Zips Battle Ohio Bobcats on Tuesday Night

Tuesday, January 23

Akron, OH

7 p.m.

University of Akron

Ohio

Buy Tickets

January 22 | Men's Basketball

Akron Zips (9-9, 2-4) vs Ohio (9-9, 2-4)
Tuesday, Jan. 23 • James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, Ohio • 7 PM ET • ESPN3

Ohio Head Coach
Saul Phillips (Wisconsin-Platteville '96)
Overall Record: 196-136 (11th Season)
Record at Ohio: 62-52 (4th Season)
MAC Record: 29-31 (4th Season)

AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Overall Record: 189-140 (10th Season)
Record at Akron: 9-9 (First Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 2-4 (First Season)
Overall MAC Record: 36-34 (at Ohio and Akron)

All-Time Series
Akron Leads: 40-38 - Groce vs. Ohio: First Meeting
Last Meeting:Ohio 85, Akron 70 at Convocation Center on Feb. 4, 2017

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 men's basketball team continues Mid-American Conference play at James A. Rhodes Arena against the Ohio Bobcats. On Tuesday, Jan. 23, the Zips are scheduled to host the Bobcats at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be aired 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-Ohio Series
Tuesday's game marks the 79th meeting in series history between Akron and Ohio, and the first meeting for a Groce coached squad. Akron holds an all-time 40-38 series advantage. The Zips have won nine of the last 12 meetings, and Akron is 24-12 against the Bobcats in Akron, winning 13 of the last 15 meetings at Rhodes Arena, including an 83-68 win on Jan.17, 2017. The Zips are 13-24 against OU in Athens, winning three of the last five meetings at the Convocation Center. The Zips dropped the last meeting 85-70 to Ohio on Feb. 4, 2017 at the Convocation Center. The Zips are 3-2 against the Bobcats in the MAC Tournament.

Scouting the Bobcats
Ohio enters the contest with a 9-9 overall record and 2-4 in MAC play. The Bobcats opened league play with a 75-50 loss at Central Michigan, and claimed their first MAC win in the home opener against Northern Illinois (78-68). The Bobcats dropped three straight games, Ball State (75-68), Kent State (70-69), and Toledo (91-57) before snapping the streak the last time out at Eastern Michigan (72-66). This season, Ohio is 7-3 (1-2 MAC) at home, 1-4 (1-2 MAC) on the road, and 1-2 in neutral site games.

Ohio has three players scoring in double figures led by Mike Laster with 15.9 points on 48.4 percent shooting from the floor (106-of-219) and 41.0 percent from downtown with a second-best 34 made 3-point FG (34-of-83). Laster shoots 71.4 percent from the free throw line (25-of-35) while adding 3.0 rebounds (51) and 1.76 assists (30) per game. Teyvion Kirk follows with 14.3 points per game. Kirk does most of his scoring inside the 3-point arc, as 79 of his 86 field goals are 2-point FGs. He leads the squad at the charity stripe, draining 78 free throws on 102 attempts for a 76.5 shooting percentage. In addition, Kirk is the team leader in steals (25) and is second on the glass. He pulls down 5.9 rebounds per game (106) while dishing out a second-best 3.17 assists per night (54). In addition, Kirk leads Ohio at the charity stripe.

Jordan Dartis rounds out the double-digit scoring with 13.3 points per game. He shoots a 42.5 percent from the field (74-of-174) and 41.1 percent from deep (46-of-112) that includes a team-high 46 made 3-pointers. Dartis supports the rebounding efforts with 3.2 boards a game (54) and provides 2.53 helpers (43) on average. Dartis has 17 steals.Teammates Kevin Mickle and Gavin Block contribute 9.4 and 8.5 points per game, respectively. Mickle adds 3.8 rebounds (61) and 1.12 steals (19) while Block pulls down 4.2 rebounds (65) and dishes out a team-high 61 assists or 3.59 per game. Doug Taylor leads the team on the glass 129 total rebounds (7.2 rebs/g).

Defensively, Ohio allows opponents to score 75.1 points a night on 43.2 percent shooting from the field and 33.5 percent from downtown with 8.2 made 3-pt FG per game. The Bobcats caused 249 turnovers (13.8 tpg) while collecting 119 steals (6.6 stl/g) and 59 blocked shots (3.3 blk/g). On the glass, Ohio has been outrebounded by its opponents 655-701 for a -2.6 margin.

Last Time Out Against Ohio
Ohio snapped Akron's 12-game winning streak as the Zips fell 85-70 on the road to Ohio University at the OU Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio. The Zips went nearly two months without a loss, dating back to Dec. 10 against No. 1 ranked Gonzaga.

The game featured eight lead changes and five tied scores before the Bobcats pulled away for the final time on a Jordan Dartis 3-pointer at the 4:31 mark. Ohio ended the game with 12 consecutive free throws for the 15-point win. Jaaron Simmons scored a game-high 38 points, which included a 5-of-5 showing from downtown and 13-of-16 effort from the free throw line. He also pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds.

For the Zips, Isaiah Johnson and Antino Jackson led the way with 18 and 14 points, respectively. Johnson connected on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and a 4-of-7 performance from the charity stripe, while Jackson went 3-of-8 from deep and 3-of-4 from the foul line. Senior forward Kwan Cheatham, Jr. and sophomore guard Josh Williams had nine points each , and Cheatham led the team on the glass with 13 rebounds.

The Zips were whistled for 30 fouls, sending the Bobcats to the charity stripe 38 times while connecting with 30 of those attempts for a 78.9 percentage. The Zips attempted 16 free throws and drained 11 bonus buckets for a 68.8 percent showing.

For the game, the Zips shot 37.9 percent from the field collectively, including a 9-of-37 (.243) performance from deep. Ohio used a 23-of-48 (.479( effort from the floor and 9-of-22 (.409) performance from long distance. On the glass, Akron held a slight 36-35 advantage as turnovers and assists were tied at 10 apiece.

Zips in the MAC
The Zips have posted a 46-24 mark (.657) in the last 70 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 99-44 in the regular season against the West Division (.692), including winners of 42 of the last 52 regular-season games since divisional play began during the 1997-98 season.

Akron is 50-10 at home in league play since the start of the 2011 MAC schedule (.833). UA has seen a ton of success in league play since the start of the 2004-05 season, and is 157-69 overall (.695), including a 95-17 mark in MAC play at home (.848). The Zips' 157 wins are the most in the league during that stretch. The Zips have won 76 of their last 107 MAC games (.710).

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. 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 averaged 14.8 assists (266), 10.7 turnovers per game (193), 5.8 steals (104), and 3.1 blocked shots (56), but were slightly outrebounded 604-615 in league play.

Duvivier Selected as Mid-Major Madness Top Canadian
Duvivier is a graduate transfer from Oregon State, where he helped lead the Beavers to their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 1990 in 2015-16. He has a wealth of experience having played against several future NBA stars in the Pac-12, and has brought that leadership with him to Akron. Duvivier is big, strong and explosive and has made a major impact this year. He's averaging 14.1 points, along with 3.7 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game. Expect to see Duvivier receive all-conference accolades, and be in the running for MAC POY.

Canada has become a hot bed for top college and NBA players, with well over 100 Canadians currently playing Div. I basketball. There are currently 77 Canadian-born players on mid-major rosters, which includes a four-way tie for the most Canadians; Harvard, Vermont, Sienna and Canisius all have three Canadians on the roster.

Home Sweet Home
Akron is 9-1 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 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 391-121 (.764) all-time record, and in the last 13 seasons, Akron has posted a 184-26 (.879) record at the JAR.

Chasing 1,000 Points
Malcolm Duvivier is currently 123 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 254 points for Akron, bringing his career total to 877 points.

Building on a Career Week
During the week of Jan. 9, freshman guard Virshon Cotton led the Zips men's basketball team through a 1-1 week en route to lifting Akron to its first Mid-American Conference win by draining a game-winning 3-pointer against Bowling Green. Cotton led Akron's scoring effort in both games, scoring a career-high 23 points twice last week. For the week, Cotton scored 46 points (23 pts/g) on 11-of-19 (.579) shooting from the field and 6-of-11 (.545) from deep. He buried 18-of-22 (.818) free throws to go along with five rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

Against Bowling Green, Cotton buried the game-winner from long distance with 3.7 seconds remaining in regulation. He led Akron to an 80-78 victory with a career-high 23 points on 6-of-9 (.667) shooting from the floor which included a 5-of-7 (.714) performance from downtown. Cotton added a 6-of-7 (.857) effort from the free throw line to go along with three rebounds and three assists.

The Zips opened the week with an 87-65 loss to Buffalo as Cotton posted a team-high 23 points on 5-of-10 (.500) shooting from the field. Cotton made a career-best 15 trips to the free throw line and connected with a career-high 12 bonus buckets for an 80.0 percent showing from the charity stripe. He added two steals, two rebounds, and an assist.

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.

Statement from Akron Basketball head coach John Groce on Emmanuel Olojakpoke:
"Yesterday (1/10), Emmanuel Olojakpoke had successful open-heart surgery. He is resting and expecting a full recovery. We fully anticipate this recovery will require him to miss the remainder of the 2017-18 season. The Zips basketball family is committed to assisting E-Man in his return to full health. We ask to keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Please allow E-Man and the entire Olojakpoke family the privacy they deserve at this time." #EManStrong

In 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 15 games with five 20-plus point performances.

Utomi currently leads the team's scoring efforts with 15.6 points per game, shooting 42.9 percent from the floor (91-of-212) and 40.8 percent from beyond the 3-point arc with a second-best 53 made triples (53-of-130).

Currently, Utomi ranks 47th in the NCAA in 3-pointers per game (2.94), 74th in 3-point FG percentage (.408), 81st in 3-point FG made (53), and 104th in 3-point attempts (130).

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 86 career games for the blue and gold, starting 47 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 tied for the lead in rebounds 6.1 per game (109). Ivey Leads in assists with 4.0 per outing (72). He posted two double-doubles, most recently against Northern Illinois (1/20) with 15 points and 10 rebounds and App State (12/9) 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 3.5 assists per game (63 assists). Duvivier scored a career-high 24 points against App State and Concord. He has scored in double figures in 13 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 in five games, including 6-5-7 three-straight game stretch. Duvivier leads the squad with 55 made 3-pointers.

Currently, Duvivier ranks 32nd in the NCAA in 3-pointers per game (3.06), 61st in 3-point FG made (55), 67th in 3-point FG percentage (.414), and 94th in 3-point attempts (133).

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.

Akron vs. Northern Illinois Recap
Another red-hot shooting night from graduate transfer guard Malcolm Duvivier (Toronto, Ontario) and all-around excellent marksmanship from 3-point range propelled the Akron Zips to an 82-67 Mid-American Conference win over the Northern Illinois Huskies Saturday evening at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Duvivier made 4-of-7 of his 3-point field goals, scoring 17 points, and added four assists and three rebounds to power an Akron offense that made a season-high 15-of-31 3-pointers to take control and earn the Zips their second MAC win of the season. The 15 made 3-pointers tied Akron's season high, set in a Nov. 18 win over UT-Martin.

Four Zips scored in double figures as freshman Virshon Cotton (Milwaukee, Wisc.) matched Duvivier's 17-point total, nailing five 3-pointers while shooting 50 percent from deep. Sophomore Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) buried 4-of-6 shots from long distance en route to a 16-point effort, while junior Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) recorded his second double-double of the season via 15 points and 10 rebounds with a team-best five assists.

Both teams got off to a slow start, with neither side reaching double digits until the 13:23 mark of the opening half. Akron was able to get itself on track thanks to a trio of 3-pointers by Duvivier and Cotton, with Duvivier hitting the first two and Cotton pushing the Zips (9-9, 2-4 MAC) to the game's largest lead of the first 10 minutes, a 19-11 edge at the 9:58 mark of the half.

Back-to-back layups by freshman Torrey Patton (Cincinnati, Ohio) pushed the lead to 10 points, extending a 17-2 run for the hosts. A pair of free throws by freshman guard Gairgas Deow ended the Akron run, but the Huskies (9-10, 2-4 MAC) were unable to close the gap in the final seven minutes of the half despite multiple driving layups by junior guard Dante Thorpe.

The Zips headed to the locker room at the half with a 43-30 edge, fueled by a massive advantage from beyond the arc. With 9-of-17 shooting from long range and the Huskies missing 4-of-5 3-pointers in the frame, Akron was plus-24 in that category for the opening 20 minutes.

Akron's offensive success during the first half stemmed largely from good ball movement and passing as the Zips had 10 assists on 14 made field goals during that time, while Northern Illinois didn't record a single assist before intermission. Northern Illinois, which ranks last in the MAC in assists per game, tallied just four on the night. All eight players that entered the game for Akron had at least one assist as the Zips posted 19 helpers on 29 made field goals.

The Huskies were able to keep themselves relatively close in the first half thanks to a staggering 13-3 edge at the foul line, where they attempted 17 shots to Akron's three in the period. For the game, Northern Illinois attempted 33 free throws to Akron's 12 charity tosses.

The Huskies were able to cut their deficit to nine early in the second half, 50-41, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Utomi and Ivey pushed the lead back to 15. Moments later, a string of five straight 3-pointers - three by Utomi with one each by Ivey and Duvivier - boosted Akron to a 64-44 lead.

Despite a few last-ditch rally attempts by the visitors in the final eight minutes of the game, the Zips were able to hold on for a valuable conference win.

Sophomore guard Eugene German led Northern Illinois with 16 points, while Daow and Thorpe each had 14 in defeat.

Akron vs. Eastern Michigan Recap
Freshman guard Eric Parrish (Cypress, Texas) scored a career-high 18 points as the Akron Zips fell 63-49 to Eastern Michigan at the Convocation Center. Parrish paced the Akron (8-9, 1-4 MAC) offense in the first half, scoring 12 points by intermission. He shot 5-of-8 from the field, including a perfect 2-of-2 effort from beyond the 3-point arc. He swiped three of his four steals in the first stanza. Parrish finished the game 7-of-15 from the floor and 2-of-5 from downtown with a perfect 2-of-2 performance from the charity stripe. He added four rebounds and three assists.

Akron and Eastern Michigan (11-7, 2-3 MAC) battled in the opening frame that featured four tied scores and two lead changes. With 4:31 left until the break, the Eagles used an 8-0 run to take a 34-25 lead with 2:08 left to play. Parrish scored the half's final bucket as the home team entered the locker room with a 34-27 advantage.

Akron opened the second half shooting 1-of-8 as the Eagles built a 10-point lead by 15:47 mark. An Ivey 3-pointer at 9:40 sparked a 5-0 run and forced the Eagles into a timeout with 8:48 remaining in the game. EMU pushed the lead back to 10 points after Minnie connected from deep as the shot clock expired and Jackson finished a fast break, giving the Eagles a 53-43 edge at the 6-minute mark.

Freshman Mark Kostelac (Cleveland, Ohio) stopped EMU's 5-0 run with a strong post move and senior transfer Malcolm Duvivier (Toronto, Ontario) followed with a pair of free throws to bring Akron within six points, 53-47, but the Eagles outscored the Zips 10-the rest of the way.

The Zips finished the game shooting 17-of-55 (.309) from the field with a 7-of-29 showing from downtown (.241). Akron was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line.Akron won the turnover battle 12-14 but was slightly edged on the glass 32-34.

EMU was led by Elijah Minnie and Paul Jackson with 22 and 20 points, respectively. The Eagles shot 46.7 percent from the floor (21-of-45) and 38.9 from deep (7-of-18). EMU added a 70.0 percent effort from the free throw line (14-of-20). Duvivier added 12 points to the Zips total while junior Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio), sophomore Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas), and freshman Virshon Cotton (Milwaukee, Wisc.) chipped in five points each.

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
The Akron Zips are back on the road for a Saturday matinee game in Muncie, Ind against Ball State. Tip-off is set for Noon on Saturday, Jan. 27 as CBS Sports Network will air the game. Fans can also follow the action on 1350-AM or GoZips.com.