Analyzing tonight's Akron-Gonzaga game

Gonzaga coach Mark Few paid the Akron Zips the highest compliment when he said: "'I don't think, in 20 years of watching game tape, I have seen a team that plays that hard." This could be the proverbial blow-smoke-up-the-other-team's-butt pregame stuff, but basketball coaches tend to be pretty honest. And Few is right. The Zips play as hard as any team in the country, especially defensively.

That is Akron's key. They are not the most talented team, but they play you-know-what-to-the-wall defense. And sometimes effort can overcome shortcomings in talent.

This is an exciting time for Akron. Coach Keith Dambrot said he heard from the Mayor, old friends, new friends, young people, older people … and one very famous supporter of Akron athletics, a guy from the Cavs who paid for the shoes and uniforms for the Akron team.

"I heard from LeBron via texts," Dambrot said of LeBron James. "I told him 'We couldn't lose with the shoes.'"

"He made jokes when we did the deal. He said, 'You guys better be good enough to wear my shoes.'

"I told him, 'You get me a top 25 player and we might be.'"

Zeke Marshall is coming, but a win over Gonzaga tonight would help get more of those top 25 players. It's a little premature to say the Zips have captured everyone's imagination, but they have a gigantic chance to do so tonight. The NCAA tournament provides that chance in ways few other events provide. Gonzaga might have a home-crowd edge, but tournament fans love underdogs. If Akron is in the game late, the crowd might just be a boost to the Zips.

Russell Holmes was a player on the last Akron team to go the NCAAs, in 1986. He now works for Key Bank in town, and I spoke with him Wednesday for a story that appeared in Thursdays' Beacon Journal.

Holmes was near ecstatic about the Zips success, and he likes their chances. He really, really likes their chances.

"I'm close with Lamont (Paris), the assistant coach, and I shared with him that this team this year reminded me so much of our team back in '86," Holmes said. "From the perspective no one gave us a chance to be successful. We were picked last in the conference. We had a young team with not a lot of experience.

"For them to over-exceed all expectations, and to do it the hard way, is really something. I told him that they have the will to win, that they will succeed."

Holmes scoffs at the notion that Gonzaga is favored. "Let them be the underdog," Holmes said. "There's nothing wrong with teams taking people lightly."

Problem is that Gonzaga might not take the Zips lightly. Not if the words of their coach get through, and not if the memory of two recent first-round tournament losses linger. Gonzaga knows what it means to be the underdog and win, but it also knows what it means to be the favorite and lose.

What does Akron have to do? Here are my thoughts:

• 1) Control the pace. Don't let Gonzaga get the game into the 80s. Akron shot well in the MAC Tournament, but its strength is not an up-and-down game.
• 2) Don't worry too much about giving up some easy baskets. Gonzaga's height advantage will lead to some inside points. It will happen. Akron should defend aggressively, but not get down if it gives up a bunny. Just keep playing.
• 3) Play defense like a banshee from the opening tip until the end of the game. Akron's on-the-ball harassment can be very disruptive. Keep it going.
• 4) Shoot well. Sounds simple, but Akron was not a good shooting team until the MAC Tournament. I saw some games when some of their shots landed like a safe being dropped from a third-story window. But the team found its shooting eye in the MAC tournament. It needs to keep it.
• 5) Get a big game. Brett McKnight is the team's most talented offensive player. Akron will need a good game from him. And it will need good games from Humpty Hitchens and Steve McNees – Hitchens with his quickness and McNees with his outside shooting.
• 6) Keep it close. Hang in until the end and who knows what happens. At that point, Gonzaga will be thinking "don't lose" and the Zips will probably be too young and dumb (he wrote in a complimentary way) to know what's happening.

All that has to go well for the Zips. Can it all happen? Yes. Is it likely? No. Akron would have been better off with a Purdue-type team. Gonzaga deserves to be favored. The Zags will win, but it won't be easy. Akron will give them a challenge much like the Akron team in 1986 gave Michigan that challenge.

It will be close until the final minutes, but Gonzaga has too much talent. That being said, Akron will leave Portland proud and buoyed for the future. Gonzaga 74, Akron 62.

Tagged as: Akron Zips, Keith Dambrot, Mark Few, NCAA