The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Carnegie Mellon
Akron Wraps-Up Non-Conference Play with Carnegie Mellon
December 29 | Men's Basketball
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Akron Zips (7-5) vs. Carnegie Mellon (4-6)
Sunday, Dec. 30 • James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, Ohio • 2 PM • ESPN3
Carnegie Mellon Head Coach
Tony Wingen (Springfield '82)
Overall Record: 337-423 (30th Season)Â
Record at CMU: 316-395 (28thSeason)
AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 201-154 (11th Season)
Record at Akron: 21-23 (2nd Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 6-12 (2nd Season)
Overall MAC Record: 40-42 (at Ohio and Akron)
All-Time Series
Akron leads: 2-0 Groce vs Carnegie Mellon: First Meeting
Last Meeting: Akron 67, Carnegie Mellon 45 Dec. 1, 1993 at James A. Rhodes Arena (Akron, Ohio)
First Meeting: Akron 65, Carnegie Mellon 25 1943-44 season in Akron, Ohio
Broadcast
TV/Video: ESPN3 – 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
• With a win, the Zips enter league play with an 8-5 overall record
• Jimond Ivey reached 1,000 career points against Tennessee State (1,028 total points)
• Akron lost all five games by six points or less. (18 points total)
• The Zips are ranked 22nd in the NCAA for scoring defense only allowing 61.9 points per game
• Akron is ranked 19th in 3-pointers/game (10.3), 29th in th NCAA for 3-point FGs attempted (353), 33rd in 3-point FGs made (123), 43rd in FG percentage Defense (39.4), 51st in scoring margin (+12.5), 71st in TO/game (12.2), 75th in fewest TO (146) and 90th in TO margin (2.2)
What's Ahead
The Akron men's basketball completes its 118th season of non-conference hoops by hosting Carnegie Mellon on Sunday, Dec. 30 at James A. Rhodes Arena. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip-off. Under second-year head coach John Groce, the Zips are 7-5 overall and coming off a 68-62 loss on the road to No. 6 ranked Nevada. Prior to the loss, Akron snapped a two-game winless streak against Tennessee State, 82-60, at home. Akron is 5-1 at Rhodes Arena, 0-2 on the road and 2-2 in neutral site games this season.Â
The Broadcasts
The Zips' game is scheduled to air on ESPN3 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 Tartans
Carnegie Mellon enters the game with a 4-6 overall record. The Tartans are 3-4 on the road and 1-2 at home. Carnegie Mellon averages 72.3 points per outing on 45.0 percent shooting from the floor and a 33.0 percent effort from beyond the 3-point arc, draining 6.1 triples a game.
The Tartans have two players scoring in double figures led by Zach Howarth with 16.4 points per game and Seth Henry with 16.3 points per game. Howarth leads the squad from behind the 3-point arc with a 17-of-42 effort for a 40.5 shooting percentage. He also leads the team in assists (24) and is second in rebounds per game (5.3) and steals (8). Henry shoots 58.5 percent from close range, making 48-of-82 shots and leads the team on the glass with 9.0 rebounds per game and 72 total boards.
In addition, Cooper Williams adds a long-range threat to the Tartans' offense with a 13-of-33 showing and 39.4 shooting percentage from deep.
Defensively, Carnegie Mellon allows its opponents to score 74.6 points per game on 44.1 percent shooting from the floor and 33.2 percent from 3-point range, allowing only 7.2 long distance strikes per night. The Tartans caused 109 turnovers (10.9 to/g) with 49 steals (4.9 stl/g). Carnegie Mellon controls the glass, outrebounding the opponent by a +5.2 margin and limiting the opponent to grab 341 total boards compared to the 393 total rebounds secured.
The Akron-Carnegie Mellon Series
Sunday's game marks the third meeting in series history between Akron and Carnegie Mellon, and first for head coach John Groce. Akron holds a 2-0 edge in the series. Akron 2-0 at home.
The series began during the 1943-44 season when Akron played Carnegie Mellon in Akron, Ohio and finished with a 65-25 win. Fifty seasons later (1993-94), the Zips and the Tartans shared the court again as Akron claimed a 67-45 victory at James A. Rhodes Arena on Dec. 1, 1993.
Akron Starting MAC Play
Akron is 18-8 in MAC openers, 10-1 at home since joining the league in 1992. Over the last 13 seasons, the Zips are 11-3 in MAC openers and 7-0 at home. Akron has won the last 7-of-8 MAC openers.
Zips in the MAC
The Zips have posted a 49-27 mark (.645) in the last 76 games against the MAC East dating back to the start of the 2012 league schedule. Akron is 5-3 against the MAC East at the conference tournament during that stretch. Akron is 100-48 in the regular season against the West Division (.676), including winners of 43 of the last 55 regular-season games since divisional play began during the 1997-98 season.
Akron is 54-13 at home in league play since the start of the 2011 MAC schedule (.806). UA has seen a ton of success in league play since the start of the 2004-05 season, and is 161-77 overall (.676), including a 99-20 mark in MAC play at home (.831). The Zips' 161 wins are the most in the league during that stretch. The Zips have won 81 of their last 114 MAC games (.711).
Akron is 29-18 all-time in the MAC Tournament, going 22-7in its last 29 tournament games. The Zips have won at least one game in the MAC Tournament every year since the 2004-05 season and have made nine MAC Tournament title game appearances in the last 11-of-12 seasons with an unprecedented 12-of-13 semifinal appearances. The Zips' runs of the consecutive title game (11) and semifinal appearances (12) are the longest streaks in MAC history. The Zips are 24-12 at Quicken Loans Arena.
Akron is 6-6 in opening round games, 1-0 second round, 10-3 in the quarterfinals, 9-3 semifinals, and 3-6 in title games.
Strong Defensive Stance
The Akron Zips have limited opponents to scoring only 61.9 points per game which ranks No. 22 in the NCAA for scoring defense and first in the MAC. Akron limits opponents to 39.4 shooting from the floor and 31.6 from long distance. Akron has caused 172 turnovers (14.3 t/g) with 63 steals (5.3 stl/g). Jimond Ivey and Tyler Cheese lead the team in takeaways with 12 steals each. Cheese has drawn 11 offensive charge fouls. In addition, Loren Cristian Jackson leads the team in offensive charges taken with 13 to go along with a third-best 11 steals.
Fight to the Finish
The Akron Zips are currently 7-5 overall, picking up five wins at home and two wins on a neutral floor. Akron won all seven games by a +24.3 margin and currently rank 51st in the NCAA and third in the MAC with a +12.5 scoring margin. Taking it a step further, in Akron's five setbacks, the Zips have only lost by a combined total of 18 points, falling by six 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, 75-74 to Marshall and 68-62 to No. 6 ranked Nevada. In addition, the Zips have not allowed an opponent to score more than 75 points this season.
Another 1,000 Points?
As Jimond Ivey entered the 1,000 point club, teammate Daniel Utomi is close to becoming the 45th member. Utomi is leading the Zips' scoring efforts with 15.8 points per game and 189 points scored this season and is 133 points shy of the 1,000 mark. The Junior wing led last year's squad with 16.7 points per game and 535 total points. As a freshman he notched 143 points for an 867 career total. In addition, Utomi in the NCAA's Top 55 players in three categories. He is 43rd overall in 3-point FG attempts (98), 53rd in 3-point FG made (37) and 54th in 3-point FG per game (3.08).Â
Ivey Passes 1,000 Career Points
Senior guard Jimond Ivey reached the 1,000-point career milestone against Tennessee State with an old-fashioned 3-point play. He became the 44th member of the Zips' 1,000 point club after scoring 19 points to finish with 1,013 points in 111 games. In 2018-19, Ivey has scored 160 points, averaging 13.3 points per game as Akron's third leading scorer. Over his four-year playing career at Akron, Ivey averages 9.2 points per game. He appeared in 112 total games with 73 starting appearances and 1,028 total points. 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
Loren Cristian Jackson didn't show any signs of rust as the sophomore transfer from Long Beach State has scored double-digits in 7-of-12 games which includes a career-high (26), three 20-plus point performances and three consecutive game efforts . He 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. He followed with a 23-point performance against Tennessee State and started the three-straight performances with a 12-point showing at Purdue Fort Wayne.
UP NEXT
The Zips open Mid-American Conference play at James A. Rhodes Arena against Western Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 2 p.m. The first league contest of the season is scheduled to be aired on ESPN3 and Akron-IMG Sports Radio Network 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship) with Steve French calling the action and Joe Dunn providing analysis. The free audio stream is available at SportsRadio1350.com, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn.com/Akron Zips.
