Oral Roberts paired with Akron in BracketBuster game

Related Story: ORU reserve Mikey Manghum doubtful this weekend

Oral Roberts basketball players were disappointed when they heard the news Monday, but not that disappointed.

The Golden Eagles will host Akron of the Mid-American Conference in a Feb. 18 BracketBusters game.

The game is one of 13 from the 142-team pool to be televised by the ESPN family of networks. It will air at 1 p.m. on ESPN or ESPN2. The TV games were announced on ESPNU.

ORU officials were hopeful of a matchup with Wichita State of the Missouri Valley Conference or more of a regional rival. Hundreds of Shockers fans might have made the three-hour trek to see their team in action.

At the very least, the Eagles hoped for a higher team in the Ratings Percentage Index to potentially help their own numbers. Akron is 58 in the RPI and ORU is 49. Wichita State is 31.

ORU head coach Scott Sutton said, "I thought it was a natural that Wichita State would come here" once the first two TV matchups were announced - No. 18 Saint Mary's at No. 10 Murray State and Long Beach State at No. 13 Creighton.

"But we'll play who they tell us to play, and we're thankful to be on ESPN," Sutton said.

Senior forward Dominique Morrison said, "We can't be disappointed going into a game on ESPN. It's the first game we have on ESPN this year, so we have to be happy about that. I was surprised when I heard it was Akron, but we'll have to be prepared when we get a chance to play them."

The teams have met four times previously, with Akron winning all four meetings. That includes two in the Scott Sutton coaching era.

ORU lost in Akron 84-80 last January in its first of four games that the high-scoring Morrison was sidelined with a knee injury. The Zips won 61-59 at the Mabee Center on Dec. 2, 2006.

"We've played 'em twice and they've beaten us both times," Sutton said. "I know quite a lot about them and (head coach Keith Dambrot's) program."

In Dambrot's eighth season, the Zips are 14-7 overall and 6-1 atop the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.

They are led by junior 7-footer Zeke Marshall (10.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and 6-foot-8 senior Nikola Cvetinovic (10.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg).

The Eagles are 3-3 in previous BracketBusters games. This will be their first TV game in four years. The Eagles drew crowds of 9,987 for Utah State in 2007 and 8,512 for Creighton in 2008.

Tough road

At S. Dakota St.

7 p.m. Thursday

At N. Dakota St.

7:30 p.m. Saturday

Radio: KYAL am1550

League leaders

	W	L
ORU	12	0
SDSU	9	2
NDSU	7	4

Akron Zips at a glance

Record: 14-7, 6-1 Mid-American Conference (first in MAC East)

NCAA RPI: 58

Previously: Akron beat ORU 84-80 last season in Akron. The Zips have won all four previous meetings.

Streaking: Akron has won 11 of its last 13 games.

Leading scorer: The Zips' balanced attack is led by 7-foot center Zeke Marshall at 10.4 points a game. Marshall is the nation's 12th-best shot blocker at three per game.

Six other Zips players average between 7 and 10 points a contest.

Original Print Headline: ORU set for Akron matchup on ESPN

Mike Brown 918-581-8390
mike.brown@tulsaworld.com

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Oral Roberts paired with Akron in BracketBuster game

Oral Roberts basketball players were disappointed when they heard the news Monday, but not that disappointed.

Tough road

League leaders

Akron Zips at a glance