AKRON, Ohio — The Akron Zips Men's Basketball team has been on a tear. They've remained undefeated in conference play to date—and in doing so, have also put together a 12-game winning streak.
It's the longest active streak in men's college basketball across the country.
"You don't try to get too caught up in it," said Zips junior guard Tavari Johnson. "But it's also very cool with so many teams that play college basketball to be the longest winning streak out of everybody."
How have the Zips done it? By simply remaining true to their new identity they've built this season.
"I think the way it's come about, and I've told the guys this and I really do think they believe it, is we've all approached it as 'Hey, we're just trying to go 1-0,'" said head coach John Groce. "It's been one day at a time. What's the most important thing in our program is whatever is in front of us next."
Win after win, the Zips have built a confidence about themselves. It's something the team can appreciate despite not focusing too much on the streak itself.
"Winning these types of games in the fashion that we've been winning is building our confidence as a team and confidence is very important in basketball. So with the way that we're playing and the confidence that we have, I feel like we can beat anybody," said senior guard Shammah Scott.
The Zips have shown dominance for much of the season. Their goal, albeit one week at a time, is all focused on one shared goal.
"To get to March, to get to the tournament and win," Johnson said.
"The goal is definitely to win the championship and advance in March Madness for sure," Scott echoed.
Before that, the Zips will look to extend their winning streak to 13 games as they face Central Michigan on the road this Saturday.
