Courtesy: Ernie Aranyosi UA senior forward Jimmy Conyers and the Zips are in search of back-to-back MAC Tournament titles.

GAME 34

(3) Akron (24-9) vs. (9) Ohio (20-14)

Sat., March 13, 2010
6 p.m. ET
Quicken Loans Arena – Cleveland
MAC Tournament Championship

Television: ESPN2

Webcast/Audio Stream/Live Statistics: Webcast (by subscription) and live statistics (free of charge) available at MAC-Sports.com. Audio stream through ZipsZone subscription.

Radio: Akron-ISP Sports Network – SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron and through ZipsZone subscription on GoZips.com. Steve French (play-by-play) and Joe Dunn (analyst) (5:30 p.m. ET airtime).

Akron Coach Keith Dambrot (Akron '82):
Is in his sixth season at the helm for the Zips, maintaining a 139-60 (.698) mark in that time (12-4 in the MAC Tournament). Both his win total and win percentage rank third all-time in program history (178 wins is second). Dambrot is 247-130 (.655) in his 12th season as a collegiate head coach. He is 11-5 all-time versus Ohio (9-3 as coach at Akron).

The Series: Is tied at 30 wins apiece, but Akron has won six of the last seven meetings and swept this year's pair of regular-season matchups (67-62 in Athens on Jan. 13; 91-88 in 2ot in Akron on Feb. 14). The schools are facing off for the second time ever in MAC postseason play (79-77 Bobcats' win in Akron on March 10, 2003).

Akron's MAC Tournament History: The defending MAC Tournament champion Zips, competing as the No. 3 seed for the fourth time ever, are 13-11 all-time in MAC postseason play (5-3 as third seed) (12 of those wins have come under head coach Keith Dambrot). Akron has positioned itself in the event's title bout for the fourth-straight year.

Streaks, Storylines, Sidebars...
    • Third seed and defending MAC Tournament champion Akron has advanced itself to the event's title contest for the fourth-straight year, and is the third school in conference history to have done so (Eastern Michigan in 1995-98 and Kent State in 2001-04).
    • Akron strives to become the third program in MAC tourney history to win back-to-back championships. Kent State did so in 2001 and 2002, and Ball in 1989 and 1990.
    • In 2009, the Zips (playing as a five seed) won four games in five days in Cleveland to advance themselves to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1986 (topped third-seeded Buffalo 65-53 for the trophy).
    • Dating to last season, Akron has won six-straight MAC Tournament contests and is 8-1 in the event since 2008 (lone loss came to Kent State in the 2008 championship game).
    • A Zips' victory would put them in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in as many seasons and third time in the program's Division I era (dating to 1980-81 season). In 2009, 14th-seeded UA lost 77-64 to Gonzaga on March 19 in Portland. The first appearance came in 1986 when Bob Huggins was coach. That year, 15th-seeded Akron lost 70-64 to second-seeded Michigan in Minneapolis (March 14, 1986).
    • Through two MAC Tournament games, UA is outscoring its opposition 81.5 points per game to 76.5, is averaging 44.7 percent (55-for-123) from the floor and making 43.9 percent (18-for-41) of its shots from 3-point range. The Zips have also tallied 11 blocked shots (eight courtesy of Zeke Marshall and 18 steals (six by way of Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens).
    • UA has won at least 23 games in each of the last five seasons, and has posted at least 24 victories in three of the last four years (23-10 in 2005-06, 26-7 in '06-07 (tied school record for wins), 24-11 in '07-08, 23-13 in '08-09, 24-9 in 2009-10). The Zips went 19-10 in 2004-05 (coach Keith Dambrot's first season).   
    • It is just the second time in program history that UA has posted five-consecutive 20-win campaigns (first in Division I era, dating to 1980-81) and first since the 1962-63 through 1966-67 squads did so under coach Tony Laterza.
    • The Zips are a league-best 12-5 in away/neutral games this season (4-1 and have won four in-a-row on a neutral floor). UA went 7-4 in road games (6-2 in MAC) this season and won five-consecutive conference away games to end the regular season (dating to Jan. 27).
    • The Zips are ranked No. 20 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 and have been ranked all 16 weeks of the season (preseason No. 8).
    • The Zips use a 10-man rotation (eight players average over 16 minutes, but none ranked among the MAC's top 30 in minutes played) and have just one player averaging double-figure points (Brett McKnight, 10.2 ppg), while six average between 9.8 and 7.0 ppg.
    • Akron is the only school in Division I this season to have posted 20-plus wins and have only one player averaging double-figure points.
    • UA has allowed only five opponents to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor this season (twice in MAC play, both versus Kent State and 51.7 percent/30-of-58 both times). Conversely, the Zips have shot 45 percent or better from the floor 13 times and 50 percent or higher on six occasions.
    • Senior forward Jimmy Conyers was named the MAC's Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-MAC First Team, while brothers Chris McKnight (senior forward) and Brett McKnight (junior forward) earned all-league honorable mention and Zeke Marshall was named to the all-freshman team.