Men’s basketball

And the Oscar for the most worthless Zips game of the year goes to …

Duquesne!

You could argue Akron has nothing on the line tomorrow night. This isn’t a conference game. The loss at Miami nearly drowned any hopes of an at-large bid. (Don’t believe me? Watch ESPN and the teams they are saying sit on the bubble.)

The only possible reward for knocking off the Dukes is slightly improving the odds for a better NIT seed, should the Zips not win the MAC Tournament. (Talking with Tom Gaffney last night, I realized the NIT committee cares more about possible attendance when considering first-round sites. Five- to six-thousand would not cut it.)

Just the same, I’ll break down the Dukes for you. It’s 10 things you need to (or possibly might be interested in) learn about Duquesne.

1. The campus is located just outside downtown Pittsburgh. The Catholic university was built into a residential neighborhood, so it has a small-town feel with cobblestone streets. USA Today ranked it one of the nation’s safest campuses. (I’ll get back to that.)
2. The Dukes play in the Atlantic 10 conference. Massachusetts and Xavier are dueling for supremacy and the conference tournament’s first seed. St. Joseph, under Jameer Nelson and Delonte West, has been the most successful A-10 team in the past five years. Duquesne is 6-9 in the conference and 10-16 overall.
3. Five Dukes were shot outside the student union in September. Campus safety comes in many forms — extra lighting at night, patrolling police officers, those blue emergency phones. A shooting spree after a university dance is not one of them. Four players hope to return next season. A fifth, sophomore guard Aaron Jackson, is back in Ron Everhart’s starting lineup.
4. The injuries absolutely crippled the Duke’s size. They now have only one player at 6-foot-7 or taller. That’s 6-10 Kieron Achara, who averages 15.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. The only other big man, 6-9 senior Almamy Thiero, is out indefinitely with a blood clot in his lung.
5. The disposition has led Everhart to alter his game planning. The Dukes rely on a full-court press, full of bloody traps, sure to make an inexperienced point guard wet himself. On offense, they like to run. It makes sense to play up-tempo when four of your five players need booster seats.
6. It was this philosophy that led to Duquesne’s five-game midseason winning streak. They were putting up a ton of points. As the season wears on, however, it is looking like the Dukes are too short-handed to sustain any level of success. Duquesne relies on eight scholarship players and two walk-ons.They currently ride a five-game losing streak.
7. Freshman forward Robert Mitchell leads the team in scoring at 16.7 points per game. He also grabs 5.2 rebounds a night. Jackson and freshman swingman Scott Grote also score a lot.
8. The up-tempo play means both teams probably will surpass 80. Several games have gone into the 100s. Duquesne allows 84.5 points per game. Opponents shoot 50.5 percent from the field and 42.4 percent from 3. Like most teams with no size, they give up a high field goal percentage, mostly because of weak interior defense.
9. Also like teams with no size, Duquesne’s opponents consistently win the rebounding battle. The four players I mentioned are decent on the boards. No one else will have a chance against the Zips three post players.
10. This game means nothing, and I’m bored of writing about this team. Therefore, item No. 10 is as worthless as tomorrow’s matchup.

Football

Two former Zips, Andy Alleman and Luke Getsy, are competing in the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

The offensive linemen were the first to run the 40, and Alleman "cracked the magic number" of five seconds, according to NFL blogger Pat Kirwin. Scouting Web sites are saying he is making a great impression.

The Beacon Journal sent Marla Ridenour out to Indy. She talked about Alleman’s background as a converted defensive lineman from Pitt. The Canton Repository also wrote a feature on the Massillon native and his desire to play for the Cleveland Browns.

Before the Combine, Alleman looked like a third or fourth rounder. That can only improve.

As for Getsy, the Plain Dealer implied on Friday that he would not have received an invitation if it were not for Charlie Frye and the success of other MAC quarterbacks in the NFL. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said Getsy is ranked as the 16th best quarterback.

The newspaper also profiled the continuing rivalry between Getsy and Pitt’s Tyler Palko, who beat him out for the starting job. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review added there are no hard feelings between the two. It added that Getsy thinks his stock will rise most during the interview process, where he can show off his football IQ.

If a team drafts Getsy, I’ll be shocked. If he makes an NFL roster as a free agent, I’ll be surprised.

Men’s basketball

Keith Dambrot showed his emotions while talking to the media after last night’s game.

He said he coached his two sons for the last time at home.

Romeo Travis and Dru Joyce, always the jokesters, snickered at their coach’s comment. They even made subtle pitches for hanging their jerseys in the rafters.

As much has been made about their accomplishments at UA, Travis and Joyce are good guys. Of course, that’s not always the case when you’re talking about star athletes at Division I colleges. They could just as easily have huge heads.

• Tom Gaffney’s ABJ game story talks about the Senior Night festivities.
• I wrote for the Toledo Blade last night. In my game story, BG coach Dan Dakich expresses his frustration about the two unforced turnovers in the last few minutes.
• I will preview the Duquesne game later today.

Men’s basketball

Romeo Travis and Dru Joyce did not consider allowing their team to lose on Senior Night.

Nope. Nu’uh. No way.

Travis had 37 points and 11 rebounds. Joyce managed a great game, scored 13 points and dished seven assists.

The Zips held off Bowling Green 93-87 in front of a near sell-out crowd. In the postgame press conference, Keith Dambrot was very pleased with the turnout.

It wasn’t the best defensive effort, but Bowling Green made a disproportionate amount of 3s, which isn’t always the defense’s fault. Making free throws were a huge problem for Akron, too.

Overall, it was very good to see Travis and Joyce get the respect they deserve from the community. After the game, Dambrot said he doesn’t think people will understand Travis and Joyce’s impact on this program for another 10 years.

While I agree with that, I think Dambrot is downplaying the significance of his own effort.

I’ll have more on the game tomorrow.

Track

Today is all about Romeo Travis and Dru Joyce.

Perhaps some celebration should find the women’s track team, unquestionably the strongest squad on campus.

They took home a third-straight MAC crown today, overcoming a first-day Western Michigan lead. Coach Dennis Mitchell was awarded with the conference coach of the year award. Stevi Large was the Most Outstanding Field Athlete.

Akron’s men took third, which is just about where the Zips were expected to come in.

The Zips overcame the Broncos’ lead in the first event when Rachel Zubricky and Larisa Arcip went one-two in the mile run. Other women winners included Corine Gavin-Hall (200 meter), Colleen Moran (3,000 meter), Jessica Miller (pole vault) and Large (weight throw).

The 200 meter was the strongest event for Akron’s men. Anthony Thomas and Howard Harris took first and second, respectively. James Howell took home the Zips only other win in the 400 meter.

Men’s basketball

After reading Tom Gaffney’s ABJ preview, I’m expecting the entire crowd to start sobbing tonight.

Ironically, Senior Night falls on the game where Dru Joyce will set a new school record in assists. He is only one shy of Eric McLaughlin.

Gaffney brings up another good point: There is actually a game tonight.

The teams met on Jan. 14. It’s a game Zips fans should remember. After taking a one-point lead to halftime, Akron decided to smother the Falcons defensively. The Zips also displayed some of their most fluid offense of the year. Heck, they even went 14 of 16 at the free-throw stripe.

Nate Miller and Martin Samarco are good offensive players. Keeping them down is key, as always.

Expect to see Keith Dambrot use his full-court press again. It caused 16 turnovers the first meeting. Another effective tool was allowing Cedrick Middleton to create off the dribble. Feeding the big men in the post also worked, because Bowling Green is quite small.

The line is Akron minus 18. This game should be a 30-point blowout. My only concern is that Senior Night becomes a distration.

Prediction: Akron 76, Bowling Green 52

Track

Stevi Large broke a MAC Championship record by almost seven feet in the weight throw.

Still, the women trail Western Michigan after day one, 36.5 to 27. The men are 29 points behind Kent State, which scored 59 points. The men sit in fourth place.

The finals begin tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the UA Athletics Field House.

Men’s basketball

I just read a funny column by ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons, whom some have called the best sportswriter in America today.

I wouldn’t go that far. Rick Reilly (Sports Illustrated), Bob Kravitz (Indianapolis Star) and Terry Pluto are my favorites.

Anyhow, Simmons talks about the NBA All-Star Weekend. It’s too bad Romeo Travis and Dru Joyce had a game that weekend. It would be quite an experience to be with LeBron James during some of the crazy happenings.

• Speaking of the Zips duo, the athletic department has prepped the media all week with fun facts leading up to Senior Night. Mike Cawood, the new head of media relations, recognizes how important it is to give Travis and Joyce a nice sendoff.
• His predecessor Shawn Nestor rarely ventured outside the obvious ways to reach out to the media. It was usually Mike Waddell, the associate AD for marketing, who creatively tried to boost Zips exposure. You can attribute almost every cool thing UA does to Waddell’s work before moving to Cincinnati.
• I guess Nestor was doing something right, though. He accepted a better job at Maryland last fall.

Men’s basketball

To cap a career for Romeo Travis and Dru Joyce that has been about stepping out of LeBron James’ shadow, the university will give away wall clings with The King’s likeness on Saturday night.

Ironic? Disrespectful? Good marketing?

I’m not sure. I don’t know Travis and Joyce well enough to assess the situation.

Let’s just hope UA asked these guys about having this giveaway on Senior Night.

The first 3,000 fans in the door get a poster. No matter where you stand on the issue, you must admit the promotion will help ticket sales. I think a poster with Travis and Joyce would accomplish the same goal.

• Akron fans (me included) often complain about home attendance. The community is apathetic. The students are somehow worse. The Record Pub’s Dave Carducci says Kent State has it worse than Akron.
• GoZips.com’s preview points out Akron has not lost back-to-back games this season. It would take an indoor typhoon for that to happen Saturday on Senior Night.
• The BG News previews the game by talking about the Falcons inability to rebound in Wednesday’s 25-point loss against Ohio.

Track

Akron’s Stevi Large is the cornerstone for the Zips women heading into tomorrow’s MAC Championships.

The ABJ’s David Lee Morgan wrote about her recent success.

I’m tired of begging people to attend certain games, but this event should be entertaining on Friday and Saturday.