The University of Akron Athletics
Akron Back at Rhodes Arena Against Central Michigan
February 09 | Men's Basketball
Game Notes PDF | ESPN3 | Live Stats | Akron-IMG Sports Network | Season Tickets | Akron Basketball Schedule
Â
Akron Zips (10-13, 3-8) vs Central Michigan (15-9, 4-7)Â
Saturday, Feb. 10 • James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, Ohio • 2 PM ET • ESPN3
Central Michigan Head Coach
Keno Davis (Iowa, 1995)
Career Record: 166-146 (10th season)
Record at CMU: 92-91 (6th season)
MAC Record: 34-54 (6th season)
AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 190-144 (10th Season)
Record at Akron: 10-13 (First Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 3-8 (First Season)
Overall MAC Record: 37-38 (at Ohio and Akron)
All-Time Series
Akron Leads: 32-14 - Groce vs. Central Michigan: 3-2
Last Meeting:Akron 89, Central Michigan 85 at McGuirk Arena on Jan. 10, 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 opens a two-game homestand against a pair of Western Division opponents, beginning on Saturday, Feb. 10 versus Central Michigan. The Zips and the Chippewas are scheduled to face-off at 2 p.m. at James A. Rhodes Arena and 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-Central Michigan Series
Saturday's game marks the 47th meeting in series history between Akron and Central Michigan, and sixth meeting for a Groce coached squad, first at Akron. Akron holds an all-time 32-14 series advantage while Groce is 3-2 overall. Last season, The Zips have won 17 of the last 19 meetings as Akron claimed last season's sole meeting 89-85 at McGuirk Arena. UA is 18-5 at Rhodes Arena, 13-9 on the road, and 1-0 in neutral site games against CMU.
Scouting the Chippewas
Central Michigan enters the contest with a 15-9 overall record and 4-7 in MAC play. The Chippewas opened league play with a 75-50 win over Ohio at home, but dropped four-straight games before claiming their first road win against Bowling Green (84-75). CMU fell to Kent State (85-69), Eastern Michigan (79-74), Toledo (93-82), and Ball State (82-76). The Chippewas have won two of their last five MAC games, defeating Northern Illinois (81-67) and Ohio in double overtime (101-98), but falling to Miami (70-61), Kent State (84-76), and Buffalo (88-82) all at home. Central Michigan is 9-4 (2-4 MAC) at home, 3-5Â (2-3 MAC) on the road, and 3-0 in neutral site games.
CMU has three players scoring in double figures led by Shawn Roundtree and Cecil Williams with 15.2 points per game. Roundtree shoots 38.3 percent from the field and 34.7 from deep as 41-of-108 made field goals are long-distance strikes. He is third on the team from behind the 3-point arc and first at the free throw line (107-of-126) for an 84.9 percentage. He also leads the squad in assists (97) while pulling down 2.7 rebounds per game (64).
Williams averages with 15.2 points on 49.2 percent shooting from the floor (127-of-258) with 11 made 3-pointers. He ranks second in several categories for CMU including on the glass grabbing 6.6 rebounds per game (158), at the charity stripe made free throws (99) with a 77.3 FT percentage, and in steals (24).Â
David DiLeo rounds out the double-digit scorers with 12.5 points per game, shooting 37.6 percent from floor and 34.2 percent from downtown. He leads the squad from beyond the 3-point arc (64) and on the glass (178) while adding 34 assists and 24 steals. Teammates Kevin McKay and Luke Meyer contribute 9.9 and 9.7 points per game, respectively.Â
Defensively, Central Michigan allows opponents to score 71.7 points a night on 43.0 percent shooting from the field and .344 percent from downtown with 8.7 made 3-pt FG per game. The Chippewas caused 337 turnovers (14.0 tpg) while collecting 160 steals (6.7 stl/g) and 87 blocked shots (3.6 blk/g). On the glass, CMU outrebounds its opponents 902-833 for a 2.9 rebound margin.
Home Sweet Home
Akron is 10-2 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.
Rebounding after a Loss
Since the start of the 2004-05 season, the Zips have been one of best teams in the nation when it comes to rebounding after a loss. Excluding season-ending losses, Akron is 97-40 (.713) following a loss. During this run, Akron has only posted 30 losing streaks. In fact, of those 30 losing streaks, 18 have been just two games and 22 have consisted of two or more games on the road (road/neutral site). UA has not lost more than four-straight games in over a decade. The last time Akron lost, five-in-a-row was Jan. 5-19, 2002, under former head coach Dan Hipsher. Head coach John Groce is 4-5 following a loss at Akron, three 3-game skids.
Last Time Out Against the Chippewas
Senior center Isaiah Johnson recorded a career-high 33 points and eclipsed the 1,000 career points threshold en route to leading the Akron Zips to an 89-85 win over Central Michigan at McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas had no answer for Johnson's relentless attack on the painted area as Big Dog took control of the game during the final six minutes, scoring 10 consecutive points. Akron built a 12-point, 60-48 advantage by the first media timeout in the second half, but saw that lead diminish to two points, 74-72, with 6:24 remaining in the game.
Johnson led Akron's scoring efforts with 33 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field and 11-of-16 from the charity stripe while adding nine rebounds. Cheatham followed with his second double-double of the season, scoring 19 points and grabbing 13 rebounds with six assists and two blocked shots. Jimond Ivey finished with six points, nine rebounds, four steals and a blocked shot.Â
As a team Akron controlled the glass 41-34and forced 12 turnovers with a season-high nine steals and five blocked shots. The Zips shot 45.6 percent from the field, including a 42.9 percent effort from beyond the 3-point arc. Akron buried 15 triples for the third time this season.
For Central Michigan, Keene and Braylon Rayson combined for 60 of the team's 85 points. Keene matched Johnson's 33-point performance and Rayson added 27 points. The Chippewas finished shooting 50 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from downtown with 12 made 3-pointers.Â
Zips in the MAC
The Zips have posted a 47-25 mark (.653) in the last 72 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 99-46 in the regular season against the West Division (.683), including winners of 42 of the last 54 regular-season games since divisional play began during the 1997-98 season.
Akron is 51-11 at home in league play since the start of the 2011 MAC schedule (.823). UA has seen a ton of success in league play since the start of the 2004-05 season, and is 158-72 overall (.687), including a 96-18 mark in MAC play at home (.842). The Zips' 158 wins are the most in the league during that stretch. The Zips have won 77 of their last 111 MAC games (.694).
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.Â
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 604-615Â in league play.
IVEY Breaks Single-Game Scoring Record
Ivey became the all-time single-game scoring leader with a 48-point performance against Ball State (1/27), breaking the old mark by Joe Jakubick set on Feb. 5, 1983 against Murray State.
Ivey broke several records in the 111-106 double-overtime loss to Ball State at Worthen Arena. Ivey scored 48 points to set Akron's all-time single-game scoring record which stood for 35 years. He also broke Worthen Arena's all-time scoring mark of 41 points previously held by Bonzi Wells (Ball State, 1996) and Earl Boykins (Eastern Michigan, 1998). Ivey's nine 3-pointers set an arena record and he tied the arena record for made field goals (15) set in 1992 by Xavier's Brian Grant.
Ivey was magnificent on both ends of the floor against the Cardinals, shooting 65.2 percent (15-of-23) from the field that included a 75 percent effort (9-of-12) from downtown. Ivey scored 34 points in regulation and registered seven points in each of the 5-minute overtime periods. He was 9-of-10 from the charity stripe and added eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a blocked shot in 49 minutes of work.
Ivey Earns Player of the Week
Junior guard Jimond Ivey earned MAC East Division Player of the Week accolades after leading the Akron men's basketball team with two great performances, including a historic 48-point effort. Over the two-game span, Ivey averaged 32.5 points while shooting 55.3 percent from the field (21-of-38) and 61.1 percent from long distance (11-of-18). In 79 minutes of action, he went 12-of-14 from the free throw line while adding 7.0 rebounds (14), 3.0 assists (6), 1.5 steals (3) per game.
Chasing 1,000 Points
Malcolm Duvivier is currently 49 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 328 points for Akron, bringing his career total to 936 points.
Zips Starting Lineup
With the losses of Emmanuel Olojakpoke (surgery) and Jaden Sayles (injury), the Zips have shuffled the lineup depending on the opponent's personnel. In fact, of the 10-player roster, eight Zips have been thrust into a starting role over the last few weeks. Duvivier, Ivey, and Utomi have started all 23 games to date, and they have been joined by Eric Parrish (15), Torrey Patton (5), Virshon Cotton (5), Mark Kostelac (3), and Lucas Smith (3).
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 20 games with six 20-plus point performances.Â
Utomi currently leads the team's scoring efforts with 15.4 points per game, shooting 42.6 percent from the floor (116-of-272) and 39.1 percent from beyond the 3-point arc with a team-best 66 made triples (66-of-169). Currently, Utomi ranks 56th in the NCAA in 3-pointers per game (2.87), 70th in 3-point FG made (66), 77th in 3-point attempts (169), and 88th in 3-point FG percentage (.391).
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 91 career games for the blue and gold, starting 52 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).Â
In 2017-18, Ivey ranks third in scoring for Akron with 13.9 points per night and the top rebounder with 6.0 per game (137). Ivey Leads in assists with 3.61 per outing (83). He set the all-time single-game scoring record with a career-high 48 points. 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 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.Â
In 2017-18, Duvivier averages 14.3 points with 3.26 assists per game (75 assists). Duvivier scored a career-high 24 points against App State and Concord. He has scored in double figures in 17 games with five 20-plus performances, 21 points against Davidson and Western Michigan and 22 points against Miami. Against Concord, Duvivier hit a career-best seven triples and has made at least five 3-pointers in five games, including 6-5-7Â three-straight game stretch. Duvivier leads the squad with 62 made 3-pointers.Â
Currently, Duvivier ranks 70th in the NCAA in 3-pointers per game (2.78), 85th in 3-point FG made (64), 86th in 3-point FG percentage (.393), and 91st in 3-point attempts (163).
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.
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
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 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.
Akron vs. OHIO Recap
Every Zip touched the scoring column, but the Akron men's basketball could not slow down a red-hot Jordan Dartis in a 99-75 setback at Ohio Bobcats Convocation Center on Tuesday night. The Zips had three players score in double figures led by sophomore Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor and a 4-of-6 effort from deep. He added a 5-of-6 effort from the charity stripe with four rebounds and two steals. Senior Malcolm Duvivier (Toronto, Ohio) followed with 15 points while freshman Eric Parrish (Cypress, Texas) added 13 points.
Ohio won the opening tap and went straight to work, scoring the game's first bucket, but the Zips answered with back-to-back long-distance strikes from Utomi and Duvivier. Akron pushed the lead to as many as eight points, 10-2, in the initial 2.5 minutes until an 8-0 run by the Bobcats tied the game at the first media timeout. The lead changed hands three times and the game was tied on two more occasions before either team created any distance on the scoreboard. At the 8:44 mark, Ohio holding on to a 3-point advantage when James Gollon connected from deep to spark a 13-0 run. During that stretch, Dartis began to heat up as he buried back-to-back triples. He continued to hit from deep adding four more trifectas to lift the Bobcats to a 22 point advantage, 54-32. Dartis finished with 26 first-half points on 9-of-13 shooting and 6-of-9 from long range.
As a team, the Bobcats were on fire shooting 18-of-27 (.667) from the floor and 69.2 percent from long distance (9-of-13). Meanwhile, the Zips connected on 38.2 percent of their shots (13-of-34) with four triples (4-of-15). Akron made four trips to the free throw line and drained all four attempts while Ohio was 11-of-15 from the charity stripe.
Duvivier led Akron's first-half scoring with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Dartis did not cool down over the halftime break, nailing his first two 3-point attempts to spark a 10-2 run in the opening minutes, and pushing the Bobcats lead to 30 points, 66-36. Akron continued to battle but was unable to get the spread under 24 points for the remainder of the game. Dartis finished with 38 points to lead all scoring while shooting 13-of-20 from the field and 10-of-15 from downtown. As a team, Ohio shot 54.2 percent from the floor (32-of-59), including a 59.3 percent effort from long distance (16-of-27). The Bobcats held a 38-34 advantage on the glass and the turnover battle was deadlocked at 15 apiece.
Akron finished the game shooting 41.5 percent from the floor (27-of-65) and 23.1 percent from deep (6-of-26) while adding a 75 percent performance from the charity stripe (15-of-20).
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
UP NEXT
The Akron Zips will play the second game of its Western Division homestand and its fifth annual 4 Pete's Sake Purple Out game at James A. Rhodes Arena against Ball State on Tuesday, Feb. 13. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and fans are encouraged to wear purple for the cause. Fans can also follow the action on ESPN3, 1350-AM or GoZips.com.
