The Zips (24-11) needed a week to objectively reflect on their 2007-08 season.

By then, the sting of a 68-63 loss at UMass in the second round of the NIT subsided enough to accurately evaluate Akron's third straight 20-win season.

The Zips took a 58-46 lead over the Minutemen with 8:36 to play and were outscored 22-5 to end the game.

"We ran out of gas," fourth-year Akron coach Keith Dambrot said. "It went right to the wire. We could have won the game. We made some bad plays the last five minutes."

Despite the collapse, the Zips proved to themselves and the college basketball world that Akron is among the overlooked Division I men's programs. They also proved that last year's NIT snub was a gross error.

After a frustrating loss to Kent State in the MAC tournament championship game, the Zips rallied 72 hours later to win 65-60 in overtime at Florida State. With two wins in the MAC tourney and the NIT win at FSU, the Zips met any reasonable expectations for 2007-08.

Furthermore, when factoring in the fluid state of the roster for most of the season, Akron probably overachieved. The loss of 1,000-point seniors Jeremiah Wood, Nick Dials, and Cedrick Middleton will create a huge void.

The challenge of getting to the NCAA Tournament is left for a talented group of underclassmen. They senio trio has no reason to hang their head -- they put Akron back on the college basketball map.

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