# 2009–10 Akron Zips men's basketball team

The 2009–10 University of Akron Zips basketball team represented the University of Akron in the college basketball season of 2009–10. The Zips, led by head coach Keith Dambrot, are members of the Mid-American Conference and played their home games at James A. Rhodes Arena. They finished the season 24–11, 12–4 in MAC play, lost in the championship game of the 2010 MAC men's basketball tournament and were invited to the 2010 College Basketball Invitational where they lost in the first round.

## Before the season
### Coaching changes

Assistant Coach Jeff Boals left the team to be a coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team under head coach Thad Matta. The Zips made sure that head coach Keith Dambrot stayed. Before the season began, The University voted for a two-year contract extension with Dambrot, that would keep him in Akron through the 2015–16 season. This comes after Dambrot's fifth season which the team. Within those five season, he has recorded a 115–51 (0.692) record, including a 64–8 (0.889) record at home.

### Roster changes

Not much will change from last season's team. The Zips only lost one senior starter, 2009 MAC Tournament MVP Nate Linhart, to graduation and professional play in Austria. Along with Lenhart, letterman Eric Coblentz left the Zips to join NAIA team Malone University Pioneers. The team will meet up with Coblentz again, as the Zips have a match scheduled with them on September 12. To replace Linhart, the Zips recruited ESPN Top 100 recruit Zeke Marshall from McKeesport Area High School in Pennsylvania.

### Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Zeke Marshall C | McKeesport, PA | McKeesport Area HS | 6 ft 11.5 in (2.12 m) | 209 lb (95 kg) | May 9, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 92 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Akron Commit List for 2009". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2009. "Scout.com: Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved October 3, 2009. "Akron Basketball Recruiting 2009". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 3, 2009. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 3, 2009. "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2009. ||||||

## Coaching staff

| Name | Position | College | Graduating year |
| Keith Dambrot | Head coach | University of Akron | 1982 |
| Rick McFadden | Assistant coach | University of Akron | 2005 |
| Lamont Paris | Assistant coach | College of Wooster | 1996 |
| Terry Weigand | Assistant coach | Ashland University | 1989 |
| Dan Peters | Director of Basketball Operations | Kent State University | 1976 |
| Cedrick Middleton | Graduate Assistant | University of Akron | 2008 |
| Cole Pittis | Graduate Assistant - Video Services | Muskingum College | 2006 |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 10* 7:00 p.m. | | Mount Union | W 88–38 Stats | | James A. Rhodes Arena (1,058) Akron, Ohio |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 15* 2:00 p.m. | | Austin Peay Glenn Wilkes Classic | L 77–80 Stats | 0–1 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,360) Akron, Ohio |
| November 20* 3:30 p.m. | | vs. N.C. State Glenn Wilkes Classic | L 45–66 Stats | 0–2 | Ocean Center (416) Daytona Beach, Florida |
| November 21* 1:15 p.m. | | vs. Drake Glenn Wilkes Classic | W 63–59 Stats | 1–2 | Ocean Center (321) Daytona Beach, Florida |
| November 22* 11:00 a.m. | | vs. Howard Glenn Wilkes Classic | W 69–52 Stats | 2–2 | Ocean Center (208) Daytona Beach, Florida |
| November 27* 7:00 p.m. | | Arkansas-Pine Bluff | W 68–65 Stats | 3–2 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,115) Akron, Ohio |
| November 29* 2:00 p.m. | | Niagara | W 80–68 Stats | 4–2 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,049) Akron, Ohio |
| December 4* 8:00 p.m. | | at No. 19 Texas A&M | L 62–74 Stats | 4–3 | Reed Arena (7,668) College Station, Texas |
| December 12* 7:00 p.m. | | Malone | W 62–30 Stats | 5–3 | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,381) Akron, Ohio |
| December 18* 7:00 p.m. | | UNC Greensboro | W 83–59 Stats | 6–3 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,226) Akron, Ohio |
| December 20* 2:00 p.m. | | St. Francis (PA) | W 80–51 Stats | 7–3 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,028) Akron, Ohio |
| December 22* 7:00 p.m | | Illinois-Chicago | W 77–65 Stats | 8–3 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,267) Akron, Ohio |
| December 27* 2:00 p.m. | | Valparaiso | W 77–57 Stats | 9–3 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,825) Akron, Ohio |
| December 30* 9:00 p.m. | | at Wyoming | W 85–76 Stats | 10–3 | Arena-Auditorium (4,414) Laramie, Wyoming |
| January 5* 7:00 p.m. | | Rhode Island | L 63–68 | 10–4 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,429) Akron, Ohio |
| January 9 7:00 p.m. | | Bowling Green | W 71–45 | 11–4 (1–0) | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,028) Akron, Ohio |
| January 13 7:00 p.m. | | at Ohio | W 67–62 | 12–4 (2–0) | Convocation Center (6,834) Athens, Ohio |
| January 17 2:00 p.m. | | at Buffalo | L 65–78 | 12–5 (2–1) | Alumni Arena (2,240) Buffalo, New York |
| January 20 7:00 p.m. | | Miami (OH) | W 69–46 | 13–5 (3–1) | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,357) Akron, Ohio |
| January 23 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Kent State | L 70–87 | 13–6 (3–2) | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (6,204) Kent, Ohio |
| January 27 7:00 p.m. | | at Western Michigan | W 79–70 | 14–6 (4–2) | University Arena (3,041) Kalamazoo, Michigan |
| January 30 7:00 p.m. | | Toledo | W 59–45 | 15–6 (5–2) | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,634) Akron, Ohio |
| February 1 7:00 p.m. | | Eastern Michigan | L 59–62 | 15–7 (5–3) | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,674) Akron, Ohio |
| February 3 7:00 p.m. | | Northern Illinois | W 90–76 | 16–7 (6–3) | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,591) Akron, Ohio |
| February 6 12:00 p.m. | | at Ball State | W 75–70 $^{OT}$ | 17–7 (7–3) | John E. Worthen Arena (3,062) Muncie, Indiana |
| February 9 7:00 p.m. | | at Central Michigan | W 56–52 | 18–7 (8–3) | Daniel P. Rose Center (760) Mt. Pleasant, Michigan |
| February 14 2:00 p.m. | | Ohio | W 91–88 $^{2OT}$ | 19–7 (9–3) | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,469) Akron, Ohio |
| February 17 7:00 p.m. | | at Miami (OH) | W 61–56 | 20–7 (10–3) | Millett Hall (2,092) Oxford, Ohio |
| February 20* 4:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at VCU ESPN BracketBusters | L 53–70 | 20–8 | Stuart C. Siegel Center Richmond, VA |
| February 24 7:00 p.m. | | Buffalo | W 77–67 | 21–8 (11–3) | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,975) Akron, Ohio |
| February 27 2:30 p.m. | | at Bowling Green | W 74–68 | 22–8 (12–3) | Anderson Arena (1,927) Bowling Green, Ohio |
| March 5 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Kent State | L 61–74 | 22–9 (12–4) | James A. Rhodes Arena (5,545) Akron, Ohio |
| 2010 MAC men's basketball tournament ||||||
| March 11 2:50 p.m. | (3) | vs. (6) Eastern Michigan Quarterfinals | W 97–89 $^{2OT}$ | 23–9 | Quicken Loans Arena (3,084) Cleveland, Ohio |
| March 12 7:00 p.m. | (3) | vs. (7) Western Michigan Semifinals | W 66–64 | 24–9 | Quicken Loans Arena (NA) Cleveland, Ohio |
| March 13 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (3) | vs. (9) Ohio Championship Game | L 75–81 $^{OT}$ | 24–10 | Quicken Loans Arena (9,533) Cleveland, Ohio |
| 2010 College Basketball Invitational ||||||
| March 17 7:00 p.m. | (E2) | (E3) UW-Green Bay First Round | L 66–70 | 24–11 | James A. Rhodes Arena (877) Akron, Ohio |
| *Non-Conference Game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time Zone. ||||||