The University of Akron Athletics
Akron Ends Two-Game Homestand with Tennessee State
December 17 | Men's Basketball
Game Notes (PDF) | ESPN+ | Live Stats | Akron-IMG Sports Network | Season Tickets | Akron Basketball Schedule
Akron Zips (6-4) Mid-American vs. Tennessee State (3-6)Ohio Valley
Tuesday, Dec. 18 • James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, Ohio • 7 PM ET • ESPN+
Tennessee State Head Coach
Brian "Penny" Collins (Belmont '06)
Overall Record: 3-6 (1st Season)Â
Record at TSU: 3-6 (1st Season)
Ohio Valley Record: 0-0 (1st Season)
AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 200-153 (11th Season)
Record at Akron: 20-22 (2nd Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 6-12 (2nd Season)
Overall MAC Record: 40-42 (at Ohio and Akron)
All-Time Series
Zips lead: 3-2 Groce vs Tennessee State: First Meeting
Last Meeting: Akron 74, Tennessee State 72 Nov. 18, 2007 at Top of World Classic (Fairbanks, Alaska)
First Meeting: Akron 71, Tennessee State 69 (OT) 1971-72 NCAA DII Final Four (Evansville, Ind.)
In Akron 1-0, Neutral 2-2, In Tennessee: 0-0
Broadcast
TV/Video: ESPN+ – Michael Reghi (PxP), Jacki Windon (Analyst)Â
Live Stats: GoZips.com/Schedule - Live Stats
Radio: Akron-IMG Sports Network - Steve French (PxP), Joe Dunn (Analyst) WARF 1350 AM (flagship), iHeart Radio, TuneIn.com/Akron Zips
Quick Hits
• A win would snap a two-game skid and give Akron its seventh win of the season
• Jimond Ivey is six points away from achieving 1,000 career points (994 total points)
• Akron lost all four games by five points or less. (12 points total)
• The Zips are ranked 18th in the NCAA for scoring defense only allowing 61.5 points per game
• Akron is ranked 24th in 3-pointers/game (10.0), 35th in th NCAA for 3-point FGs attempted (296), 45th in scoring margin (+13.4), 48th in turnovers/game (11.6), 53rd in 3-point FGs made (100)Â
What's Ahead
The Akron men's basketball program continues its 118th season of non-conference hoops by returning to Rhodes Arena to host Tennessee State on Tuesday, Dec. 18. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Under second-year head coach John Groce, the Zips are 6-4 overall and looking to snap a two-game skid. The Zips are coming off a 75-74 setback to Marshall at home and a 68-65 loss on the road to Purdue Fort Wayne. Akron is 4-1 at Rhodes Arena, 0-1 on the road and 2-2 in neutral site games this season. Tuesday's game continues the holiday game week festivities, which includes a 2-for-1 Tuesday ticket special (purchased in advance) and holiday carolers in the lobby.
The Broadcasts
The Zips' home game is scheduled to air on ESPN+ as Michael Reghi 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 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.
Scouting the Tigers
Tennessee State enters the game with a 3-6 overall record and split the last two outings, defeating Coppin State (64-55) but falling to North Carolina A&T (78-76). The Tigers average 78.2 points per outing on 45.0 percent shooting from the floor and a 36.5 percent effort from beyond the 3-point arc, draining 9.3 triples a game.Â
The Tigers have two players scoring in double figures led by Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey with 18.0 points per game on 48.1 percent shooting from the field and a 40.0 percent rate from beyond the 3-point arc with 12 made 3-pointers. Fitzpatrick-Dorsey is the second on the squad in rebounds (66). He grabs 4.8 rebounds per game.
Kamar McKnight follows with 14.1 points per game on 40.2 percent shooting, and 30.0 percent from deep with 15 made triples. McKnight is second on the team in assists (25) and grabs a third-best 4.1 rebounds per game (37 rebs). Stokely Chaffee Jr. leads the Tigers rebounding efforts with 66 total grabs for 7.3 rebounds per game.
In addition, the Tigers have five players with double-digit 3-pointers made. Tripp Davis leads the squad with an 18-of-30 effort, shooting 60.0 percent from deep, while McKnight (15-of-50; .300), Armani Chaney (13-of-37; .351), Fitzpatrick-Dorsey (12-of-30; .400) and Michael Littlejohn (12-of-38; .316) all follow.
Defensively, Tennessee State limits its opponents to 73.9 points per game on 45.3 percent shooting from the floor and 29.3 percent from 3-point range, allowing only 5.4 long distance strikes per night. The Tigers have caused 151 turnovers (16.8 to/g) with 73 steals (8.1 stl/g). Tennessee Stateholds a slight edge on the glass, outrebounding the opponent by a +1.9 margin and limiting the opponent to grab 307 total boards compared to the 324 total rebounds secured by the Tigers.
The Akron-Tennessee State Series
Tuesday's game marks the sixth meeting in series history between the Zips and the Tennessee State. Akron holds a 3-2 edge in the series and won the last two meetings. Akron is 1-0 at home and 2-2 in neutral site games. The two teams have not met in Tennessee.Â
The series began during the 1971-72 season when Akron and Tennessee State advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four in Evansville, Ind. The Zips defeated the Tigers 71-69 in overtime to advance to the national title game. The following season Tennessee State and Akron played again at the Final Four in Evansville, this time the Tigers advanced with a 54-50 triumph and the third meeting had the same implications as the Tigers defeated Akron 72-69 for a second championship run in 1974-75.
On Dec. 30, 1991, Akron and Tennessee played its only non-postseason game in series history. Akron hosted the Tigers at Rhodes Arena and evened the series 2-2 with an 82-71 win. Finally, on Nov. 18, 2007 Akron and Tennessee State shared a neutral court at the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Zips won the contest 74-72 to take a 3-2 series advantage.
The Last Meeting...
A hotly-contested BP Top of the World Classic third place game ended in Akron's favor, as senior Nick Dials broke a 72-72 tie with just three seconds remaining when he connected on a baseline runner to edge the Zips in front. Tennessee State had a chance to steal the game on a last-gasp shot, but Jerrell Houston's 25-foot shot clanked off the inside of the rim.
The highly-rated Zips (2-1) led the majority of the contest, and threatened to run away with a game on several occasion, putting as many as 12 points between themselves and the Tigers at one point. But Tennessee State showed their character to battle back time and again, finally knotting the game with just over a minute to play before Dials struck to condemn them to a fifth-place finish.
Jeremiah Wood was a handful for the Tigers all night, showing off a variety of low post moves that would net him a team-high 17 points for the game. Dials, the only other Akron player in double-digits, finished with 13.
Tennessee State (2-3) drop to 1-2 for the tournament, despite a tenacious performance from Houston, who hit for a game-highs in both points (22) and rebounds (nine). LaDarious Weaver (12) and Bruce Price (10) also broke the ten-point barrier, despite the latter shooting just 2-of-7 from the field.
The Zips Last Time Out
Visiting Marshall used a late burst to take the lead in a close game, then held off a frenetic last-minute push to capture a 75-74 win over the Akron Zips Saturday afternoon at James A. Rhodes Arena.
After the Zips rallied to take a 62-61 lead on a layup by sophomore forward Jaden Sayles (Cincinnati, Ohio) with 8:29 remaining in the game, the Thundering Herd went on a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to take a six-point lead they would not surrender as a last-second 3-point attempt by redshirt sophomore guard Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) was off the mark.
Jackson led Akron with a career-high 26 points - including 5-of-8 on 3-pointers - and junior forward Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) tallied 18 points. Junior guard Tyler Cheese (Albany, Ga.) added 14 for Akron and senior guard Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) added nine points, six rebounds and two assists in defeat. Ivey now has 994 career points and is six points shy of becoming just the 44th 1,000-point scorer in program history.
It was a high-scoring, offensive game from the outset as both teams came out of the starting blocks on fire. The two sides combined to make 8-of-10 3-pointers to begin the game as Akron sank its first four triples, two each by Utomi and Jackson.
The pace continued for the entire first half as Marshall shot a scorching 50 percent (9-of-18) from deep and the Zips matched the percentage, making 6-of-12 of its triples. Ironically, both sides shot below 50 percent on two-point tries before intermission and the Thundering Herd were able to edge out to a 42-36 halftime lead by forcing nine turnovers and converting them into 10 points.
The visitors also held a 12-3 edge in bench scoring at the break, but Akron kept it close thanks to a huge first half by Utomi, whose 13 points in the opening stanza led all scorers. On the day, the two teams missed just 1-of-21 attempted free throws and converted 23-of-54 shots from long distance (42.6 percent).
Senior guard Jon Elmore led Marshall with 19 points, but the Zips were able to hold him below his season average of 21 points and forced him into 35-percent (7-of-20) shooting for the game.
Strong Defensive Stance
The Akron Zips have limited opponents to scoring only 61.5 points per game which ranks No. 18 in the NCAA for scoring defense and first in the MAC. Akron limits opponents to 39.4 shooting from the floor and 31.7 from long distance. Akron has caused 141 turnovers (14.1 t/g) with 51 steals. Tyler Cheese leads the team in takeaways with 11 steals and 10 offensive charges taken. In addition, Loren Cristian Jackson leads the team in offensive charges taken with 12 to go along with a third-best nine steals. Jimond Ivey has 10 steals.Â
Fight to the Finish
The Akron Zips are currently 6-3 overall, picking up four wins at home and two wins on a neutral floor. Akron won all six games by a +24.3 margin and currently rank 45th in the NCAA and third in the MAC with a +13.4 scoring margin.Â
Taking it a step further, in Akron's three setbacks, the Zips have only lost by a combined total of 12 points, falling by five points or less in each contest. Akron fell 72-69 to No. 16 Clemson, 73-68 to Illinois State, 68-65 to Purdue Fort Wayne and 75-74 to Marshall. In addition, the Zips have not allowed an opponent to score more than 75 points this season.
Closing on 1,000 Points
Senior guard Jimond Ivey is quickly approaching the 1,000-point career milestone which will make him the 44th member in Akron basketball history. In 2018-19, Ivey has scored 126 points, averaging 12.6 points per game as Akron's second leading scorer. Over his four-year playing career at Akron, Ivey has accumulated 994 points, averaging 9.0 points per game. He appeared in 110 total games with 71 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).
Raising the Bar
Transfer guard Loren Cristian Jackson didn't show any signs of rust as sophomore transfer from Long Beach State led the Zips offense and was second in scoring in the opener. After 10 games, Jackson continues to raise the bar, setting and resetting career-highs in points. He set a new personal best by scoring 25 points against No. 16 Clemson and broke his personal record against Marshall with 26 points on a career-high 9-of-18 (.500) shooting from the floor with an exceptional 5-of-8 (.625) showing from downtown.
UP NEXT
Akron travel to Reno, Nev. to play No. 7 ranked Nevada at Lawlor Events Center on Saturday, Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. ETÂ on ESPN3.Â
