GAME 2

Akron (0-1) vs. N.C. State (1-0)

Glenn Wilkes Classic
Friday, November 20
3:30 p.m. ET
Ocean Center (8,500)
Daytona Beach, Fla.

Television: None

Webcast/Audio Stream/Live Statistics: Audio stream through ZipsZone (subscription), web cast through StretchInternet.com (subscription) (for all three games throughout the weekend). Live statistics will not be available for this event.

Radio: Akron-ISP Sports Network - SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron, with Rob Gidel handling play-by-play (3 p.m. ET airtime). UA's games on Saturday (versus Drake at 1:15 p.m.) and Sunday (versus Howard at 11 a.m.) will also air on SportRadio 1350 AM, with pregame coverage starting 30 minutes prior to tip off.

Akron Coach Keith Dambrot (Akron '82):
Is in his sixth season at the helm for the Zips, maintaining a 115-52 (.687) mark in that time. His win percentage ranks fifth in program history, while his win total is fourth all-time (126 is third). He is 223-122 (.646) in his 12th season as a collegiate head coach. This is his first time facing N.C. State.

The Series: Friday serves as the third meeting between the two schools on the hardwood, with N.C. State leading the all-time series 2-0. The most recent matchup came on Nov. 28, 1988 at N.C. State (67-87 UA loss), when the Wolfpack were ranked No. 18 in the AP poll and Bob Huggins was head coach at Akron. The other meeting came in Akron in 1946 (40-53 UA loss).

Up Next: UA continues competition in the Glenn Wilkes Classic by facing off against Drake on Saturday at 1:15 p.m., and Howard on Sunday at 11 a.m. Drake leads the all-time series with Akron, 2-0. The teams met on Feb. 21, 2004 in Akron as part of the ESPN BracketBusters event (78-82 UA loss) and met again on Nov. 19, 2004 in Des Moines, Iowa (88-90 UA loss in Keith Dambrot's first game as head coach of the Zips). Sunday will be the first-ever meeting between Akron and Howard on the hardwood.

Zips Fly South For Glenn Wilkes Classic...
The University of Akron men's basketball team (0-1) travels to Daytona Beach, Fla., this weekend to participate in the third-annual Glenn Wilkes Classic. The Zips will face off against North Carolina State (1-0) on Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET, in what will be the first of three games in three days for the program. UA, which is ranked No. 16 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, will compete against Drake on Saturday at 1:15 p.m. and Howard on Sunday at 11 a.m.

Recapping The Season Opener...
• Akron suffered an 80-77 loss to Austin Peay in its season opener at home on Sunday. The Zips led 72-57 with 7:36 to play, but the Governors mounted a 17-0 run over the final 5:26 to gain control and claim the win.
• UA shot 40.9 percent (27-of-66) from the floor compared to Austin Peay's 50 percent (27-of-54) showing from the field.
• Akron received 45 of its 77 total points from its bench. In the first half, Zip reserves outscored Governor reserves 22-5.
• Junior guard Steve McNees led UA offensively with 14 points (3-for-7 field goals, 6-for-6 free throws) in 21 minutes off the bench.
• UA freshman center Zeke Marshall finished with a double-double in his first collegiate outing - scoring 10 points (5-of-9 field goals) and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds. He is rated as the No. 6 center in the 2009 class.

Streaks, Storylines, Sidebars...
• UA posted a 4-2 record last season when playing on a neutral floor, part of the team's league-best 12-10 combined record in away/neutral contests.
• Under sixth-year coach Keith Dambrot, UA has twice claimed a victory over a team from one of the "big six" conferences - topping Florida State 65-60 in overtime on March 18, 2008 in the first round of the NIT and defeating Mississippi State 83-72 in the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico on Dec. 20, 2005. Those were the program's first-ever wins over a team for the Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference.
• UA was picked to finish first in the Mid-American Conference'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. In the first round of the tourney, the 13th-seeded Zips lost 77-64 to 10th-ranked and fourth-seeded Gonzaga, after leading with about nine minutes remaining in regulation.
• 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.
• Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens was selected honorable mention on the CollegeInsider.com Preseason Mid-Major All-America Team on Nov. 13.