The University of Akron’s quest for the Mid-American Conference regular-season crown begins in earnest tonight, when Bowling Green arrives at Rhodes Arena to take on the Zips.
Early in the season when the two teams met, the Zips and coach Keith Dambrot were still in search of an identity after they had scrounged through their nonconference schedule.
That initial game in particular, the second game of the Zips’ MAC season (the Zips won 56-55), had the potential to send their season tumbling.
It took a Nick Harney floater with half a second left in the game to beat the Falcons, giving the Zips (19-8, 11-1 MAC) some sense of momentum.
They have built upon that momentum as they march through the MAC schedule. It was a game the Falcons (14-12, 7-5) should have won. Bowling Green led from the start until the final second.
“It was definitely a game where they controlled most of it, but the game is 40 minutes long. If the game was 30 minutes, 35 minutes or 37 minutes, they win. They led 99 percent of the game; we won at the very end. I still think you have to finish games to win,” Zips coach Keith Dambrot said.
UA will face the same Falcons team, but with a different demeanor, when they tip off tonight. Coach Louis Orr’s Falcons come in on a roll. They are 5-1 in February, peaking just in time for the postseason.
That record includes a victory in a BracketBuster game over Morehead State last weekend.
It’s the most victories Bowling Green has had in a month since January of last year.
Dambrot very well could be looking for something different from the Falcons on the defensive end. In that first game, Bowling Green played man-to-man. The Falcons have played more zone in recent games.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Falcons continue with what has worked for them.
If that proves to be the case, the Zips will have to have their inside-out game working, something they weren’t able to get going until late Saturday in their loss to Oral Roberts.
If the Zips are unable work the ball inside and get open shots from the perimeter, trouble could follow.
The Zips have won more than a few conference games by the metaphorical skin of their teeth but remain in the driver’s seat with four games to play. Three wins, and the Zips are regular-season MAC champs.
UA enjoys a two-game lead over Buffalo, which holds a tie-breaker over UA, and Kent State, which UA holds the tie-breaker over. In addition to the regular-season title, the Zips are also playing for a double-bye into the semifinals of the MAC Tournament that comes with being one of the top two teams from the regular season.
But the Falcons possess their own motivation. With no team in the West Division playing above .500, the Falcons can still earn a one-game bye in the tournament by landing in the league’s top four teams.
Dambrot sees other motivations, as well.
“More dangerous than anything is the success we’ve had against them,” he said. “They felt as if they should have won the last game, circumstances where we ended up winning after they dominated the game.
‘‘We’ve won a lot of games against them and I think that’s the most dangerous part of it. They know they can play with us.”
George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Zips blog at http://zips.ohio.com. Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/GeorgeThomasABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
