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No City of Akron basketball tonight
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Pet telethon re-airs
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NBC Releases Olympics Announcer List
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Zips favored on road against MAC West leader
Tribe Matters:
Blogmail response on Hafner
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth's contract terminated
Balanced Ledger:
QB in Browns future: another mock draft
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – February 9
Cleveland Cavaliers:
NBA Power Rankings from Around the Internet
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day
Varsity Letters:
Five local gridders to play in Big33
All Da King's Men:
Palin At The Tea Party Convention
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Republican Pre-Conditions
Akron Law Café:
Law, Love and Chocolate
Car Chase:
Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
Sound Check:
Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
HRLite House:
OFCCP Report
Akron Gamer:
Makers of 'Castle Crashers' unveil 'BattleBlock Theater'
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 06:30 p.m. EST, Nov 28, 2009
The schools themselves are radically different, but their basketball teams are eerily similar.
The University of Akron (3-2) and Niagara University (4-2) meet today at Rhodes Arena in a matchup of midmajor powers that are perennial NCAA Tournament contenders.
UA is an urban, state-supported university with an enrollment of about 28,000. Niagara is a private Catholic college of 3,800 in a rural area outside Niagara Falls, N.Y.
However, on the court, the teams are both ranked in thecollegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 (Niagara is No. 15, and the Zips are No. 18), are always in contention in their respective conferences and recruit similar players.
''Niagara is very good. They are one of the best midmajors in the country and are better than some of the majors. They are a very talented team. They are like we have been with the 6-5, 6-6, 6-7 players,'' Zips coach Keith Dambrot said, referring to the height of inside and wing players.
Another similarity is that both teams competed recently in the Glenn Wilkes Classic, and both finished with 2-2 records. They had two common opponents, both with common results.
The Zips lost to Austin Peay 80-77, and the Purple Eagles lost to the Governors 69-67. Against Howard, UA prevailed 69-52 and Niagara won 82-77.
Niagara, a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, has been led by transfers Bilal Benn (Villanova) and Rob Garrison (Xavier). The Eagles have been bolstered by the return of guard and 3-point specialist Tyrone Lewis, who has missed time because of a foot injury.
''They have very good quickness and are a little loose on offense,'' Dambrot said. ''We have to do a really good job of keeping them in front of us and of rebounding the basketball.''
The teams played a memorable game last season at Niagara, with the Zips using a 15-2 run in the final 5:30 to win 63-59. It was one of only two losses Niagara had at home last season.
''They led us the whole game, pretty much controlled it,'' Dambrot said. ''We clamped down at the end and won the game.''
Victory Friday night
The Zips blew a 13-point, second-half lead before beating Arkansas-Pine Bluff 68-65 Friday night. Nikola Cvetinovic led the Zips with 12 points, including the go-ahead basket with 41 seconds left.
UA plays Friday at Texas A&M and returns home to meet Malone on Dec. 12.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
The schools themselves are radically different, but their basketball teams are eerily similar.
The University of Akron (3-2) and Niagara University (4-2) meet today at Rhodes Arena in a matchup of midmajor powers that are perennial NCAA Tournament contenders.
UA is an urban, state-supported university with an enrollment of about 28,000. Niagara is a private Catholic college of 3,800 in a rural area outside Niagara Falls, N.Y.
However, on the court, the teams are both ranked in thecollegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 (Niagara is No. 15, and the Zips are No. 18), are always in contention in their respective conferences and recruit similar players.
''Niagara is very good. They are one of the best midmajors in the country and are better than some of the majors. They are a very talented team. They are like we have been with the 6-5, 6-6, 6-7 players,'' Zips coach Keith Dambrot said, referring to the height of inside and wing players.
Another similarity is that both teams competed recently in the Glenn Wilkes Classic, and both finished with 2-2 records. They had two common opponents, both with common results.
The Zips lost to Austin Peay 80-77, and the Purple Eagles lost to the Governors 69-67. Against Howard, UA prevailed 69-52 and Niagara won 82-77.
Niagara, a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, has been led by transfers Bilal Benn (Villanova) and Rob Garrison (Xavier). The Eagles have been bolstered by the return of guard and 3-point specialist Tyrone Lewis, who has missed time because of a foot injury.
''They have very good quickness and are a little loose on offense,'' Dambrot said. ''We have to do a really good job of keeping them in front of us and of rebounding the basketball.''
The teams played a memorable game last season at Niagara, with the Zips using a 15-2 run in the final 5:30 to win 63-59. It was one of only two losses Niagara had at home last season.
''They led us the whole game, pretty much controlled it,'' Dambrot said. ''We clamped down at the end and won the game.''
Victory Friday night
The Zips blew a 13-point, second-half lead before beating Arkansas-Pine Bluff 68-65 Friday night. Nikola Cvetinovic led the Zips with 12 points, including the go-ahead basket with 41 seconds left.
UA plays Friday at Texas A&M and returns home to meet Malone on Dec. 12.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
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