Men’s basketball

In a way, I’m glad it’s over.

No more talking about bubbles, berths or RPI.

If Akron’s going to the Dance, it’s going to be because they beat Kent State in Cleveland. And that’s how it should be. The at-large talk is just a distraction, and it could be a hindrance in the MAC Tournament.

The RPI will, of course, help Akron if they win the tournament, but that’s another story.

So it’s back to MAC East play. And the Zips will get a warmup of sorts before a three-game gauntlet (@ Ohio, vs. Buffalo, @ Kent) by hosting Bowling Green on Wednesday.

Akron won by a single point on January 11, thanks to a Nick Harney floater. Since that game, of course, Akron has melded (is that a word?) as a team, and developed their spurtability (now I know that’s not a word).

Getting this victory will be critical, because the Zips could easily lose two of their last three in the conference.

I would expect Akron to be at least a 10-point favorite.

Men’s basketball

This is the first semi-meaningful BracketBuster game in a few years.

By this point, prior Zips teams were out of the hunt for an at-large NCAA bid. This year, while the Zips aren’t on “the bubble” per se, they are nearing that status. If they’re going to be considered at all, they have to win Saturday.

Oral Roberts is 24-5 and 14-0 at home. With a 16-1 conference record, the Golden Eagles are running away with the Summit League.

A big reason is senior Dominique Morrison. The 6-foot-6 forward is 12th in the nation in scoring at 20.3 points per game. Somehow, he’s only 4th in Summit League in that category. Regardless, Morrison will be a tough cover for Akron, because the Zips don’t exactly have a shut-down defender in that role, as they have in the past.

It will be a good warm-up for the Zips, because they have faced weak competition for the past few weeks. The following three weeks will be much more trying.

The game starts at 2 p.m. Saturday, and ESPN2 is televising it.