February 1, 2010

SMART SET FOR COACHING REUNION AS RAMS TO HOST AKRON IN ESPNU BRACKETBUSTERS

RICHMOND, Va. – There won’t be any story telling or posed pictures at this reunion.

This reunion is all about the hardwood as Virginia Commonwealth University men’s basketball head coach Shaka Smart will reunite with his former boss Keith Dambrot of the University of Akron in an ESPNU BracketBuster showdown. The game will be televised on ESPNU and is slated for 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 20th.

This is the second time in the past three seasons that the Rams and Zips have faced off in the BracketBusters showcase, with VCU picking up a 57-52 decision in Akron on February 23, 2008.

In the return game last season, Akron visited the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center and battled the Black & Gold hard before falling victim to the Rams by the count of 73-69.

“It’s a great chance for us to play another quality team from outside our league in our building,” Smart said. “Our focus is clearly on the conference season, but it’ll be nice to have a chance to face off against some of the better teams from other conferences for one night."

This season, the Zips sit at 15-6 and are winners of three of their last four. Akron’s offense is as balanced as it comes with seven guys averaging seven points or more, but none of them reaching double-figures. Junior Brett McKnight and senior Jimmy Conyers lead the way, averaging 9.9 and 9.1 points respectively.

Akron and the Rams have played two common opponents, Western Michigan and Rhode Island. The Zips defeated Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, while the Rams fell victim to the Broncos. VCU defeated Rhode Island, while Akron fell to URI by a five-point deficit.

Now that the rest of the 2009-10 schedule is complete, the Rams will turn their attention to the Seahawks of UNC Wilmington. VCU will make the trek down to the ever-dangerous Trask Coliseum on Wednesday evening for a 7 p.m. contest.