The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Basketball Concludes Regular Season Friday at Kent State on ESPN2
March 05 | Men's Basketball
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Akron at Kent State Game Notes in PDF Format
Game Day Coverage:
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Akron (18-12, 9-8 MAC) at Kent State (20-10, 11-6 MAC)
Friday, March 6, 2015 • 7:00 p.m. ET
M.A.C. Center (6,327)
Kent, Ohio
Television: ESPN2. Mike Crispino (pxp) & Jon Crispin (analyst).
Webcast and Live Stats: Available at GoZips.com – webcast (free for home games only) and live statistics.
Radio: Akron-IMG Sports Network – SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship) and for free at GoZips.com/TuneIn. Steve French (play-by-play) and Joe Dunn (analyst) will have the call beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.
The Akron-Kent State Series: Kent State holds a 71-70 advantage. The Zips have won nine of the last 12 in the series, including a 61-52 win at Rhodes Arena on Feb. 10. The Zips are 22-47 in Kent, winning two of the last three at the M.A.C. Center. UA fell 60-57 last year at Kent State on Feb. 1.
Scouting the Golden Flashes: Kent State enters tonight's game with a 20-11 record and is 11-6 in MAC play. The Golden Flashes are 11-4 at home, including a 6-2 mark in MAC play. Kent State downed BGSU, 81-80, on Tuesday.
Three players are averaging double figures, including Jimmy Hall (15.4 ppg), Devareaux Manley (13.7 ppg) and Kris Brewer (10.9 ppg). Hall is the team's leading rebounder (7.3 rpg).
News, Notes and Storylines
- Akron concludes the 2014-15 regular season on Friday when it faces neighborhood rival Kent State on ESPN2.
- The Zips are coming off a 70-63 road loss at Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday.
- Tonight's game will be the second meeting between the two schools as part of the PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge.
- The Zips will be playing in game No. 400 as a member of the MAC (209-190).
- Keith Dambrot is seeking win No. 250 as head coach of the Zips (249-119).
- Akron has held six of its last seven opponents, including Kent State (52), to 70 points or less (64.3 ppg).
- The UA bench has dominated the last nine games, out-scoring the opposition, 292-83 (32.4 ppg vs. 9.2 ppg, +23.2 ppg).
- Akron has hit eight or more 3-pointers in 23 games this season. The Zips are 15-8 when they make at least eight long balls in a contest. Akron is second in the Mid-American Conference and 12th nationally in 3-pointers made per game (9.2).
- The Zips have posted a 31-14 mark (.689) in the last 45 games against the MAC East dating back to the start of the 2012 league schedule.
- The UA defense is holding opponents to 44.2 percent shooting from inside the arc, 49th nationally. The Zips are holding opponents to just 0.953 points per possession, 80th nationally.
What You May Not Know About the Series
- Akron and/or Kent State have played in the MAC Title Game in eight of the last nine years.
- The Akron-Kent State series (141 games) is the most played series in program history, ahead of Wooster (92), Baldwin-Wallace (91), Youngstown State (88) and Ohio (74).
- The first team to score 60 points in the rivalry has won 32 of the last 35 games in the series, with the Zips scoring 61 in the first meeting of the season.
- The Zips and Golden Flashes will play on TV for the 29th-straight game, the longest streak in the MAC between two league programs.
- Tonight's game marks the 19th time in the last 20 regular-season meetings that either UA and/or KSU are in first place or is playing for first place in the MAC East (dating to 2005-06).
On the Line vs. Kent State
- A victory would give Akron the No. 6 seed in next week's MAC Tournament.
- A victory will snap UA's four-game road losing streak.
- A win would give head coach Keith Dambrot win No. 250 at Akron, second-most in program history.
- A victory will give the Zips 19 wins for an 11th-straight season, becoming one of just 11 programs to do so.
- A win will give the Zips 0.5 points in the overall PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge standings, giving the Zips a 5.0-4.0 lead.
Odds and Ends
- Akron is 17-0 this season when leading with 5:00 to go in a game.
- Eleven of Akron's 14 players have posted at least one game with 10 or more points. Ten of those players have scored 13 or more points at least once.
- The Zips have seven players with at least 28 made 3-pointers this season.
- Deji Ibitayo has more double-figure scoring performances in his last 37 games (18) than he had in his previous 60 games (5).
- UA has at least one blocked shot in 62-straight and 114 of the last 115 games. Additionally, Akron has blocked multiple shots in 113 of those 114 games.
- For the first time in program history, the Zips played two-consecutive games decided by one point (69-68 win at Bowling Green, Jan. 31; 83-82 loss at Ohio, Feb. 4).
- Freshman guard Noah Robotham will miss the rest of the 2014-15 season after tearing his right ACL vs. Miami (Ohio) on Feb. 21.
- Head coach Keith Dambrot was named the 19th-best college coach for the money in 2014 by Forbes Magazine.
MAC Play Notes
- Akron is 84-39 in the regular season against the West Division (.683), including winners of 27 of the last 33 regular-season contests, since divisional play began during the 1997-98 season [57-18 under head coach Keith Dambrot (.760)].
- The Zips have posted a 31-14 mark (.689) in the last 45 games against the MAC East dating back to the start of the 2012 league schedule. Akron is 4-1 against the MAC East at the conference tournament during that stretch.
- Akron is 35-7 at home in league play since the start of the 2011 MAC schedule (.833).
- UA has seen a ton of success in league play since the start of the 2004-05 season. Akron is 128-55 overall (.699), including a 78-14 mark in MAC play at home (.848). The Zips' 128 wins are the most in the league during that stretch.
- The Zips have won 48 of their last 67 MAC games (.716).
PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge: Akron enters the contest leading Kent State, 4.5-4.0, in this season's PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge. The Zips have earned points with wins in men's cross country, men's and women's indoor track and field, a season sweep in women's basketball and a half point for the win on Feb. 10. Tonight's contest will earn the winner 0.5 points in the overall standings. For more information on the PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge, visit wagonwheelchallenge.com.
Looking Ahead: Akron will play host to a MAC Tournament opening round game on Monday, March 9, at James A. Rhodes Arena. Game time and opponent will not be known until the conclusion of Friday's men's and women's contests.
