Akron Hosts Southern in Sunday Matinee Game

Sunday, December 8

Akron, Ohio

2 PM

University of Akron

Southern University

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December 07 | Men's Basketball

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Akron Zips (6-2) vs Southern (3-5)
Sunday, Dec. 8 • James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, Ohio • 27 PM • No TV or Stream

Southern Head Coach
Sean Woods (Kentucky '92)
Overall Record: 98-81 (11th Season)
Record at Southern: 98-81 (62nd Season)
SWAC Record: 52-38 (2nd Season)

AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 217-167 (12th Season)
Record at Akron: 37-36 (3rd Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 14-22 (3rd Season)
Overall MAC Record: 48-52 (at Ohio and Akron)

All-Time Series
First Meeting between Akron and Southern (0-0)
First Meeting for head coach John Groce against Southern

Broadcast
TV/Video: No TV or Stream
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 are coming off an 85-73 road win against Marshall, their first road win of the season, and looks to extend their home court winning streak on Sunday afternoon (2 p.m.) against Southern at James A. Rhodes Arena. Akron is 6-2 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 eight-game home winning streak, dating back to the final two home games of 2018-19.

The Broadcasts
The Zips game is not available for television broadcast or stream. 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 Jaguars
Southern enters the game with a 3-5 overall record. Southern averages 75.6 points per outing on 43.8 percent shooting from the floor and a 29.4 percent effort from beyond the 3-point arc, draining 6.3 triples a game. The Jaguars defeated Loyola (87-70) in the season/home opener and fell in two straight games at Murray State and New Mexico State before defeating Ecclesia (121-55). They dropped the last 3-of-4, including the last time out against common opponent Tulane (82-65).

The Jaguars have three players averaging nine or more points per game led by Terrell Williams with 10.5 points per game on 72.7 percent shooting from the field. Damiree Burns follows with 9.8 points per game on 49.2 percent shooting from the floor, while Micah Bradford adds 9.3 points per game with a team-high 14 made 3-pointers. He shoots 35.0 percent from deep and 36.2 from all areas of the court. He also leads the team in assists (31) and steals (10). In addition, The Jaguars have seven players contributing seven or more points per game in Montese Blake (7.6), Amel Kuljuhovic (7.3), Lamarcus Lee (7.1) and Ahsante Shivers (7.1). Darius Williams owns a team-best 61 rebounds (7.6 rebs/g).

Defensively, Southern allows its opponents to score 75.4 points per game on 47.5 percent shooting from the floor and 35.6 percent from 3-point range, allowing only 7.3 long distance strikes per night. The Jaguars have caused 130 turnovers (16.3 to/g) with 65 steals (8.1 stl/g). Southern outrebounds the opponent by a +4.5 margin, allowing the opponent to grab 265 total boards (33.1 rebs/g) compared to the 301 total rebounds secured by the Jaguars (37.6 rebs/g).

The Akron-Southern Series
Sunday's game marks the first meeting in series history between the Zips and the Jaguars. In addition, the game marks the first time head coach John Groce has faced the Jaguars.

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.

2020 Vision
The Zips have seen seven 20-point scoring performances this season, including a 28-point and 25-point performances from Loren Cristian Jackson and Xeyrius Williams in the Zips last time out. Jackson posted a season-high (28) against Marshall and scored 20 against Louisville, while Williams was the first to record 20 points against WVU and added the 25-point effort at Marshall. Tyler Cheese owns three 20-point performances against N.C. Central, at No.2 Louisville and Merrimack. In addition, the Zips have 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 Loren Cristian Jackson with 16.4 points per game followed by Tyler Cheese (14.9), Xeyrius Williams (14.6) and Channel Banks (10.5). Over the first eight 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), Merrimack (Cheese 20, Williams 14 and Banks 11) and Marshall (Jackson 28, Williams 25 and Reece 13).

Are You Xeyrius?
Senior Xeyrius Williams impacts both sides of the floor for the Zips, averaging a double-double with 14.6 points and 10.4 rebounds per night. He owns team-highs in rebounds (83) and blocked shots (17). Williams is shooting 86.4 percent from the free throw line (19-of-22). He has scored with double figures five times this season, including a career-high 25 points against Marshall – Others: vs WVU (20), vs Malone (17), vs NC Central (19) and Merrimack (14). Williams ranks among the league's best in four categories including blocked shots (3rd, 2.1), rebounding (2nd, 10.4), defensive rebounds (2nd, 8.5) and free throw percentage (7th, .864).

Pass the Cheese
Senior Tyler Cheese is second in scoring for the Zips, averaging 14.9 points per game. He registered double-digit points in 6-of-8 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 third on the squad in 3-pointers made (14) and is shooting at a 41.2 percent clip from deep (14-of-34). He stands 15th in league scoring (14.9) and 8th in free throw percentage (.853, 29-of-34).

Action Jackson
Junior Loren Cristian Jackson leads the Zips scoring efforts with 16.4 points per game. He scored double-digit points in 7-of-8 games,including a season-high 28 points against Marshall. He leads the squad in assists (35), dishing out 4.4 helpers per game while making 33-of-37 from the charity stripe (.892). Jackson buried a second-best 16 triples. Jackson is ranked in the top of the MAC in four categories, including free throw percentage (4th, .892), assists (5th, 4.4), assist/to ratio (6th, 2.2) and scoring (7th, 16.4).

Like Money in the Bank$
Senior Channel Banks ranks fourth in scoring for the Zips with 10.5 points per game. He is shooting a team-high 45.3 percent from deep and owns a team-best 21 made 3-pointers (21-of-48). His 2.6 made 3-pointers per game ranks 7th best in the MAC. Banks scored in double figures in 5-of-8 games, vs Malone (15), @ WVU (16), vs YSU (12), @ No.2 Louisville (18– season and career high), and vs Merrimack (11).

Reece's Piece's
Junior Camron Reece is a huge piece for the Zips frontcourt, clocking 18.1 minutes per game and averaging 8.1 points on 57.1 percent shooting from the floor. He ranks 4th in the MAC for field goal percentage and scored in double-digits four times this season, including a career-high 13 points on two occasions, vs Malone and Marshall. Reece is an electric player that gets the crowd involved as a result of his supreme athleticism and high flying dunks. He grabs 5.0 rebounds per game and posted four blocked shots. Reece has made 17-of-24 free throws for a 70.8 free throw percentage.

UP NEXT
The Zips are back at James A. Rhodes Arena for a non-conference matchup against Concord on Sunday, Dec. 15 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.