2008–09 Akron Zips men's basketball team

The 2008–09 Akron Zips men's basketball team represented the University of Akron in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Zips, led by head coach Keith Dambrot, played their home games at Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio, as members of the Mid-American Conference. The Zips won the 2009 MAC tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the 13th seed in the South region. Akron lost its first-round game in the tournament to Gonzaga, 77–64.^[1]

2008–09 Akron Zips men's basketball
MAC Tournament champion
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	East Division
Record	23–13 (10–6 MAC)
Head coach	Keith Dambrot (5th season)
Associate head coach	Jeff Boals (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Lamont Paris (3rd season) Terry Weigand (5th season)
Home arena	Rhodes Arena
Seasons ← 2007–08 2009–10 →

2008–09 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
Bowling Green	11	–	5		.688			19	–	14		.576
Buffalo	11	–	5		.688			21	–	12		.636
Miami	10	–	6		.625			17	–	13		.567
Akron †	10	–	6		.625			23	–	13		.639
Kent State	10	–	6		.625			19	–	15		.559
Ohio	7	–	9		.438			15	–	17		.469
West
Ball State	7	–	9		.438			14	–	17		.452
Central Michigan	7	–	9		.438			12	–	19		.387
Western Michigan	7	–	9		.438			10	–	21		.323
Eastern Michigan	6	–	10		.375			8	–	24		.250
Northern Illinois	5	–	11		.313			10	–	20		.333
Toledo	5	–	11		.313			7	–	25		.219
† Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

2008–09 Akron Zips men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 1 Ronnie Steward 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Fr Columbus, Ohio G 2 Kyle Petersen 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Naples, Florida G 3 Alex Sullivan 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Painesville, Ohio G 4 Steve McNees 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So New Castle, Pennsylvania G 5 Brett McClanahan 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Nitro, West Virginia G 12 Darryl Roberts 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Toledo, Ohio F 13 Nikola Cvetinović 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Loznica, Serbia G 14 Eric Coblentz 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Fr Uniontown, Ohio F 15 Tim Carroll 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Akron, Ohio F 23 Brett McKnight 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Lancaster, Ohio G 24 Anthony Hitchens 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 168 lb (76 kg) Fr Chillicothe, Ohio F 30 Chris McKnight 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Lancaster, Ohio F 32 Jimmy Conyers 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Baltimore, Maryland F 33 Nate Linhart 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Gahanna, Ohio C 40 Steve Swiech 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS Fr Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania F 42 Andrew Parrish 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Dayton, Ohio C 54 Mike Bardo 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Cincinnati, Ohio	Head coach Keith Dambrot (Akron) Assistant coach(es) Jeff Boals (Ohio) Lamont Paris (Wooster) Terry Weigand (Ashland) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: October 17, 2022

Source^[2][3]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Exhibition
November 6, 2008* 7:00 pm		Walsh	W 83–81		Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
Regular season
November 15, 2008* 7:00 pm		Canisius	W 56–46	1–0	Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
November 18, 2008* 7:00 pm		Winthrop	W 72–58	2–0	Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
November 21, 2008* 7:00 pm		at No. 6 Pittsburgh Legends Classic	L 67–86	2–1	Petersen Events Center  Pittsburgh, PA
November 25, 2008* 7:00 pm		Urbana Legends Classic	W 77–68	3–1	Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
November 29, 2008* 7:00 pm		vs. Eastern Kentucky Legends Classic	L 57–69	3–2	Rothman Center  Hackensack, NJ
November 30, 2008* 7:00 pm		at Fairleigh Dickinson Legends Classic	W 85–41	4–2	Rothman Center  Hackensack, NJ
December 3, 2008* 7:00 pm		at Niagara	W 63–59	5–2	Gallagher Center  Lewiston, NY
December 6, 2008* 7:00 pm		Dayton	L 50–54	5–3	Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
December 13, 2008* 7:00 pm		North Carolina A&T	W 78–61	6–3	Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
December 17, 2008* 7:30 pm		at VCU	L 69–73	6–4	Siegel Center  Richmond, VA
December 28, 2008* 7:00 pm		St. Francis Brooklyn	W 77–70	7–4	Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
December 31, 2008* 2:00 pm		at UNC Greensboro	W 75–53	8–4	Fleming Gymnasium  Greensboro, NC
January 3, 2009* 2:00 pm		at Rhode Island	L 50–79	8–5	Ryan Center  Kingston, RI
January 10, 2009 4:00 pm		at Miami (OH)	L 51–64	8–6 (0–1)	Millett Hall  Oxford, OH
January 13, 2009 7:00 pm		Buffalo	L 61–63	8–7 (0–2)	Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
January 17, 2009 4:30 pm		at Bowling Green	W 62–52	9–7 (1–2)	Anderson Arena  Bowling Green, OH
January 20, 2009 7:00 pm		at Ohio	L 65–70	9–8 (1–3)	Convocation Center  Athens, OH
January 24, 2009 7:00 pm		Kent State	W 68–54	10–8 (2–3)	Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
January 26, 2009* 7:00 pm		at Youngstown State	W 67–53	11–8	Beeghly Center  Youngstown, OH
January 28, 2009 7:00 pm		at Toledo	W 70–61	12–8 (3–3)	Savage Arena  Toledo, OH
January 31, 2009 7:00 pm		Central Michigan	W 64–43	13–8 (4–3)	Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
February 3, 2009 7:00 pm		at Eastern Michigan	W 78–41	14–8 (5–3)	Convocation Center  Ypsilanti, MI
February 8, 2009 2:00 pm		Western Michigan	W 87–63	15–8 (6–3)	Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
February 11, 2009 7:00 pm		Ball State	W 63–55	16–8 (7–3)	Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
February 15, 2009 8:00 pm		at Northern Illinois	L 79–83	16–9 (7–4)	Convocation Center  DeKalb, IL
February 18, 2009 7:00 pm		Miami (OH)	W 53–44	17–9 (8–4)	Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
February 21, 2009*		at Valparaiso ESPN BracketBusters	L 66–74	17–10	Athletics–Recreation Center  Valparaiso, IN
February 26, 2009 7:00 pm		at Buffalo	W 62–57	18–10 (9–4)	Alumni Arena  Buffalo, NY
March 1, 2009 2:00 pm		Bowling Green	L 46–50	18–11 (9–5)	Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
March 5, 2009 7:00 pm		Ohio	W 65–58	19–11 (10–5)	Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
March 8, 2009 2:00 pm		at Kent State	L 63–67	19–12 (10–6)	MAC Center  Kent, OH
MAC tournament
March 10, 2009	(5)	vs. (12) Toledo MAC First Round	W 93–92 OT	20–12	Quicken Loans Arena  Cleveland, OH
March 12, 2009 9:30 pm	(5)	vs. (4) Miami (OH) MAC Quarterfinals	W 73–63	21–12	Quicken Loans Arena  Cleveland, OH
March 13, 2009 9:30 pm	(5)	vs. (1) Bowling Green MAC Semifinals	W 63–55	22–12	Quicken Loans Arena  Cleveland, OH
March 14, 2009 1:00 pm	(5)	vs. (3) Buffalo MAC Championship	W 65–53	23–12	Quicken Loans Arena  Cleveland, OH
NCAA tournament
March 19, 2009 4:25 pm	(13 S)	vs. (4 S) Gonzaga NCAA First Round	L 64–77	23–13	Rose Garden  Portland, OR
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Source^[4][3]