As the University of Akron continues to roll through its season, coach Keith Dambrot keeps passing milestones.
A month ago, Dambrot notched career win No. 400, and a win Tuesday against Toledo at Rhodes Arena would be his 300th at UA.
The Zips, 21-4 overall and 11-1 in the Mid-American Conference, have won 29 consecutive home games, the second-longest such streak in the nation. The Rockets are 13-12 overall and 6-6 in the MAC.
It’s a testament to Dambrot’s ability to sustain a high level of play from his team that’s led not only to success, but to expectations of success from his players.
But he’ll be the first to say that personal coaching records are of little matter right now.
“I want to win the regular season, win the MAC tournament and win in the NCAA tournament,” Dambrot said. “That’s all that matters to me.”
This team may be the best-suited to accomplish all of those goals since the 2012-13 team that went on a 19-game winning streak only to watch the season unravel because of a player’s arrest and an illness that struck several players before an 88-42 loss to VCU in the NCAA tournament.
The Zips currently enjoy a four-game lead in the MAC East Division, but Dambrot said he doesn’t take any wins or any postseason appearances for granted.
“You can have a good team every year and not go to the NCAA tournament,” Dambrot said.
He remembered how Miami defeated the Zips 53-52 in the 2007 MAC championship game on a 40-foot bank shot with no time on the clock.
“I swear to God for three days after I thought to myself, ‘We’re never going to the NCAA tournament,’ ” Dambrot said. “That’s how bad of karma I thought we had at that point.”
The MAC Tournament will show how much karma the Zips have working for or against them in March.
The MAC scramble
Why is the MAC no lock for anyone?
Because this may be the most perplexing season in some time. It’s difficult to discern whether the Zips are that much better than every other team in either division or whether the rest of the teams are struggling. Except for UA, every MAC team has at least five conference losses, and four teams are tied for the West lead with 6-6 records.
At the very least, the Zips have been the MAC’s most consistent team, having not lost back-to-back games all season.
That doesn’t mean they are without flaws. Defensively, UA ranks last in the conference in 3-point defense and ninth in overall shooting percentage.
So who could rise up to challenge the Zips? Buffalo, which has strung together four consecutive wins since losing to UA on Jan. 28, could be at the top of the list.
• Dambrot said he expects his recent move to integrate more bench players — Daniel Utomi, Tavian Dunn-Martin, Emmanuel Olojakpoke — into the rotation to bolster the defense. But it may also come with a trade-off.
“The more we play, the worse we’ll play on offense,” he said.
• Dambrot had to have been heartened by Kwan Cheatham Jr.’s performance Friday at Eastern Michigan. Cheatham broke out of a horrendous shooting slump to hit 5-of-10 shots, including 4-of-9 from behind the 3-point arc, and scored 14 points in the Zips’ 87-76 victory.
• The win over the Eagles gave the Zips and Dambrot 12 consecutive seasons with 21 wins or more.
• Senior center Isaiah “Big Dog” Johnson was named East player of the week for the third time this season after averaging 18.5 points and seven rebounds per game as UA went 2-0.
George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Zips blog at www.ohio.com/zips. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GeorgeThomasABJ.