GAME 1

Austin Peay (0-1) at Akron (0-0)

Sunday, November 15
Glenn Wilkes Classic
2 p.m. ET
Rhodes Arena (5,500)
Akron, Ohio

Television: None

Webcast/Audio Stream/Live Statistics: Webcast and audio stream through ZipsZone subscription, live statistics free of charge.

Radio: Akron-ISP Sports Network – SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron and on the Internet at GoZips.com. Steve French (play-by-play) and Joe Dunn (analyst) (1:30 p.m. ET airtime).

Akron Coach Keith Dambrot (Akron '82):
Is in his sixth season at the helm for the Zips, maintaining a 115-51 (.693) mark in that time. His win percentage ranks third in program history, while his win total is fourth all-time (126 is third). He is 223-121 (.648) in his 12th season as a collegiate head coach. He is 2-0 all-time versus Austin Peay.

APSU Coach Dave Loos (Memphis '69):
Is in his 20th season on the sideline for the Governors, owning a 314-262 (.545) record in that time. In his 24th season as a collegiate head coach he is 396-315 (.557). He is 0-2 all-time versus UA.

The Series: Sunday serves as the 20th meeting between the two schools on the hardwood, with Akron leading the all-time series 11-8. The Zips have claimed each of the last two matchups (64-55 at APSU on Dec. 15, 2007; 74-57 at Rhodes Arena on Feb. 17, 2007 as part of the ESPN BracketBusters event). The two programs competed against one another in the Ohio Valley Conference from 1980-81 through 1986-87.

Up Next: UA continues competition in the Glenn Wilkes Classic on Nov. 20-22 at Ocean Center Arena in Daytona Beach, Fla., facing NC State, Drake and Howard, respectively.

Zips Open Season Versus Austin Peay...
The University of Akron men's basketball team (0-0) plays host to Austin Peay (0-1) on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET at Rhodes Arena, in what serves as the Zips' season opener. The game is also part of the opening round of play for both teams in the Glenn Wilkes Classic, which concludes next weekend in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Governors started their season on Friday, with a 83-54 loss at top-10 ranked Tennessee.          
    
Streaks, Storylines, Sidebars...
    • Sunday marks the start of Akron's 109th season of basketball (30th as a Division I program).
    • Akron opens its campaign at home for the second-straight year, having defeated Canisius at home in last year's opener (56-46 on Nov. 15, 2008).
    • UA is 65-43 all-time in season openers, including a 54-11 record when doing so at home. The Zips, who went 11-3 at Rhodes Arena last season, have won 55 of their last 62 games at home (31 of 36 against league foes) and are 64-8 on their home floor under sixth-year coach Keith Dambrot.
    • Sunday's contest is the first of 17 home games for UA this season, and eight of the club's first 12 games will be played before its hometown faithful.
    • Three Akron players scored in double figures in Tuesday's 88-38 exhibition win over Division III Mount Union. Freshman Zeke Marshall led the way with 14 points (connecting on 5-of-6 field goals and 4-of-6 free throws), six rebounds and eight blocked shots in 14 minutes off the bench. Senior Chris McKnight had 13 points and nine rebounds as a starter, while sophomore Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens had 10 points and five assists as a reserve.
    • Akron is ranked No. 8 in the preseason edition of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 – the only Mid-American Conference school in the top 25. The Zips have closed out each of the last four seasons ranked in the poll, finishing last year in the No. 25 spot.
    • UA was picked to finish first in the MAC's East Division and was also selected as the league's overall preseason favorite (19 first-place votes) as well as the predicted conference tournament winner (19 votes) in a media poll released on Oct. 28.
    • The Zips return four starters and 13 letterwinners from last year's squad that went 23-13 (10-6 MAC) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, after winning its first-ever MAC Tournament championship.
    • Highlighting UA's list of returnees this season is junior Brett McKnight and sophomore Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens, both of who were named to the Preseason All-MAC Team on Oct. 28. McKnight led the Zips in scoring last season (11.2 ppg) and was also the league's sixth man of the year, an All-MAC Second Team choice and named to the conference's all-tournament team. Hitchens led UA in assists (2.2 apg) and was on the league's all-freshman team a season ago.
    • On Friday, sophomore Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens was selected honorable mention on CollegeInsider.com Preseason Mid-Major All-America Team.     • Akron released its 2010-11 signing class on Wednesday, with Josh Egner (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson HS), Dakotah Euton (Georgetown, Ky./Scott County HS) and Michael Green (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) each signing a national letter of intent to play at the school next season.