MAC Sports Blog by VanDelay Sports

This is a continuing feature where VanDelay Sports will post capsules on each team focusing on what we’ve seen so far, and what to expect through the rest of the season.

Akron Zips

What We’ve Seen So Far
The Zips are 9-2, at face value, a very impressive record. Unfortunately, when you dig a little deeper than face value the 9-2 record isn’t quite as impressive anymore. Akron’s best win this season so far has been a 2-point home win against Temple. Outside of the Temple win, they haven’t beaten a team in the top 100 of the RPI.

Now this doesn’t necessarily mean that Akron is a bad team, or even that they’re not as good as their 9-2 record. What it does mean is that at this point, we’re not sure how good the Zips are. Really, they haven’t been tested yet.

What to Watch
The Zips will go as their big 3 seniors, Jeremiah Wood, Nick Dials, and Cedrick Middleton go. If you’re going to focus on one guy it has to be Wood. He’s averaging over 13 points and almost 10 rebounds per game. After Wood, there’s not a Zip averaging even 4 rebounds per game, so to say his presence on the glass is important doesn’t really do it justice.

One of the good sides of the easy schedule so far has been the chance that it’s given Keith Dambrot to develop his bench. Akron knew that they’d be able to rely on guys like Quade Milum, Nate Linhart, and Chris McNight to pick up the slack behind Wood, Dials, and Middleton. They’ve also been able to give some valuable playing time to new faces like Steve McNees and Mike Bardo, and guys without a ton of experience like Jimmy Conyers, Nick Goddard, and Darryl Roberts.

Outlook
Like I said, the Zips have yet to prove themselves. They’ll get that chance during the first week of January when they meet Dayton on the 2nd and Miami on the 5th.

I tend to believe that the Zips are slightly below the top tier of teams in the East, but it’s not out of the question to believe that they could contend for the Conference Championship. If they do rise to the top it will be on the strength of Wood, Dials, and Middleton, combined with how deep Dambrot can go on his bench.

Dan Whitmyer is the head basketball writer at VanDelay Sports. He can be reached at dwhit@vandelay-sports.com