Zips to Play Bowling Green at Rhodes Arena on Saturday Afternoon

Saturday, January 13

Akron, OH

2 p.m.

University of Akron

Bowling Green

Tickets

Zips to Play Bowling Green at Rhodes Arena on Saturday Afternoon

January 12 | Men's Basketball

Akron Zips (7-8, 0-3) vs Bowling Green (11-5, 2-1)
Saturday, Jan. 13 • James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, Ohio • 2 PM ET • ESPN3

Bowling Green Head Coach
Michael Huger(Bowling Green '94)
Overall Record: 40-42 (3rd Season)
Record at BGSU: 40-42 (3rd Season)
MAC Record: 14-25 (3rd Season)

AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce(Taylor '94)
Overall Record: 187-139 (10th Season)
Record at Akron: 7-8 (First Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 0-3 (First Season)
Overall MAC Record: 34-33 (at Ohio and Akron)

All-Time Series
Akron Leads: 36-25 - Groce vs. BGSU: 0-0 (3-6 Overall)
Last Meeting: BGSU 66, Akron 65 - February 21, 2017 at Stroh Center

Broadcast
TV/Video: ESPN3 – Michael Reghi (PxP) and Jacki Windon (Analyst)
Live Stats: GoZips.com/Schedule - Live Stats
Radio: Akron-IMG Sports Network - Steve French (PxP) and Joe Dunn (Analyst) WARF 1350 AM (flagship), iHeart Radio, TuneIn.com/Akron Zips

What's Ahead
The Akron Zips will try to snap a three-game winless streak in Mid-American Conference play on Saturday afternoon at James A. Rhodes Arena as the Zips prepare to play Bowling Green at 2 p.m. ET. The game is scheduled to air on ESPN3 with Michael Reghi calling the action and Jacki Windon providing analysis.

Fans can also follow the action on GoZips.com via Live Stats or by Zips' radio. The Zips' radio broadcast will air on the Akron-IMG Sports Network SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship) with Steve French calling the action and Joe Dunn providing analysis. The pregame show starts 30 minutes prior to the contest. The free audio stream is available at SportsRadio1350.com, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn.com/Akron Zips.

The Akron-Bowling Green Series
Saturday's game marks the 62nd meeting in series history between Akron and Bowling Green, and 10th meeting for a Groce coached squad. Akron holds an all-time 36-25 series advantage while Groce is 3-6 against BGSU.

The Zips have won 25 of the last 27 games, splitting the season series last year. The Zips. The Zips opened Mid-American Conference play with an 89-84 win over Bowling Green at James A. Rhodes Arena on Jan. 3, 2017. The last time the two teams met, BGSU picked up the win in the closing seconds at the Stroh Center, 66-65, snapping the Zips' 17-game winning streak against the Falcons. It was Akron's first loss to BGSU since March 1, 2009, a 50-46 loss at Rhodes Arena. Akron has won eight consecutive games at the JAR and 12-of-13 at the Stroh Center.

In addition, Akron posted three wins in the 2015-16 season, including an 80-66 win during the semifinal round of the MAC Tournament. The Zips have met the Falcons four times in the MAC Tournament with the series being tied at two games apiece. In addition, the 2017 MAC opener was the third time in series history that Akron and Bowling Green have met to open the MAC schedule. Akron holds a 3-0 advantage in conference openers, posting a 53-51 win in 1992-93, 71-45 victory during the 2009-10 season, and an 89-84 with this season – all at Rhodes Arena.

Scouting the Falcons
Bowling Green enters the contest with an 11-5 overall record and 2-1 in MAC play. The Falcons are riding a two-game winning streak in league play with wins over Eastern Michigan (81-78 OT) and Northern Illinois (66-57). BGSU opened MAC play with a loss to Miami (77-72) at the Stroh Center. This season, BGSU is 5-3 (1-1 MAC) at home, 5-1 (1-0 MAC) on the road, and 1-1 in neutral site games..

BGSU has five players scoring in double figures and four players with at least 22 made 3-pointers. Justin Turner leads the squad in scoring and steals, averaging 16.1 points on 41.0 percent shooting from the floor (80-of-195) and 39.4 percent from downtown (28-of-71). Turner has swiped 26 passes and leads BGSU at the free throw line, shooting 82.8 percent (53-of64). He adds 57 rebounds, 40 assists, and four blocked shots to the stat sheet.

Dylan Frye and Demajeo Wiggins follow with 13.5 and 13.3 points per game, respectively. Frye leads the Falcons from behind the 3-point arc, draining 33 triples in 84 attempts (.393). Frye has buried 40 bonus buckets while grabbing 58 rebounds, dishing out 33 assists, 14 steals, and three blocks. Wiggins grabs a team-best 8.9 rebounds per game (143 total rebounds) while connecting with 53.1 percent of his shots, mostly in the painted area.

Rodrick Caldwell and Antwon Lillard round out the double-digit scoring, averaging 10.9 and 10.0 points per game. Caldwell drained 27 3-point shots on 80 attempts and pushed out a team-high 56 assists. In addition, Matt Fox is a threat from deep, posting 22 long-distance makes on 46 chances with only two standard field goals (24-of-58).

Defensively, BGSU allows opponents to score 78.2 points a night on 44.4 percent shooting from the field and 36.2 percent from downtown with 8.3 made 3-pt FG per game. The Falcons caused 221 turnovers (13.8 tpg) while collecting 109 steals (6.8 stl/g) and 44 blocked shots (2.8 blk/g). On the glass, Bowling Green outrebounds its opponents 635-612 for a 1.4 margin.

E-MAN Season Cut Short
On Wednesday morning (1/10), sophomore frontcourt player Emmanuel Olojakpoke (Houston, Texas) received difficult news. Due to a medical condition that required surgery, Olojakpoke will miss the remainder of the 2017-18 season. Full details will be disclosed at a later date.

Last Time Out Against Bowling Green
The Akron Zips fell to Bowling Green, 66-65, in the final seconds at the Stroh Center. In a game featuring six lead changes in the final 2:27, the Falcons buried two free throws with 2.3 seconds showing on the clock to take a one-point 66-65 lead.

The Zips went to Isaiah Johnson for their final possession, and he delivered with a layup off the glass for a 65-64 lead with seven seconds left in the game. Immediately following Johnson's basket, Alcegaire raced down the floor and drew a two-shot foul with 2.3 seconds left in the game. He drained both free throws and the Zips attempt to regain the lead fell short. Jimond Ivey led Akron with 13 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. Dylan Frye led the Falcons with 22 points, while Denny followed with 20 points.

Akron shot 35.9 percent from the field (23-of-64), 30.0 percent from long distance (9-of-30), and a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line. The Zips won the battle of the boards 42-38, but lost the turnover battle 14-8. Bowling Green shot 41.0 percent from the floor (25-of-61), 31.6 percent from deep (6-of-19), and 71.4 percent from the charity stripe (10-of-14).

Zips in the MAC
The Zips have posted a 46-23 mark (.667) in the last 69 games against the MAC East dating back to the start of the 2012 league schedule. Akron is 5-2 against the MAC East at the conference tournament during that stretch. Akron is 98-44 in the regular season against the West Division (.690), including winners of 41 of the last 51 regular-season games since divisional play began during the 1997-98 season.

Akron is 49-10 at home in league play since the start of the 2011 MAC schedule (.831). UA has seen a ton of success in league play since the start of the 2004-05 season, and is 155-68 overall (.695), including a 94-17 mark in MAC play at home (.847). The Zips' 155 wins are the most in the league during that stretch. The Zips have won 75 of their last 105 MAC games (.714).

Akron is 27-10 in the MAC Tournament in the last 12 seasons, going 21-6 in its last 27 tournament games. The Zips have won at least one game in the MAC Tournament every year and have made nine MAC Tournament title game appearances in the last 11 seasons with an unprecedented 12-straight semifinal appearances. The Zips' runs of the consecutive title game and semifinal appearances are the longest streaks in MAC history. The Zips are 24-10 at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Zips won 12 consecutive regular season MAC games, dating back to the 2015-16 season. However, the 2012-13 Zips won 19-straight games and rattled-off 13 consecutive league games during that run. Kent State owns the MAC regular season consecutive win record (21), and single-season record (17-1).

In 2016-17, the Akron Zips finished 14-4 in league play, defeating Bowling Green, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Miami, Ohio, Eastern Michigan, Buffalo, and Northern Illinois before falling to Ohio, and bouncing back with wins over Ball State, Eastern Michigan, and Toledo. The Zips dropped two consecutive games to Kent State and Bowling Green, but went on the road and defeated Buffalo and Kent State before falling at home to Miami.

Akron averaged 76.8 points per game in the MAC while shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 36.7 from long distance with 10.0 made 3-pointers a game. The Zips own a -0.6 margin on the glass, being slightly outrebounded by the competition 604-615. Akron averages 14.8 assists (266), 10.7 turnovers per game (193), 5.8 steals (104), and 3.1 blocked shots (56) in league play.

Home Sweet Home
Akron is 7-1 at Rhodes Arena under first-year head coach John Groce, who became the third Akron coach since 1940 to win his first six home games in his first season as head coach. The Zips rattled off seven straight wins at the JAR before falling in the MAC home opener to Buffalo.

The Zips set the all-time longest home winning streak record at James. A. Rhodes Arena with 30 consecutive wins during the 2015-17 seasons, replacing the 26-game run the Zips made during the 1985-87 seasons under head coach Bob Huggins. The streak ranked No. 2 in the NCAA. In 34 seasons at the JAR, the Zips own a 388-120 (.764) all-time record. In the last 13 seasons, Akron has posted a 181-25 (.879) record at Rhodes Arena.

Stepping into the Spotlight
Sophomore guard/wing Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) opened the 2017-18 season as a starter and used the opportunity to lead the Zips to a season-opening win over Cleveland State with a (then) career-high 20 points. He topped that performance in the second game of the season, dropping 32 points and knocking down a career-best eight 3-pointers to lead Akron to a 76-59 win over UT Martin. Utomi is the only Zip to score double digits in 14 games with five 20-plus point performances.

Utomi currently leads the team's scoring efforts with 16.9 points per game, shooting 45.4 percent from the floor (83-of-183) and 43.5 percent from beyond the 3-point arc with a second-best 47 made triples (47-of-108).

Currently, Utomi ranks 28th in the NCAA in 3-pointers per game (3.13), 70th in 3-point FG made (47) , 45th in 3-point FG percentage (.435), 170th in points per game (16.9), and 100th in defensive rebounds per game (5.73).

Chasing 1,000 Points
Malcolm Duvivier is currently 165 points shy of reaching the 1,000 career points milestone. During his three-year career at Oregon State, Duvivier scored 623 points for the Beavers. Currently, Duvivier has posted 212 points for Akron, bringing his career total to 835 points.

Leading a Young Crew
The Akron Zips look to veteran leaders junior guard Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) and graduate transfer Malcolm Duvivier (Toronto, Ontario) to navigate through the 2017-18 campaign. Ivey, the only returning starter from last year's squad, has played 83 career games for the blue and gold, starting 44 of those contests. He earned a starting role last season and has averaged 10 points per game for two consecutive seasons (2015-16 and 2016-17).

In 2017-18, Ivey ranks third in scoring for Akron with 12.9 points per night and second in rebounds 5.6 (84). Ivey Leads in assists with 3.9 per outing (59). He notched a double-double against App State with 15 points and 10 assists. Ivey scored a career-high 25 points against Davidson and followed with 24 points against Concord.

The other seasoned vet on the squad is a transfer from Oregon State. Duvivier played three seasons with the Beavers, accounting for 95 games played with 62 starting appearances. Over that three-year span, he averaged 23.85 minutes per game against some of the best competition in college basketball with 6.56 points, 2.03 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per night. As a sophomore, He scored 10.7 points per game. Only two additional Zips have appeared in more than 30 games for their collegiate careers.

In 2017-18, Duvivier averages a second-best 14.1 points with 3.6 assists per game (54 assists). Duvivier scored a career-high 24 points against App State and Concord. He has scored in double figures in 10 games with four 20-plus performances, 21 points against Davidson and Western Michigan. Against Concord, Duvivier hit a career-best seven triples and has made at least five 3-pointers, including 6-5-7 in three-straight games. Duvivier is tied with 47 made 3-pointers. Currently, Duvivier ranks 28th in the NCAA in 3-pointers per game (3.13), 70th in 3-point FG made (47) , and 85th in 3-point FG percentage (.405).

Akron vs. Buffalo Recap
Playing at home for the first time in 2018, the Akron Zips weren't able to snap their two-game Mid-American Conference losing streak, falling 87-65 to the visiting Buffalo Bulls. Freshman guard Virshon Cotton (Milwaukee, Wisc.) led the Zips' scoring with a career-high 23 points while adding two steals, two rebounds, and an assist in 29 minutes off the bench. Junior guard Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) added 16 points, including three of the team's six 3-pointers. Akron received 38 points in bench scoring as four reserves recorded double-digit minutes.

The Zips (7-8, 0-3 MAC) were ice cold at the outset, missing their first 12 field goal attempts, turning the ball over seven times, and falling behind 27-7 in the game's first 12-plus minutes. Akron's first seven points all came from the foul line as they got into the bonus early. Freshman forward Jaden Sayles (Cincinnati, Ohio) buried the first set of bonus buckets, while Cotton made three charity tosses and Sayles collected two more freebies to get the Zips on the board. A baseline jumper by freshman center Mark Kostelac (Cleveland, Ohio) broke Akron's drought from the field, but the Zips were unable to get closer than 15 points before intermission and trailed 38-17 at the break.

Junior guards Jeremy Harris and C.J. Massinburg combined for nine early points to get Buffalo off to a strong start and the duo combined for 27 points on the night.

The bright spot in the opening 20 minutes for the hosts was strong defense beyond the arc, as they forced the Bulls into 1-of-16 shooting (6.3 percent) from 3-point range prior to the break. Buffalo was able to compensate for its errant marksmanship from long distance by controlling the paint, outrebounding the Zips 40-34 and recording a 44-12 edge on points in the paint.

The Zips were also able to get on track from behind the arc in the second half thanks in large part to Ivey's efforts and made 6-of-11 triples in the second stanza. Despite the improved shooting, the Zips weren't able to cut the margin to fewer than 24 points as Buffalo continued its strong inside play behind 17 points from junior forward Nick Perkins.

E-MAN SHATTERS CAREER MARK
Sophomore frontcourt player Emmanuel Olojakpoke (Houston, Texas) shattered his career-scoring record against Fort Wayne, pouring in 24 points in 25 minutes of work. E-Man erased his previous game-high scoring effort (11 points) by halftime, tossing in 14 points before the break. He continued to elevate his personal stat sheet by doubling his career field goals made and attempted. He knocked down 10 field goals, six more than his previous high, on 13 shot attempts, seven more than before, for a 77.0 shooting percentage. E-Man also made two more trips to the free throw line, burying career-best four freebies on six attempts. In addition, Olojakpoke tied his career-high blocked shot performance with four denials.

Groce Debuts with a WIN
Zips' head coach John Groce has spent over two decades on the sidelines of a basketball court as a coach and enters his 10th season as the lead man, but first at Akron. On April 6, 2017, Groce was named the 22nd head coach in Akron Basketball history. For the last six and a half months, Groce has been preparing a young team for the new season. On Nov. 11, Groce and the Zips accomplished something that has only been done 10 times in Akron's history, debuting a coaching career with a win. Akron defeated Cleveland State 67-57 in Groce's Akron coaching debut to become the first coach since the 1984-85 season to win their initial game.

In fact, the last coach to start his Akron career with a win was Bob Huggins during the 1984-85 season against Western Illinois, 64-57. Prior to Huggins, six coaches were unsuccessful in accomplishing that feat since Thomas Dowler did so in 1939-40 against Franklin, 34-25.

The LeBron James Shoe Deal and Nike Apparel
Since June 2008, the Akron men's basketball program has been partnered with Nike under which the Zips' shoes, game uniforms, warm ups and accessories are licensed under the Nike and LeBron James Trademarks.

The Zips are just one of three college programs in the country that are partnered with the LBJ line of Nike equipment, the others are Ohio State and Duquesne. Akron rocks six pairs of LBJ kicks in three different styles all customized to Akron Basketball.

The Akron Zips men's basketball team have four different uniforms. The white (home) and blue (away) uniforms represent a reinvigorated pride in our University, our City, and Zips Athletics. The designs for both home and away were inspired by the "Pride of the City". The goal is to strengthen the pride for the University of Akron within the community.

The home uniforms are white with dark blue trim and accents, while the away are dark blue with white trim and accents. The "Pride of the UniverCity" uniforms display the name Akron in a prestigious oldstyle script font on the chest with the number(s) below. The script font and numbers are the same color as the jersey top (white/white or blue/blue) and outlined with the opposite color. The inspiration for the script writing and to use Akron on the chest stemmed from tradition and an overwhelming amount of pride for the city of Akron and its University. The game shorts have three distinguishing marks. The right side of the shorts depicts the Zips' mascot Zippy, and her Fear the Roo head logo, while the left side dons the University's official seal. The final mark on the shorts is the notorious Z-logo, which appears on the front waistband.

New for 2017-18, Akron has a grey set of uniforms modeled after the Team USA uniforms. The Grey uniforms feature the script Akron on the chest in blue outlined in the university gold. The numbers are depicted the same way which matches the blue piping that outlines the uniform. The shorts feature the Z-logo on both sides of the leg and are piped with the blue.Akron also has a purple set of uniforms that are worn as a tribute to former coach and director of operations Dan Peters.

UP NEXT
Akron Zips are back on the road for the next league game, traveling to Ypsilanti, Mich. for a divisional crossover game against Eastern Michigan. The Zips are scheduled to play the Mid-American Conference game on Tuesday, Jan. 16 at EMU's Convocational Center. Fans can follow the action on ESPN3, 1350-AM, or GoZips.com.