Akron Travels to Marshall

Wednesday, December 4

Huntington, W.Va.

7 PM

University of Akron

Marshall

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December 03 | Men's Basketball

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Akron Zips (5-2) vs Marshall (2-4)
Wednesday, Dec. 4 • Cam Henderson Center • Huntington, W.Va. • 7 PM • CUSA TV

Marshall Head Coach
Dan D'Antoni (Marshall '70)
Overall Record: 98-81 (6th Season)
Record at Marshall: 98-81 (6th Season)
C-USA Record: 52-38 (6th Season)

AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 216-167 (12th Season)
Record at Akron: 36-36 (3rd Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 14-22 (3rd Season)
Overall MAC Record: 48-52 (at Ohio and Akron)

All-Time Series
Zips lead: 14-13 | Groce vs Marshall: 0-2 at Akron (2-5 Overall)
Last Meeting: Marshall 75, Akron 74, Dec. 15, 2019 at James A. Rhodes Arena-Akron, Ohio
First Meeting: Marshall 63, Akron 61, 946-47 in Akron, Ohio
In Akron 8-5 | In Huntington: 6-8

Broadcast
TV/Video: CUSA TV – Mark Martin (PxP) and Bob Bolen (Analysis)
Live Stats: (GoZips.com/Schedule) - Live Stats
Radio: Akron Sports Network - Steve French (PxP), Joe Dunn (Analyst), WARF 1350 AM (flagship), iHeart Radio, TuneIn.com/Akron Zips

What's Ahead
The Zips look for their first road win as they travel to Huntington, W.Va. for a non-conference game against Marshall on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m at the Cam Henderson Center. Akron is 5-2 overall this season as both losses came on the road against West Virginia (94-84) and No. 1 Louisville (82-76). The Zips own an unblemished 5-0 record at Rhodes Arena and are currently riding a seven-game home winning streak, dating back to the final two home games of 2018-19.

The Broadcasts
The Zips game is scheduled to air on CUSA TV as Mark Martin will call the action and Bob Bolen provides analysis. The Zips' radio broadcast will air on the Akron 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/AkronZips. Fans can also follow the action on GoZips.com via Live Stats.

Scouting the Thundering Herd
Marshall enters the game with a 2-4 overall record, and an even 2-2 at home. Marshall averages 70.8 points per outing on 44.0 percent shooting from the floor and a 25.2 percent effort from beyond the 3-point arc, draining 5.5 triples a game. The Herd defeated Robert Morris (67-60) in the season/home opener and fell in three straight games to Toledo (96-70), at Notre Dame (74-64) and Charleston (76-66) before splitting the last two outings, win over Howard at home (91-63) and loss on the road at Florida (73-67).

The Herd has three players scoring in double figures led by Taevion Kinsey with 14.8 points per game on 49.3 percent shooting from the field while leading the squad in rebounds (37) and assists (32). He ranks second in steals (8).

Jarrod West follows with 13.7 points per game on 47.3 percent shooting from the floor which includes a second best 7-of-27 effort from deep. West leads the team in steals (15) and is second in assists (18) while contributing 3.2 rebounds per night.

Jannson Williams rounds out the double-digit scorers with 10.0 points per game with a team-high 11 made 3-pointers. He shoots 30.6 percent from deep and 44.2 from all areas of the court. He also leads the team in blocked shots (16) and has hauled in 31 rebounds to date.

Defensively, Marshall limits its opponents to scoring 73.7 points per game on 41.0 percent shooting from the floor and 32.2 percent from 3-point range, allowing only 7.0 long distance strikes per night. The Herd has caused 84 turnovers (14.0 to/g) with 51 steals (8.5 stl/g). Marshall is outrebounded by a -1.7 margin, allowing the opponent to grab 246 total boards (41.0 rebs/g) compared to the 236 total rebounds secured by the Thundering Herd (39.3 rebs/g).

The Akron-Marshall Series
Wednesday's game marks the 28th meeting in series history between the Zips and the Thundering Herd. Akron holds a 14-13 edge in the series and won the last 7-of-9 meetings, but The Herd has claimed the last two meetings. Akron is 8-5 at home and 6-8 on the road against Marshall.

The series began during the 1946-47 season and lasted six-straight seasons as the Herd claimed the series opener 63-61 in Akron. The following year, Marshall moved to 2-0 against the Zips with a 73-47 win, and it wasn't until the third meeting (1948-49) when Akron posted its first win over the Herd, 55-51. Marshall claimed the final three games by scores of 94-81, 84-81, and 113-81. The two teams met again in 1974-75, as Akron came out on top with an 87-61 victory. In 1997, Marshall and Akron began Mid-American Conference, playing 13 league contests in eight seasons before Marshall exiting to play in Conference USA in 2005-06 to present.

During the MAC days, the Zips held a 7-6 overall advantage, and Akron sent them away with two consecutive losses in 2004-05, the Zips posted a 65-55 win in Huntington and a 71-64 win in Akron. Over the last seven seasons, the Zips are 5-2 against the Thundering Herd with three road wins 67-51 ('11-12) 70-63 ('13-14) and 75-65 ('15-16) and two wins at Rhodes Arena 70-63 ('14-15) and 99-88 ('16-17). Both losses came in back-to-back seasons 86-64 (2018-19 in Huntington, W.Va.) and 75-74 (75-74 in Akron, Ohio).

In the Last Meeting against The Herd
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 at James A. Rhodes Arena on Dec. 15, 2019
After the Zips rallied to take a 62-61 lead on a layup 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 Akron was off the mark. Loren Cristian Jackson led Akron with 26 points - including 5-of-8 on 3-pointers - and Tyler Cheese added 14 for Akron.

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. 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. 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).

2020 Vision
The Zips have seen five 20-point scoring performances this season, including three 20-point performances by Tyler Cheese. Cheese posted 20 points against N.C. Central, at No.2 Louisville and Merrimack. Loren Cristian Jackson also notched 20 points against the Cardinals while Xeyrius Williams was the first to record 20 points at WVU. In addition, the Zips have had three 19-point efforts by Williams (N.C. Central), Cheese (YSU) and Jackson (YSU).

Zips' Scoring in Bunches
The Zips have four players averaging double figures in scoring led by Tyler Cheese with 16.6 points per game followed by Loren Cristian Jackson (14.7), Xeyrius Williams (13.1) and Channel Banks (11.9). Over the first seven games, the Akron Zips have seen at least three players score in double digits per game. Akron had five double-figure scorers against Malone (Williams 17, Banks 15, Cheese 15, Reece 13 and Jackson 12), four against West Virginia (Williams 20, Banks 16, Jackson 16 and Cheese 15) and YSU (Cheese 19, Jackson 19, Banks 12 and Reece 10) and three against N.C. Central (Cheese 20, Williams 19 and Jackson 10), USC Upstate (Jackson 18, Tribble 11, Reece 10), No.2 Louisville (Cheese 20, Jackson 20 and Banks 18) and Merrimack (Cheese 20, Williams 14 and Banks 11).

Pass the Cheese
Senior Tyler Cheese currently leads the Zips scoring efforts, averaging 16.6 points per game. He registered double-digit points in 6-of-7 games with a season high 20 points three times – NC Central, No.2 Louisville and Merrimack. He also scored 15 twice (Malone and WVU) and 19 (YSU). Cheese is tied for second on the squad in 3-pointers made (13) and is shooting at a 39.4 clip from deep (13-of-33). He stands 7^th in league scoring (16.6) and 8^th in free throw percentage (.853, 29-of-34) and 12^th in assists (3.1ast/g, 22).

Action Jackson
Junior Loren Cristian Jackson scored double-digit points in 6-of-7 games, ranking second on the squad in scoring with 14.7 points per game. He leads the squad in assists (30), dishing out 4.3 helpers per game while making 25-of-29 from the charity stripe (.862). Jackson buried a third-best 12 triples. Jackson is ranked in the top of the MAC in four categories, including assists (5^th, 4.3), assist/to ratio (6^th, 2.1), free throw percentage (6^th, .862) and scoring (16^th, 14.7).

Like Money in the Bank$
Senior Channel Banks ranks fourth in scoring for the Zips with 11.9 points per game. He is shooting a team-high 46.7 percent from deep and owns a team-best 21 made 3-pointers (21-of-45). His 3.0 made 3-pointers per game ranks 4^thbest in the MAC. Banks scored in double figures in 5-of-7 games, vs Malone (15), @ WVU (16), vs YSU (12), @ No.2 Louisville (18) – season and career high, and vs Merrimack (11).

Are You Xeyrius?
Senior Xeyrius Williams impacts both sides of the floor for the Zips while nearly averaging a double-double with 13.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per night. He owns team-highs in rebounds (69) and blocked shots (16). Williams is shooting 95.0 percent from the free throw line (19-of-20). He has scored with double figures four times this season, including a season-high 20 points against WVU – Others: vs Malone (17), vs NC Central (19) and Merrimack (14). Williams ranks among the league's best in four categories including blocked shots (2^nd, 2.3), rebounding (2^nd, 9.9), defensive rebounds (2^nd, 8.1) and free throw percentage (3^rd, .950).

Defending the JAR
Akron is 5-0 at James A. Rhodes Arena and is riding a seven-game home court winning streak, dating back to the 2018-19 season. Last year, Akron posted a 91-67 win over Bowling Green on senior night and hosted the opening round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament, defeating No. 9 Miami 80-51. This season Akron has five wins at the JAR over Malone (81-64), NC Central (57-47), USC Upstate (76-45), Youngstown State (82-60) and Merrimack (64-47).

The Zips only allow opponents to score 52.6 points per game at home on 32.4 percent shooting from the field (102-of-315) and 22.0 percent from deep (20-of-91). Akron has allowed 263 total points in five games – 64 points was the most for the opposition at Rhodes Arena this season. In fact, Akron has held four teams to 60 points or less, including three teams to 50 or less.

UP NEXT
The Zips return to James A. Rhodes Arena for a non-conference tilt against Southern on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. The game can be heard on at SportsRadio1350.com, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn.com/AkronZips. Fans can also follow the action on GoZips.com via Live Stats.