Akron Zips Basketball

Virginia Commonwealth and Akron will fight for their tournament lives in one of the upset specials, otherwise known as a No. 5 vs. No. 12 battle in the NCAA tournament.

Admittedly, this five vs. 12 battle has a bit of a different feel. After all, VCU is the kind of small school we usually find in the role of the 12 seed. 

However, after their run to the Final Four as an 11 seed and advancing to the round of 32 last year, the Rams have raised their profile and won't be sneaking up on anyone. 

The Rams finished the regular season with a 26-8 record. They made it to the finals of the Atlantic 10 tournament before falling to an outstanding Saint Louis team, 62-56. 

Meanwhile, Akron won the MAC tournament and finished the regular season 26-6. This is the second time in the last three years that the Zips have made the tournament, but just the fourth time overall. They have yet to advance past the first round. 

The Zips, while posting an outstanding regular season, do not have a win against a top-25 team. 

These two are battling in the South bracket with the winner advancing to take on the winner of the No. 4 Michigan vs. No. 13 South Dakota State game.

Game Information

Where: Auburn Hills, Michigan 

When: Thursday, March 21, at 9:45 p.m. ET

Watch: CBS

Live Stream: March Madness On Demand

Betting Line: VCU -7 according to Vegas Insider on March 18

VCU Injuries (via USA Today): F Mo Alie-Cox, Eligibility, Out; G Jordan Burgess, Eligibility, Out

Akron Injuries (via USA Today): G Alex Abreu, Suspension, Out Indefinitely 

Video Preview

What's at Stake?

This is the NCAA tournament. I think we all know what's at stake here: a chance to advance! 

For VCU, this is a chance for head coach Shaka Smart to continue to build on the amazing success he has found with the Rams. 

As for the Zips, this is a golden opportunity to take the program to new heights. It is impressive that this team is back in the tournament after appearing in 2011, but it is time for this program to take the next step and advance past the first round. 

Players to Watch

VCU: F Juvonte Reddic 

Junior forward Juvonte Reddic has been outstanding this season. He is second on the Rams in points at 14.4 per contest. 

He also leads them in rebounds (8.3), blocks (0.9) and field goal percentage (56.1). 

Reddic is a nice inside presence. The kind a team can lean on in the tournament to help prevent prolonged stretches of ineffectiveness. 

Akron: C Zeke Marshall

At 7'0", senior center Zeke Marshall has a big inside presence. He is an adept shot-blocker who averages 3.7 blocks per game. He also hauls in 7.1 rebounds per game. 

Marshall certainly isn't only a presence on the defensive end. He is the Zips' leading scorer at 13.0 points per game, and he tallied that mark with a 65.4 field goal percentage. 

Key Matchup: Akron's Ball Handling vs. VCU Defense

Akron needs to make taking care of the rock a top priority in this game, and if the Zips don't have some success in that regard, they are in for a long night. 

Akron is 214th in the nation at 13.7 turnovers per game. That's not a good stat for any matchup, but particularly this one. 

The Rams are first in the nation in forcing opposition turnovers at a whopping 19.9 per game. 

If the Rams can consistently force Akron into turnovers, they will create easy buckets and steal the will to win from the Zips. 

Prediction: VCU 74, Akron 62

VCU is going to wear Akron down. This game may be close at the end of the first half, but the Rams' defense will prove to be too much. 

The Rams have plenty of tournament experience, a sound team, a great coach and they are ready to once again advance past the first round, and have a legitimate shot of going beyond that. 

Help yourself to a printable bracket and follow along with the live bracket. Make your picks for the 2013 NCAA tournament here with the Bracket Challenge Game.

Akron Zips point guard Alex Abreu was suspended from the team on Thursday after being arrested and charged with marijuana trafficking, according to the Akron Beacon Journal’s Phil Trexler via Twitter:

UA Zips point guard Alex Abreu arrested on marijuana trafficking charges and suspended from team. Details on Ohio.con

— PHIL TREXLER (@PhilTrexler) March 7, 2013

Per Trexler, Abreu, a junior, was arrested after police officers attempted to purchase marijuana from Abreu during a controlled buy:

Narcotics agents with Akron PD arrested Abreu with a large amt of marijuana today during a controlled buy

— PHIL TREXLER (@PhilTrexler) March 7, 2013

At this time, there is no word on how long Abreu’s suspension will last. Though it seems beside the point at the moment, Abreu’s status will undoubtedly affect the Zips heading into tournament season.

Led by head coach Keith Dambrot, Akron was one of the nation’s most pleasant surprises this season. At 24-5, including a stellar 14-1 in-conference record, the Zips have spent most of their season in or around the Top 25. Expected to make the NCAA Tournament, they can clinch a regular-season crown in the Mid-American Conference with a win on Friday versus Kent State. 

However, Abreu’s absence could wind up costing Akron a tournament berth in the long run.

Though stars Zeke Marshall and Demetrius Treadwell get most of the recognition for Akron’s ascent, Abreu has been the lifeblood of the offense all season.

One of the nation’s best distributors, Abreu is averaging 6.0 assists per game to go along with his 10.3 points. He’s responsible for working the inside-out game with Marshall, setting up Treadwell in advantageous offensive positions and knocking down open three-pointers.

As a team that oftentimes struggles behind the arc, Abreu has been one of the Zips' most consistent shooters from distance.

Akron also doesn’t have much experience behind Abreu at the point guard spot. Freshman Carmelo Betancourt has been his backup throughout the season, but he has played only minimally. Without other top-tier shot-creators to get guys open looks, it’s very possible that Akron’s offense could crater without Abreu.

And if that happens, the young point guard’s arrest may cost his team the reward it had worked toward all season. 

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Almost three years after Akron's most famous native son decamped for South Beach—leaving a trail of smoldering "witnesses" in his wake—the city has embraced yet another athletic giant.

His name is Zeke Marshall. He stands 7' with a wingspan that stretches to 7'5". He plays basketball for the the University of Akron Zips, and he plays it damn well.

These days you can find Marshall's hulking likeness plastered across a building at the center of campus, arms outstretched in Jamesian glory with a two-word motto tucked underneath his right arm:

 "Think Bigger"

Rarely has bravado sounded so prophetic.

Thanks to a towering front line, the Zips (22-4) have emerged as one of the nation's best mid-major teams, reeling off a nation-best 18-game winning streak and even drawing the attention of LeBron James himself, who told the Associated Press: ''I'm following them a lot. They're on top of the MAC and they're playing some really, really good ball right now."

It figures, then, that the King, a former pupil of Zips coach Keith Dambrot at St. Vincent-St. Mary, will have his eye on the hometown team when it travels to second-place conference rival Ohio on Wednesday for a game that should determine the regular-season MAC champion. Pass that test, and the Zips could be well on their way to March.

If you're trying to handicap this talented, rugged mid-major from there, I'd simply remind you to heed the billboard.

Why They're Dangerous

1. Akron Has High-Major Size

The David-Goliath parable gets plenty of mileage during the NCAA tournament, and with good reason. 

Time and again we've seen undersized double-digit seeds slay the proverbial giant with some combination of three-point shooting and perimeter defensive pressure, so much so that analysts try to target teams that specialize in those two areas when making bracket predictions.

Generally speaking, that logic is sound. Teams that use their relative brawn to beat up on mid-major competition usually find their strengths neutralized against even average-sized Power Six teams.

But every once in a while, we find a stone-thrower that truly can measure up to the big boys. Future NBA center Patrick O'Bryant and Bradley University paved the way in 2006, and Akron fits a similar mold.

The Zips rank 42nd nationally in effective height. And while that might sound modest, consider that teams in the Power Eight (includes the Mountain West, A-10 and Gonzaga) make up just 29 percent of all D1 schools but a full 64 percent of teams ranked among the nation's top 50 in effective height.

In other words, Akron is a rare bird among mid-majors. It's no surprise then that the Zips—who feature six rotation players listed at 6'7" or taller—dominate the painted area.

Dambrot's team has the nation's 20th-best two-point field-goal percentage and the third-best two-point field-goal defense. To give those figures some context, only Florida, Kentucky and Indiana fall among the top 20 nationally in both of those categories.

In a similar vein, Akron ranks 13th nationally in block percentage and 30th overall in block percentage against.

The result is a defense that ranks 37th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency and first in conference play with 0.883 points-per-possession allowed.

In article by Bill Livingston of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Dambrot verbalized much of what the numbers show: "We have the size to play with anybody in the country. That's why Butler and Gonzaga are good. Mid-majors usually don't have that. We're big, strong and long everywhere."

2. Zeke Marshall

There's no prospect narrative more enticing to a mid-major coach than that of the coveted "late bloomer."

It's the reason you see tall, athletic-looking guys on the end of every bench in America—all of them there under the Powerball premise that one in 1,000 might someday turn into Zeke Marshall.

When the 7' senior arrived at Akron four years ago, he was still in pubescent flux. Former Akron assistant Jeff Boals likened him to a baby deer (via FoxSportsOhio.com):

The best comparison I can make for Zeke at 18 is Bambi—tries to walk but keeps falling down. He was still maturing physically and emotionally. We tried to sell him that at a place like Akron, he might have a little more time to find his stride.

Said stride has officially been found.

The reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Year is having a headline season for the Zips, and it starts with his work in the paint. Marshall, the nation's seventh-best shot-blocker by percentage, has been such a sterling post defender that he's starting to draw the interest of NBA draftniks.

As Joe Treutlein at DraftExpress writes, "Seven-footers with [Marshall's] length and shot-blocking instincts aren't easy to come by,"

Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis also took note of Marshall's defensive prowess in a recent tweet:

Akron center Zeke Marshall. Great shot blocker RT @JaredK_17: under the radar mid major player people will need to know for March?

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) February 19, 2013

On the offensive end, Marshall remains an unfinished product, but his scoring average has increased each of his four years in Akron, topping out at a team-leading 12.6 per game this season.

So often we worry about dominant small-conference big men falling short against Power-Six athletes, but Marshall is the kind of specimen that can transcend those typecasts.

Here's how Marshall has fared over the last two seasons against what I would term significant nonconference competition:

Opponent	Points	Rebounds	Blocks	Result
Mississippi State	10	6	5	W
Detroit	11	6	1	W
West Virginia	10	3	2	L
VCU	10	3	6	L (OT)
Northwestern	17	7	1	L
Oklahoma State	10	12	2	L (OT)
Penn State	17	7	6	W
Creighton	12	2	2	L
Detroit	7	6	5	L
Aggregate	11.6	5.8	3.3	3-6

Now compare that to Marshall's overall dashboard statistics each of the last two years:

Points	Rebounds	Blocks	Year
10.4	5.4	2.8	2011-12
12.6	6.8	3.5	2012-13

Notice much difference? I don't.

Marshall is one of those rare small-college players who is just as effective against tournament-quality teams as he is against the denizens of the MAC.

Off the court, the self-described "nerd" may be more fascinating still, but I'll keep to the chalk and let Zeke do the talking on this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsCEfKmt5N4

3. They Aren't Afraid to Chuck It

All this pontificating about Akron's high-major physical profile obscures the fact that the Zips do share one key thing in common with the typical upset specialist: They love to shoot threes.

In fact, Akron ranks 62nd nationally in three-point field goals as a percentage of overall attempts. And although the Zips connect on only 34 percent of those attempts (165th in the nation), their pedestrian success rate is mitigated by the fact that they grab so many of their own misses.

To wit, only 22 teams in the entire country grab a greater percentage of available offensive rebounds than Akron.

Guards Alex Abreu and Brian Walsh are the leading beneficiaries of all that dirty work. Each has attempted over 100 three-pointers this year, with Abreu connecting on 38.9 percent of his attempts and Walsh converting at an even better 40.7-percent clip.

In Abreu's case, however, the shooting numbers alone sell him short.

On a team with tremendous depth—Akron ranks 40th nationally in bench minutes—the Puerto Rican-born point guard is one of the only players regularly asked to log more than 25 minutes in a game, and his 30 minute-per-game average is tops on the team.

It's Abreu's heady play on the perimeter that makes Marshall and forward Demetrius Treadwell so effective inside, and some, like Eastern Michigan head coach Rob Murphy, say it's Abreu who holds the keys to Akron's postseason fate (via The Cleveland Plain-Dealer): "Abreu is very important for them. He is their one steady point guard who has to be counted on to make sure they are going to be successful.'"

Inside and out, the Zips have pieces in place to beat high-major competition. Put it all together, and you get something along the lines of what ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas told the Associated Press in early February:

'They haven't been playing under my radar. I've been watching them all season. They're a really good basketball team. They do a really good job offensive rebounding. They can defend in the post, they've got really good guards and Marshall is only getting better.

Teams Akron Could Beat in the NCAA Tournament

1. La Salle

La Salle is a No. 11 seed in Joe Lunardi's latest bracket and Akron is a 13. If the two meet in the middle at 12, the Explorers could be in trouble. One of the nation's shorter teams in effective height, La Salle has been among the A-10's worst at defending the two-point shot.

2. Minnesota

Tubby Smith's Golden Gophers are plenty tall, but they've been a wreck on the defensive glass. Among Big Ten teams, only Illinois and Northwestern have corralled a lower percentage of opponent misses. That's surprising given the presence of forward Trevor Mbakwe, but the numbers say Zeke Marshall could feast on this Minnesota team.

Note: All statistics courtesy of KenPom.com unless otherwise noted.

The Akron Zips did not receive a single vote for the most recent AP Top 25 poll in men's basketball, but they're making some big waves around the NCAA.

After starting this season 4-4, they've won 11 straight. They've soared to the top of the MAC East and have the second-longest winning streak in the nation (Kansas has won 18 in a row). But it's not just the recent spate of wins that has giving the Zips so much buzz.

On Monday morning, Akron teased their Twitter followers with this:

Let's do this: 50 retweets and you see what's on the back of the jerseys. Sound good? #ThinkBigger @Uniformswag pic.twitter.com/zCnCvgeb

— Akron Zips MBB (@ZipsMBB) January 27, 2013

Later that day, Matt Norlander of CBSSports.com reported that Akron planned to wear the team's Twitter handle (@ZipsMBB) on the back of their jerseys for the game against conference rival Ohio on February 2.

B/R's own Gabe Zaldivar wrote about it on Monday as well.

The game will be televised on ESPN U, and the Twitter-handle ploy is part of the school's Social Media Night. They will also have "the sidelines near each bench and the basket supports...adorned with the hashtags #ZipsGameday and #ThinkBigger" (per the Akron Athletics website).

By Monday evening, however, the Twitter jerseys had been nixed. The school's Senior Associate AD for External Relations, Dan Satter, said in a statement that they "had asked the NCAA if this was permissible and were told it is not."

At least the front of their jerseys will look cool. Akron's Director of Marketing, Brad Swanson, tweeted a picture of the uniforms, which will now merely read "Zips" on the back:

https://twitter.com/ZipsBrad/status/295243940649656320

Although Matt Norlander disagrees with me, saying the "stand-alone Z' on the front is the opposite of hip—or zippy," I think these jerseys are bold, eye-catching and appropriate for a school trying to increase its national profile.

At any rate, the Zips will still feature their Twitter handle on the back of their warm-ups, and Social Media Night will proceed as planned. The shooting shirts will look like this:

The front and back panels of the Zips shooting shirts for Saturday's game. http://t.co/6bxnKy3j #ThinkBigger

— Akron Zips MBB (@ZipsMBB) January 29, 2013

Technically, putting a Twitter handle on the back of your uniform is not allowed, though it's probably just a matter of time.

According to Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo! Sports:

Under NCAA rules, teams are only allowed to have the name of a player, institution or mascot on the back of its jersey. The NCAA apparently has been reluctant to waive this rule under any circumstances because it fears there will be too many frivolous requests for exceptions.

Well, rules are rules, and this decision from the NCAA shouldn't be all that surprising.

They are certainly known for being a conservative organization (when it suits them). A week prior to striking down Akron's promotional attempt, the NCAA denied Iowa the right to memorialize a former player.

Former Hawkeye, Chris Street, died in an automobile accident in 1993. The school requested permission to wear "Street" on the backs of their jerseys to honor the 20th anniversary of his death (per Eisenberg).

The NCAA said no. Instead, Iowa wore a commemorative patch for Street.

But these stringent jersey rules are not hard and fast. In December, the NCAA permitted a tribute to the victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Providence wore "Sandy Hook" on the back of their jerseys and Xavier wore it on the front of theirs (via Eisenberg and USA Today respectively).

Also, earlier in December, NC State was allowed to don jerseys bearing the phrase "Don't Ever Give Up" for the 18th annual Jimmy V Classic. This message on their backs honored former coach Jim Valvano, who led the school to the 1983 national championship.

PHOTOS: ADIDAS Jimmy V Jerseys (BACK) http://t.co/HaAkXUGk pic.twitter.com/CsqG0jC0

— Pack Pride (@PackPride) November 28, 2012

Valvano popularized the phrase in 1993 before succumbing to cancer. It has become synonymous with courage and perseverance ever since.

While this was a tribute to a legendary figure in college basketball, it was not a spontaneous act of solidarity, as was the case with Providence and Xavier.

This was a pre-planned jersey designed as part of a promotional event, and even if proceeds are donated to cancer charities, it shows that the NCAA is willing to make exceptions to its own rules about uniforms in cases that are not spontaneous.

Moreover, the NCAA's refusal to allow Iowa to honor the memory of their player who tragically lost his life shows the utter inconsistency of their judgment. It speaks to a short-sightedness in applying the very rules which they themselves have set.

So it's clear that the rules about what can be printed on the back of a uniform are not set in stone. After all, it can even be the name of a mascot. So the NCAA cannot continue to allow some worthy tributes while striking down others.

And while a promotional ploy centered around social media is a far cry from honoring those who have passed away, it seems likely that these rules will increasingly be given more slack.

Five years from now, all players might be allowed to wear their own Twitter handles on the back their jerseys. It could even work for the NBA. I'd love to see Al Harrington wearing a jersey that said "@cheddahcheese7" on the back (please, verified handles only).

And regardless of the ruling by the NCAA in this case, the social media promotion by Akron has already worked.

It gained national media attention from numerous outlets, stoked debate, got the hashtag "#ZipsGameday" trending ("Because @ZipsMBB fans are awesome!") and garnered the Zips' account 100 new followers in just 24 hours.

So although we will not see Twitter handles on team jerseys just yet, Akron's Social Media Night has succeeded in its aim four days before it even took place.

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A pair of teams with NCAA Tournament dreams took center stage in Humphrey Coliseum Wednesday night. When the final horn sounded, we had gotten a glimpse of a team likely to obtain the Cinderella moniker when March comes around.

The Akron Zips, a perennial MAC front-runner, jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. This was a team predicated on defensive intensity, and it showed. The Zips turned countless turnovers into scoring opportunities, dominated the interior and created fast break buckets.

Coming into the game, Zeke Marshall and Renardo Sidney were set for a matchup that had scouts salivating. In the end, it was Quincy Diggs who stole the show.

Diggs, a junior forward for the Zips, averaged just 5.3 points per game last season. In the road opener, the Kansas native put up a game-high 19 points. The athletic wing consistently saw the ball in transition and carved through the Bulldogs defense.

Also producing for Akron was point guard Alex Abreu. The sophomore from Puerto Rico pushed the pace offensively and created numerous fast break opportunities with his six steals.

As far as Marshall and Sidney were concerned, it appeared to be a clear win for Marshall. Marshall finished the game with 10 points, six rebounds and five blocks. However, this stat line doesn't tell the whole story. While in the game, Marshall created a presence of his own inside, altering the shots of everyone who dared penetrate the lane.

On the other end, Sidney left something to be desired. At times, the highly touted big man impressed with the ball. Unfortunately, he failed to take over the game like a star should. What was most disheartening was his presence, or lack thereof, at the end of the game. 

For some reason, Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury chose to let Sidney sit for the final minutes of a close game, a time when he should have dominated the post. Marshall fouled out with several minutes left, and without his presence, the Zips had little to combat Sidney inside.  Did Stansbury feel his center lacked the conditioning to be a force late in the game, or has he already lost faith in his big man to lead this team?

Mississippi State will need to bounce back quickly. While an early loss hurts, they faced a quality opponent that won't hurt their RPI down the stretch. 

Senior point guard Dee Bost led the Bulldogs in scoring with 13 points. Unfortunately, it took a 2-9 outing from the field to get there. Also in double figures were Sidney (12) and highly touted freshman Rodney Hood (10). Arnett Moultrie produced an eight-point, 15-rebound effort.

The Bulldogs will look to improve from this game on Saturday when they take on South Alabama.  Akron will also see action Saturday, as they face Division III opponent Hiram College.



In an all-Buckeye state final, the Akron Zips and Ohio Bobcats will square off for the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship Saturday at 6 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

Akron advanced to the title game with a thrilling 66-64 win over Western Michigan Friday night. Chris McKnight’s put-back with 6.8 seconds left sealed the deal for the Zips.

Ohio, meanwhile, rode 28 points from Armon Bassett and 18 from DeVaughn Washington to coast to a 54-42 win over Miami in the other semifinal game Friday.

So the Zips and the Bobcats will face each other for the third time this season, this time for a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Akron won the two regular season meetings between the teams. However, Ohio played them evenly in both, losing by five, 67-62, in Athens on Jan. 13, before dropping a double-overtime marathon, 91-88, in Akron on Feb. 14.

Ohio’s stingy defense shut down Miami on Friday, but that won’t be so easy against Akron’s balanced offensive attack.

The Bobcats will continue to look to Bassett, who had a career-high 38 points in the semifinal upset over Kent State. He’s joined in the backcourt by freshman D.J. Cooper, who is searching for consistency in the tournament.

Cooper battled foul trouble in the quarterfinal win, then went 1-for-9 from the field against Miami. However, Cooper came up big in the February loss to the Zips, exploding for 33 points while playing 49 minutes.

Ohio needs Washington to continue his stellar tournament play. The junior forward averaged 10 points and 8.5 rebounds against Akron this year.

The Bobcats could also use a repeat performance from Reggie Keely. Although he  played just 10 minutes Friday night, Keely powered his way to 16 points and 20 rebounds against the Zips in February.

Akron will need a return to form by senior forward Jimmy Conyers, who had just eight points and two rebounds in Friday’s win over WMU. Conyers was a force against the Bobcats this season, averaging 18 points and 12.5 rebounds in the Zips’ two wins.

Fellow senior Chris McKnight had 18 points and eight boards Friday. The Zips could use a repeat of his February performance against the Bobcats, when he had 25 points and 18 rebounds in the two-overtime thriller.

McKnight’s brother Brett averaged 13.5 points a game off the bench against Ohio this season.

The Zips will need steady play from their backcourt combination of Anthony “Humpty” Hitchings, who contributed 10 points Friday night, and Steve McNees, who had a huge three-pointer against Eastern Michigan Thursday night.

Keep an eye on Akron’s Zeke Marshall and Ohio’s Kenneth Van Kempen in the pivot. Akron had a big rebounding edge in its February win, while Ohio claimed a slight advantage in the February rematch. Rebounding could be a key to victory in the final.

The tournament championship game will be televised by ESPN2.

The Mid-American Conference struggled to gain visibility in the national spotlight of college basketball last season, along with the rest of the mid-major conferences.  Major conferences like the Big Ten, Big East, ACC, and Pac Ten all reasserted themselves as dominant over conferences like the MAC, the Colonial Athletic Association, and the Missouri Valley.  Each of these conferences have at some point during this decade at least produced a Sweet 16 team, but this past season were only able to get one team into the NCAA tournament and were promptly eliminated from it in the first round.

The Mid-American Conference is showing some promise this year, however, with two very good teams in Akron and Miami University.  Akron won the conference tournament last year clinching their first NCAA bid since 1986, and are returning four of their starters including leading scorer Brett McKnight.  They also have a highly touted Freshman center in Zeke Marshall who should figure in their chances by replacing their lone graduating starter from last season, Nate Linart. 

McKnight and Marshall, may be the best frontcourt tandem in the conference, if Marshall begins to pan out the way he has been hyped up to be this team might be something interesting in March.

Miami lacks the experience of the Zips, but they make up for it with initiative and possibly the best player in the conference in Kenny Hayes.  Hayes, a 6'2" point guard, missed most of last season with an injury but was effective prior to that point averaging 13 points and 3 assists a game.  It will be on him to make plays for this team as they enter a very hard schedule. 

Even though the Redhawks have lost three of their top five scorers from last season, having a playmaker like Hayes may compensate for their inexperience.  It also may allow for them to take advantage of the fact that they have four players who are over 6'8".  If he can get them the ball and make them worry more about the size up front than Hayes three point shooting ability, it may be able to keep some of their non conference opponents off balance enough to pull of an upset. 

Miami plays the toughest non conference schedule in the MAC featuring Kentucky, Xavier, and Cincinnati, all on the road, in addition to a home game against Dayton.  All four teams are expected to make the tournament this season and will sorely test the Redhawks. 

Of all the road games, the Redhawks might be best able to pull off an upset against Kentucky, who in spite of having one of the most highly touted recruiting classes in history and John Calipari now at the helm are still a young team.  If the Redhawks can adequately challenge the Wildcats it may be a true early test for a Kentucky team that has already been praised and predicted to go to the Final Four by some.  Last year they played tightly with UCLA in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament before falling, and there's no reason why they can't do it again.

In spite of having two viable teams in Miami and Akron the MAC still has some glaring weaknesses.  The biggest one is that it is a two division conference in which one division did not feature a team that finished over .500.  While that will probably change this upcoming season with the MAC West teams playing softer non conference schedules than last year, it is still a sore spot for the conference.  If only the East is really that competitive it will never reach the status of an Atlantic 10 or even the Horizon League, there has to be better parity between the conferences to make the teams at the top better. 

While Miami and Akron may be the front-runners, Buffalo boasts a senior heavy squad that tied the MAC East regular season title last year with Bowling Green.  They cannot be underestimated, plus they face a relatively weak non conference schedule that, if they win the Conference tournament, may allow Miami or Akron, if the runner-up, an at large bid in the tournament.

Gonzaga looked good in the opening moments of their first round game with Akron. But the keyword is 'moments,' for in a moment it was a completely different game.

The Zags began shooting threes and missed many of them. The Zips answered by making theirs and going ahead. Akron stayed ahead for the rest of the first half holding a three-point lead (38 to 35) into halftime.

In the second half, the Gonzaga Bulldogs went ahead 50 to 49. The Zags continued outscoring the Zips. Akron was not able to run with Gonzaga, and the Zags pressuring defense was way too much for the Zips to handle.

In fact, Heytvelt was way too much for the Zips to handle. The Zips had their best players on Josh Heytvelt, but he positioned himself against them—wearing them all down and placing them in foul trouble.

Josh Heytvelt played a solid game offensively and defensively and was rewarded for his efforts. Josh was voted the Chevrolet player of the game. Indeed, Heytvelt earned it.

Josh was superb. Heytvelt hit the boards, blocked shots, and scored 22 points, but it was his intimidating presence that kept Akron from taking advantage of any hope for an inside game. 

Akron is a fine team, and they played a solid game. In fact, Akron played about as well as any team could, on this night, against the Bulldogs. Even when the Zags were behind, there was always the sense that the game was about to change.

Change it did, the Bulldogs outscored the Zips 31 to 6 and never looked back. Heytvelt was exciting and powerful all game long.

However, when one say’s excitement, the most exciting “single play” of the game was near the end when Gonzaga led 70 to 55—Heytvelt entered, Bouldin in bounded, and Pargo picked up the ball at mid-court. He then drove to the hoop and scored.

All I can say that it’s a good thing that no one tried to block Jeremy’s shot because Pargo was about a head above the basket as he twisted his body and extended his arm back with ball in hand, and in Michael Jordan fashion, Jeremy slammed it home.

Pargo's dunk was “Rip City” in the Portland Memorial Coliseum.  Gonzaga won the game 77 to 64, and the Zags served notice.

Gonzaga will not be easy to beat any time soon. Furthermore, a team without a legitimate big man is just another team, and Gonzaga will have the edge.