Bulldogs clash with first-time MAC foe Akron Sunday
SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team returns to the court following the Thanksgiving break to take on the University of Akron for the first time in program history Sunday night. The game tips off at 5:00 p.m. and can be seen live at gozips.com.
THE SERIES
This is the first-ever meeting between the Bulldogs and the Zips.
SCOUTING THE ZIPS
Four Akron players average double-digit scoring five games into the season, including leading scorer Noah Robotham at 13.2 points per game. The freshman guard also leads the team with 11 assists on a 3-2 start. Though he has played in just one of five contests this season, Demetri Treadwell dominated on the glass in that outing, pulling in 13 rebounds, while Pat Forsythe (10.6 ppg) averages 5.8 boards each time out in five starts. Six players are shooting 40 percent or better from the field, led by Forsythe's 48.8 percent accuracy, while Akron is, as a team, shooting at exactly a 40 percent clip. The Zips average just 66.2 points per game but limit opponents to less than 65 points. Akron has been outrebounded on the year, 39.3 to 33.4. After opening the season with back-to-back wins over UMBC and USC, the Zips are 1-2 in their last three outings, falling to a Miami team that is currently ranked in both national polls and to Penn State on the road. Akron won at South Carolina, 68-63.
BRYANT vs. THE MAC
Sunday's game is just the second time the Bulldogs have faced off against a team from the Mid-American Conference, with the only prior matchup coming back in the season-opening tournament of the 2010-11 campaign. Bryant played Kent State on Nov. 13, 2010 as part of the World Vision Classic in Cleveland but fell, 90-49. And while the Bulldogs are not very familiar with the MAC, seventh-year head coach Tim O'Shea certainly is. O'Shea spent seven seasons at the helm of MAC member Ohio University before arriving at Bryant prior to the 2008-09 season, compiling a 120-95 record during his tenure in Athens.
LOCAL BOYS
The Bulldog roster features a pair of Ohio natives in junior guard Curtis Oakley (South Euclid) and sophomore forward Ellis Williams (Columbus). Associate head coach Happy Dobbs and Director of Operations Frankie Dobbs also hail from the Buckeye State (Berea), while the former has spent time coaching here, serving stints at Cleveland State, Oberlin and St. Edward High School.
GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME
As a primary point guard option last season, now-junior Shane McLaughlin struggled to find the basket, averaging just 3.9 points per game in just over 20 minutes per outing (32 contests). This season as the team's starter, McLaughlin has already shown significant improvement in getting to the hoop and currently ranks second on the team, averaging 8.0 points per game through the season's first three contests. McLaughlin scored a season-high 11 at Vermont last time out.
UNDERWHELMING NUMBERS
Bryant had a tough night in its final pre-Thanksgiving contest, falling to the University of Vermont, 73-47. It was the first time the Bulldogs scored less than 50 points in a game since Dec. 11, 2013 (86-48 loss at No. 3 Ohio State) and came just one game after the Black and Gold scored 50 points in the first half alone against the University of New Hampshire. The Bulldogs also shot under 30 percent for the first time since Feb. 20 (vs. Fairleigh Dickinson).
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs return home for their next contest, hosting Yale at the Chace Athletic Center on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.