GETTING INSIDE

The Zips are wearing a whole different uniform this season. The fabric has not changed, nor has the look, but this year’s Akron team takes the court with its appearance completely changed.

Last season, the Zips went into the Mid-American Conference Tournament as one of the pack of teams that had to prove it belonged, and then fight to show it could stay for a round or two. Once Akron got on a roll and surged its way to the MAC championship and snagged the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, things changed.

That stunning finish to last season, coupled with the fact that the Zips return the majority of that championship team, plus the addition of the most highly rated recruit the conference has ever seen, puts Akron as the clear-cut king on the mountain. No more of that low-profile stuff from last season. No more sneaking up on anyone.

The Zips welcomed back all of last year’s MAC title team, minus the lone senior, Nate Linhart. When Akron coach Keith Dambrodt landed prized recruit Zeke Marshall, a seven-footer from the Pittsburgh area, it was the single-most celebrated signing the conference has seen. Marshall was rated as one of the top 100 players in the country, and one of the top 10 post players.

Throw all of that together and we get to the place we are now, where Akron looks to enter the MAC season as the big dog, and the team that everyone wants to beat. There’s a certain amount of glory and a certain amount of trepidation involved with being a huge favorite, and Akron has to get comfortable with both.

After going 5-3 through their first eight games, the Zips have at times looked like the best of the MAC, and at other times they have looked like a team that could easily go .500 in the conference. Dambrodt has precious little time to smooth out the rough edges, tweak the chemistry, and bring his team into conference play in position to meet all of those lofty expectations.

NOTES, QUOTES

• Akron point guard Anthony Hitchens was held to just two points in a Dec. 4 loss to No. 19 Texas A&M. Anthony Hitchens entered the game as the Zips’ leading scorer at 10.7 points per game, but went just 1-for-10 from the field against the Aggies, and a dismal 2-for-23 over a two-game stretch.

• The Zips expected balance to be a strength this season, and even with the early-season scoring difficulties this team has encountered, the balance has been there. Following the recent loss to Texas A&M, the Zips did not have a player averaging in double figures in scoring, but four Akron players were scoring close to eight points per game.

January At A Glance:   The Zips get their role as this season’s MAC favorite tested right out of the gate as they open conference play against the defending regular-season champion, Bowling Green. The Falcons had some measurable graduation losses, while the Zips did not.

The early MAC games will also give the rest of the conference its first taste of what life will be like with Akron’s seven-foot freshman Zeke Marshall. The shot-blocking machine will get to test his swats against seven MAC teams in his first month of conference play.

Quote To Note:   “We’re going to get better. We still aren’t shooting the ball as well as we should be, which is frustrating, but we’ve had a hard time shooting. Our biggest concern moving forward will be to shoot the ball better.”—Akron coach Keith Dambrodt, on the primary offensive issue his team faces.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Season Recap:   In the first month of the season, the Zips tested their strength against a wide range of competition, and while they struggled against the likes of North Carolina State and Texas A&M, wins over Drake, Howard and Niagara provided ample evidence that this program will be one of the stronger mid-majors this season.

Not only did Akron return the majority of a deep lineup that won last season’s Mid-American Conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, but the Zips got the most significant upgrade in the conference with the addition of seven-foot freshman Zeke Marshall. All of the pieces seem to be in place for a championship run by Akron.

Player Rotation:   Usual Starters—F Nikola Cvetinovic, F Chris McKnight, C Zeke Marshall, G Darryl Roberts, G Brett McClanahan. Key Subs -– C Mike Bardo, F Jimmy Conyers, F Brett McKnight, G Anthony Hitchens, G Steve McNees.

Game Review:  

Akron 80, Niagara 68

Texas A&M 74, Akron 62

Akron 62, Malone 30

Game Preview:  

vs. UNC Greensboro, Friday, Dec. 18

vs. St. Francis (Pa.), Sunday, Dec. 20

vs. UIC, Tuesday, Dec. 22

vs. Valparaiso, Sunday, Dec. 27

at Wyoming, Wednesday, Dec. 30

In Focus:   A road trip to Wyoming and a home date with Rhode Island right before the start of the conference schedule should tune up the Zips for the MAC run. By that point, Akron will have played 14 games against a wide variety of competition, and the Zips will have a pretty good handle on their overall strengths and weaknesses.

By the time Akron gets to a late January meeting with bitter rival and perennial MAC power Kent State, the Zips will have four conference games under their belts, and they will have faced several of the teams that are expected to be their biggest challengers in the league race. The Zips will likely flex their might by using their depth to wear people down, and increasingly feature seven-foot freshman Zeke Marshall as he emerges as one of the more dominant players in the conference.

Roster Report:  

• Senior G Darryl Roberts, a former walk-on who sat out his first season with the Zips in order to get his academics squared away, is the only Akron player to start every game to date. Roberts is averaging around 30 minutes per game.

• Sophomore F Nikola Cvetinovic made 21 starts as a freshman, and has been back in a prominent role for the Zips this season. He has been the team’s second-leading rebounder behind freshman Zeke Marshall, and has scored in double figures several times.

• Seven-foot freshman C Zeke Marshall tied the Akron school record with six blocks in a recent win over Niagara. Through the first month of the season, Marshall ranked in the top 25 nationally in blocked shots.

• In a 62-30 rout of Malone, junior F Brett McKnight had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the second double-double of his career.