CLEVELAND, Ohio — The latest installment of the Akron vs. Kent State basketball rivalry is 7 p.m. Friday (ESPNU) at Rhodes Arena. It may lack the sizzle of past encounters but this game still has a lot riding on the outcome before an already sold out arena.
Akron (22-4, 12-1) can lock up its second straight Mid-American Conference regular season title with a victory. The Zips are undefeated at home this season and riding a 30-0 Rhodes Arena win streak overall, second longest in the country. They also have a comfortable lead over the rest of the teams in the MAC with five games left in the regular season.
Kent (14-12, 6-7) has had its ups and downs this season. But the Golden Flashes are still in the running for a potential No. 4 seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament, if they can string together some victories.
Here are four things to watch when the teams play the first of two matchups this season.
En guard: One of Akron’s strengths and Kent’s clear weakness is guard play. The Zips start a pair of juniors in Noah Robotham (8.7 points) and Antino Jackson (11.7) who make up for their lack of size with athleticism, experience and high basketball IQs. The telling stat for Kent’s starting backcourt of freshman Mitch Peterson (5.5) and sophomore Jalen Avery (3.9) is that they are the only tandem in the league that does not average 10 points a game combined.
Fact/fiction: No doubt both teams start their game plans inside; 6-10, 290-pound senior center Isaiah Johnson for Akron and 6-8, 245-pound senior Jimmy Hall for Kent. Somehow the perception is Hall (18.0 points/10.5 rebounds) struggles against the Zips and Johnson (16.7/7.3).
But the fact is the two have almost identical stats from their two matchups last season; 36 points and 20 rebounds for Johnson vs. 37 points and 25 rebounds for Hall. And each had their best game on the opponents home court with Hall posting 20 points and 17 rebounds last season at Akron.
Last season both Akron coach Keith Dambrot and Kent coach Rob Senderoff let the two players offset each other inside, one-on-one, with the game being decided on the perimeter. It’s actually one of the few MAC games all season Johnson and Hall will rarely see double and/or triple-team defenses.
The wild card: For the Akron Zips that could be 6-7 freshman forward Daniel Utomi. He has already posted several explosive games in conference play. Utomi scored 15 points in 17 minutes against Miami on 5-of-7 shooting and 19 points in 15 minutes vs. Eastern Michigan on 6-of-7 shooting (5-of-5 3-pointers). Another player to watch is 6-9 Michael Hughes, a needed big body who recently returned from injury.
For Kent it could be one of several players. While the 6-5 Peterson from Stow does not average double figures, he has had several double-figure games this season and has made some clutch shots.
Another freshman, 6-9 Danny Pippen, oozes potential but has yet to establish himself. He’s a near clone of Akron’s 6-9 senior Kwan Cheatham (12.1/7.8), but has not shown it yet. Then there’s 6-11, 265-pound sophomore Adonis De La Rosa. He is more of a rebounder than a scorer, but has the potential to draw a foul or two on Johnson which could help Kent’s upset chances.
After the fact: Historically, this is a physically and emotionally draining rivalry game. While this matchup is huge in its own right there will still be four conference games remaining for both teams.
That includes the season-ending rematch at Kent on March 3, plus the conference tournament after that. Neither team can afford to be so emotionally invested before the game, or so emotionally drained afterward, that it impacts the rest of the season.
Key games remain for both. Even if Akron locks up the title, a road game next week at surging Buffalo may actually be more important and more telling about the Zips future. And win or lose, Kent also has several important games remaining to solidify their conference standing and can’t afford to be at less than their best, either.
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