Bring on the Zips.
After defeating George Mason 79-67 in the first round of of the Diamond Head Classic on Sunday evening, Iowa State (9-0) will face Akron in second round play on Monday afternoon at 3:30.
In front of President Obama, the Zips (6-2) knocked off Oregon State 83-71. Akron was led by the man they call "Tree," Demetrius Treadwell, who recorded 24 points along with 10 rebounds and four assists in the victory.
Don’t let the Pac-12 vs. MAC thing fool you. Akron, who was picked by many to win its league, was favored by two heading into the game.
Without question, the Zips should pose more of a challenge to Iowa State than George Mason did.
CycloneFanatic.com will be hosting a game watch party at the Keg Stand in West Des Moines in this one. If you’re already off for the holiday, stop on by and join the fun. The Keg Stand will be opening at noon specifically for game watch festivities.
In my Diamond Head Classic Preview that was published on this site a few days ago, I wrote this in a scouting report of Akron:
KenPom.com ranks the Zips (an NCAA tournament team last season) as the 81st best team in America right now and projects Akron to finish 2013-14 with a 21-8 record. This is a good basketball team who many picked to win the MAC. In fact, don’t be surprised if this is Iowa State’s second-round opponent in Hawaii.
Akron enters the tournament with a 5-2 record with losses coming to Saint Mary’s and Middle Tennessee State. Saint Mary’s (who I will get to in a moment) is a legitimate top 25 team and Middle Tennessee State is respectable at the very least. Both were road games for Akron.
Senior Demetrius Treadwell is Akron’s leader, averaging 14.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-7 senior was last season’s MAC conference tournament MVP.
