Preview capsules for this weekend’s local college basketball games

Kent State's men's team travels to Toledo and Akron travels to Central Michigan in Mid-American Conference contests.

Preview capsules for this weekend’s local college basketball games

Kent State's men's team travels to Toledo and Akron travels to Central Michigan in Mid-American Conference contests.

UA offers Milford’s Mayleben a basketball scholarship

The University of Akron men’s basketball program has offered Milford junior Garrett Mayleben a scholarship, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Mayleben, a 6-foot-8 and 205-pound forward, also has an offer from Wright State. He is averaging 8.2 points and 5.0 rebounds this season.

Western Hills standout receiver to visit UA campus

Western Hills senior wide receiver Josh Smith will reportedly visit the University of Akron this weekend, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Smith, 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, also has scholarship offers from Ball State, Kent State, Toledo, Youngstown State and Kentucky.

Smith had 33 receptions for 433 yards and five touchdowns this past season for the Mustangs, a Division I program in the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference.

UA scouting high school players in Cincinnati

The University of Akron football program is showing interest in multiple Cincinnati Northwest High School juniors, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Defensive back Miles Baldwin (5-10, 170), linebacker Nolan Miller (6-1, 215), defensive back/wide receiver DeQuan Render (6-1, 175) and linebacker Rasheen Jones (6-3, 225) are receiving interest from the Zips.

Struggling Kent State rolls past Northern Illinois, 90-56

Against the Huskies, Kent improved its perimeter defense, forcing 14 turnovers in the opening half and 22 overall.

Struggling Kent State rolls past Northern Illinois, 90-56

Against the Huskies, Kent improved its perimeter defense, forcing 14 turnovers in the opening half and 22 overall.

Surging Akron Zips roll to road victory over Ball State

Quincy Diggs and Brian Walsh scored 16 points each as Akron won for the sixth time in seven games.

Surging Akron Zips roll to road victory over Ball State

Quincy Diggs and Brian Walsh scored 16 points each as Akron won for the sixth time in seven games.

Zips clear away MAC West’s favorite

Men’s basketball

Akron hot-shot the defensive-minded Ball State Cardinals out of the gym, winning 70-58.

The Zips drilled 47.9 percent of their field goal attempts, including 9-of-18 3-point attempts. While Akron made its patented second-half run, Demetrius Treadwell made Jarrod Jones labor. Akron’s depth gave the Zips good wind to push the ball in the last 10 minutes of the game, and that was that.

It looks like Akron has a real chance to win the regular season championship. Going into the second batch of MAC East games at 9-1 or 8-2 would make the Zips the favorite down the stretch.

Akron next plays at Central Michigan Saturday at 7 p.m.

Zips are underdogs at Ball State

Men’s basketball

The most difficult crossover game is also the Zips first game against a MAC West foe.

The Zips visit division-leading Ball State tonight at 7. Oddsmakers give the Cardinals a 1.5-point advantage.

Ball State has the conference’s best defensive stats, plus the MAC’s best assist-to-turnover ratio. Forward Jarrod Jones is second in scoring and second in rebounding. This is likely one of three remaining conference games where Akron is not expected to win (@KSU, @Ohio).

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Cincinnati St. Xavier running back commits to Akron

Cincinnati St. Xavier senior running back Conor Hundley has given an oral commitment to play football on scholarship at the University of Akron, according to Mike Dyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Hundley, 5-foot-10 and 205 pounds, was offered by UA on Sunday and gave his pledge to the Zips on Monday. St. Xavier coach Steve Specht confirmed this to Dyer.

No East Coast bias here, just bad hoops out West: National College Basketball Insider

It is looking like the Pac-12 is a one-bid league for the NCAA madness, no matter what happens in the conference tournament.

More on Harney

Men’s basketball

The talk of fans leaving Rhodes Arena was, “Who is this Nick Harney? And can he do that regularly?”

Read Zac Jackson’s feature on Harney here. Akron takes on Ball State in Muncie on Tuesday.

Akron’s second-half blitz pushes Zips past Kent State, 84-75

Newcomer Nick Harney led a layup parade after a barrage of 3-pointers from the Zips turned the Golden Flashes' hopes aside.

Akron vs. Kent State – Live updates

Men’s basketball

Keep refreshing your browser for in-game updates…

The general admission seats are becoming quite packed, and there’s still 30 minutes until tipoff.

Pregame – Akron 0, Kent State 0

Akron vs. Kent State – Live updates

Men’s basketball

Keep refreshing your browser for in-game updates…

The general admission seats are becoming quite packed, and there’s still 30 minutes until tipoff.

Pregame – Akron 0, Kent State 0

Zips favored by 5 over Flashes

Men’s basketball

Akron is favored by 5 over Kent State in tonight’s game at Rhodes Arena. I will liveblog from the sold-out game.

Kent State, Akron men’s basketball teams renew rivalry tonight

Akron currently is in a three-way tie for the top seed in the MAC Tournament, while Kent is tied for the fourth seed.

Kent State, Akron men’s basketball teams renew rivalry tonight

Akron currently is in a three-way tie for the top seed in the MAC Tournament, while Kent is tied for the fourth seed.

Fear the “dadgum” Roo

Football

Tweet from Coach Terry Bowden…

Sorry I haven’t tweeted too much lately, I’ve been a little busy! I’ll jump into it after signing day. Until then: FEAR THE DADGUM ROO!

Buffalo holds off Akron, 82-70, in men’s basketball

Zach Filzen scored 21 points and Buffalo remained undefeated in the MAC East.

Buffalo holds off Akron, 82-70, in men’s basketball

Zach Filzen scored 21 points and Buffalo remained undefeated in the MAC East.

Ohio dominates Kent State in 87-65 romp

Walter Offutt led five Ohio double-figure scorers with a career-high 19 points in the lopsided win.

Ohio dominates Kent State in 87-65 romp

Walter Offutt led five Ohio double-figure scorers with a career-high 19 points in the lopsided win.

More Local News

• CSU’s Waters patiently awaits Aaron Pogue’s breakout: NE Ohio Basketball Insider
• CSU’s Waters patiently awaits Aaron Pogue’s breakout: NE Ohio Basketball Insider
• Hudson’s Quaison Osborne commits to Akron
• Another test for hot Zips at Buffalo
• Kent Roosevelt’s Curtis Black selects Akron for football
• Canton McKinley’s Kevin Mills commits to Akron
• Canton McKinley’s Kevin Mills commits to Akron
• Xavier still looking to rebound from December brawl fallout: National College Basketball Insider
• Xavier still looking to rebound from December brawl fallout: National College Basketball Insider
• Kent State laments defensive issues in beating Falcons