The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Detroit Mercy
Akron Prepares for Detroit Mercy on Saturday
November 30 | Men's Basketball
Game Notes (PDF) | ESPN3 | Live Stats | Akron-IMG Sports Network | Season Tickets | Akron Basketball Schedule
Akron Zips (5-2) MAC vs. Detroit Mercy (3-4) Horizon
Saturday, Dec. 1 • James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, Ohio • 5 PM ET • ESPN3
Detroit Mercy Head Coach
Mike Davis (Thomas Edison, '00)
Overall: 355-245 (19th season)
Record at Detroit Mercy: 3-4 (1st season)
Horizon Record: 0-0 (1st season)
AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 199-151 (11th Season)
Record at Akron: 19-20 (2nd Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 6-12 (2nd Season)
Overall MAC Record: 40-42 (at Ohio and Akron)
All-Time Series
Akron leads series, 5-4 - Groce vs Detroit Mercy:Â 1-0
Last Meeting: Akron 79, Detroit Mercy 60 James A. Rhodes Arena, Dec. 18, 2013
In Akron: 3-1 | Neutral: 0-1 | In Detroit: 2-2
Broadcast
TV/Video: ESPN3 – David Skoczen (PxP), Jacki Windon (Analyst)Â
Live Stats: GoZips.com/Schedule - Live Stats
Radio: Akron-IMG Sports Network - Jim Rosenhaus (PxP) WARF 1350 AM (flagship), iHeart Radio, TuneIn.com/Akron Zips
Quick Hits
• A win would give head coach Jon Groce his 200th career victory and 20th win at Akron
• Jimond Ivey is 50 points away from achieving 1,000 career points
• The Zips are ranked 16th in the NCAA for scoring defense only allowing 59.0 points per game
• Akron is ranked 21st in th NCAA for 3-point FGs attempted (207), 36th in total 3-point FGs made (69), and 40th in 3-pointers made per game (9.9)
What's Ahead
The Akron men's basketball program continues its 118th season of non-conference hoops by hosting Detroit Mercy on Saturday,Dec. 1 at James A. Rhodes Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. Under second-year head coach John Groce, the Zips are 5-2 overall and coming off an 86-54 win over Alabama State at James A. Rhodes Arena. Akron is 3-0 at Rhodes Arena and 2-2 in neutral site games this season.
The Broadcasts
The Zips home game is scheduled to air on ESPN3 as David Skoczen will call the action and Jacki Windon provides 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 Jim Rosenhaus calling the action. 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-Detroit Mercy Series
Saturday's contest marks the 10th meeting in series history between Akron and Detroit Mercy with Akron holding a 5-4 advantage. The Zips have won three of the last four meetings and five of the last seven in the series. Akron is 3-1 at home with a three-game home winning streak against the Titans with wins in 1986-87 (82-74), 2011-12 (81-63) and 2013-14 (79-60). The Zips lone home loss was in the series opener during the 1935-36 season (44-43). Akron is 2-2 in Detroit and 0-1 at a neutral site against Detroit Mercy. While at Illinois, Groce's fighting Illini defeated Detroit Mercy 89-69 in the 2016 NIT Season Tip-Off at the State Farm Center.
Scouting the Titans
Detroit Mercy will face six Mid-American Conference teams this season with Akron being their fifth opponent. The Titans are currently 3-4 on the season and 2-2 against the MAC. The Titans dropped its last contest at home against Kent State 76-72. Detroit Mercy is 1-3 on the road and 2-1 at home this season.
Detroit Mercy is led by Antoine Davis' 30 points per game, which ranks second in the NCAA. Davis leads the NCAA in 3-point FGs made (42-of-84), 3-point FGs per game (6.0), FG attempts (158), FGs made (73) and total points (210). He ranks second in 3-point FG attempts (84).
Josh McFolley follows with 14.3 points per game while knocking down 17-of-39 from deep for a 43.6 3-point shooting percentage. Darrian King is also a threat from deep, collecting 13-of-32 shots from long distance at a 40.6 rate. He averages 8.7 points per game.
Defensively, Detroit Mercy has allowed its opponent to score 76.6 points per game on 42.5 percent shooting from the field and 28.4 percent from downtown with 7.4 made 3-pt FGs per game. The Titans caused 94 turnovers (13.4 tpg) while collecting 54 steals (7.7 stl/g) and 22 blocked shots (3.1 blk/g). On the glass, Detroit Mercy is outrebounded by an +8.6 margin, grabbing 239 total boards while allowing the opposition to secure 299 rebounds.
Last Time Out
A smothering defensive effort that kept visiting Alabama State without a field goal for the first 10 minutes of the game carried the Akron Zips to an 86-54 win at James A. Rhodes Arena. Junior guard Tyler Cheese led the Zips with 19 points to go with five assists and four rebounds as five Akron players reached double figures on the evening. Senior guard Jimond Ivey had 13 points, junior forward Emmanuel Olojakpoke added 12 points, junior guard Channel Banks tallied 10 points and junior forward Daniel Utomi recorded 10 points.
Akron was able to take control of the game with a hot-shooting start to the second half. The Zips converted 15-of-19 field goals out of the break to extend its 29-21 halftime lead to as many as 36 points (36-29) and put the contest out of reach. A 21-0 run during that time took a close game and turned it into a rout. Alabama State was never able to get into a rhythm offensively as the Hornets (2-4) led for just 19 seconds in the game and shot just 31.5 percent (17-of-54) for the night. Junior guard Reginald Gee and freshman guard Azariah Seay led the visitors with nine points each, but shot a combined 5-of-11 from the field.
The Zips led 17-3 after the opening 10 minutes of the game despite not scoring a point in the first 2:32 of the contest. Once they broke through, they were able to build a lead quickly as five different players scored in a 15-1 run. That offensive span proved to be an outlier in the first half as most of the two teams settled in for a slow-paced, half-court affair that saw them shoot a combined 17-for-53 prior to intermission. The two players who bucked that trend were Ivey and Olojakpoke, who both shot 3-of-3 in the first half and combined for 14 points in the stanza.
Turnovers were an issue for both sides as the Zips turned the ball over 10 times before the break and the Hornets had nine miscues of their own. Shooting struggles from beyond the arc were also a commonality as a combined 4-of-25 effort from distance saw just one player - Akron redshirt sophomore guard Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.), who had two triples in the half - make more than one shot from 3-point range.
Pass the Cheese Tre
Junior Tyler Cheese set a career-high scoring mark against Alabama State with 19 points on 3-of-4 shooting from downtown and a 7-of-9 effort from the floor. He added a career best five assists. Cheese has scored in double figures 3-of-7 games with 13 points against Youngstown State and Clemson. Cheese currently ranks fourth in team scoring with 10.0 points per game.
Five Players Score Double Figures... AGAIN
Five Zips reached double digits in scoring against Youngstown State and again this season against Alabama State. Against Alabama State, Tyler Cheese led the way with 19 points followed by Jimond Ivey (13), Emmanuel Olojakpoke (12), Channel Banks (10) and Daniel Utomi (10). Against YSU, Utomi led all scorers with 25 points and Ivey followed with 18 points, while Loren Cristian Jackson (16), Deng Riak (14) and Cheese (13) all turned in career-high performances.
Closing on 1,000 Points
Senior guard Jimond Ivey is quickly approaching the 1,000-point career milestone. In 2018-19, Ivey has scored 82 points, averaging 11.7 points per game as Akron's third leading scorer. Over his four-year playing career at Akron, Ivey has accumulated 950 points, averaging 8.9 points per game. He appeared in 107 total games with 68 starting appearances. Last season, Ivey set Akron's single-game scoring record with a 48-point performance on the road at Ball State (1/27/18).
UP NEXT
Akron will be back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 5 against Purdue Fort Wayne at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Zips return to James A. Rhodes Arena on Saturday, Dec. 10 against Marshall at 2 p.m.
