It appears the University of Akron basketball team is getting healthy just when no other alternative will do.

Senior center Jeremiah Wood, the Zips' leading scorer and rebounder, might return from knee surgery two weeks ahead of schedule.

Coach Keith Dambrot said Monday that Wood might play Saturday in the ESPN BracketBusters game at Rhodes Arena against Virginia Commonwealth.

''If it were a life-or-death situation, he could play (now),'' said Dambrot, whose team will be without Wood tonight in a Mid-American Conference game at Miami (13-11, 7-5 MAC). ''But it isn't, and he is not quite ready yet. I think you will see him on Saturday.

''He may be at a lower level . . . but with a week of practice (the next game after VCU is March 1 against Buffalo) and getting back into better shape, you'll see him the rest of the way.''

Wood had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee Feb. 9. The original timetable had him returning for the Kent State game March 9 or the MAC Tournament on March 12-15.

Since then, Wood has been icing the knee, stretching it and riding a stationary bicycle for about three hours a day.

''He has a lot of grit and determination,'' Dambrot said. ''Things are possible when you have a good belief structure. . . . He has worked very hard.''

Wood was one of the honorees at the Dapper Dan Club of Akron awards banquet Sunday
night at Tangier. He was walking with much less of a limp than on Tuesday, when he attended the home loss to Northern Illinois and was more optimistic than Dambrot about his return.

''I told people I was going to be back sooner than later,'' Wood said at the banquet. ''I am feeling pretty good. I guarantee I will play Saturday.''

Dambrot also is hopeful that Cedrick Middleton, who has been hampered by a sore knee for two months, can be as productive as he was last Saturday in a 65-56 win at Bowling Green.

Middleton scored 14 points against the Falcons. It was the first time he had reached double figures since he scored 15 on Jan. 12 in a 76-68 triumph over Buffalo.

Because of his knee injury and pain in his hip, Middleton has been rested in practice more and played less in hopes that inactivity would help.

That has not proven to be the case, and it worked against him because he was rusty. So Dambrot has had him practicing hard in recent days and used him for 30 minutes against Bowling Green.

''Physically, Ceddy told me today that he feels better than he has over a four-day stretch than he has all season,'' Dambrot said.

Middleton and senior Nick Dials tonight could join Wood as 1,000-point scorers in their UA careers. Middleton has 997 points and Dials has 989 as Zips. Dials also scored 85 points at Ohio State as a freshman, so he has 1,074 as a collegian.

The Zips (18-7, 8-4) will need Wood, Middleton and Dials (hip flexor) to be healthy for the season's stretch run.

After Miami and VCU, the Zips have only three more regular-season games: home against Buffalo on March 1, at Ohio University on March 4 and home against Kent State on March 9.

A major focus now is on securing one of the four first-round byes at the MAC Tournament.

East leader Kent State and West leader Western Michigan appear to have two berths in hand. The other two spots go to teams with the next best records, probably UA, Miami or Ohio. The Zips are two games behind the Flashes; the Red-Hawks and Bobcats are three games behind.

So the matchup tonight in Oxford between two of the bye contenders could clear up the picture.

''It is that time of year when you have to start thinking about it (the bye),'' Miami coach Charlie Coles said. ''We are playing an awfully good Akron team . . . so that's our main focus.

''But in the back of my mind is the bye, because you think of what a good deal it is not to have to play that first day.''

The RedHawks have won six of their past seven games to put themselves into a third-place tie in the MAC East Division. Their only loss in that stretch was in overtime at Western Michigan on Feb. 12.

The Zips defeated Miami 69-54 at home Jan. 5, but this one will be at Millett Hall, where UA has lost for six years.