during the month, posting a 33-3 mark (.917) at the JAR in January. UA has gone undefeated at home in 6-of-9 January slates under Dambrot and have won eight-straight at home.
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, Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell and Reggie McAdams being the only players to share top-scoring honors in multiple games. Treadwell is the only player to lead the Zips in scoring in back-to-back games through eight contests.
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 and Montana State have joined that group to push that number to 52 programs.
In games through Jan. 5, there are currently seven teams, including the Zips, within reach of that milestone this season. Akron has 1,492 wins, the most by any Mid-American Conference team.
A Look at the Polls
• Akron is ranked No. 23 in the Jan. 6 CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. Six opponents appeared in the poll, including No. 4 Toledo, No. 11 Saint Mary's, No. 13 Ohio and No. 17 Kent State. Cleveland State (38), Eastern Michigan (6), Buffalo (5) and Western Michigan (1) received votes.
• Two opponents appeared in the Jan. 6 AP and USA TODAY Coaches polls. Iowa State was the only ranked team earning the No. 9 spot in the AP poll and the No. 7 spot in the USA Today Coaches poll. Toledo (2/5) received votes in both polls.
RPI Watch
• In games through Jan. 5, the Zips hold the No. 102 spot in the RPI Forecast rankings.
• The Zips have 10 opponents on their schedule with an RPI of 125 or higher, including Iowa State (4), Saint Mary's (32), Toledo (46), Ohio (50), Eastern Michigan (88), Cleveland State (93), South Carolina (103), Kent State (115), Middle Tennessee (118), Oral Roberts (122) and Western Michigan (125), with Oregon State (134), Buffalo (144) and Bowling Green (151) just outside the top-125.
A Mix of Youth and Experience
On paper, the Akron roster may look like a youthful one, but it is also an experience roster. The Zips list nine freshmen and sophomores on the roster. UA's five sophomores have made 186 appearances and 40 starts in their Akron careers. In fact, two sophomores – Pat Forsythe and Jake Kretzer – have appeared in every game at Akron, while Reggie McAdams has made 45 appearances in 46 possible games.
