Akron Returns to the JAR for Miami Rematch on Saturday

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Akron Zips (14-12, 6-7) vs. Miami (14-12, 6-7)
Saturday, Feb. 23 • James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, Ohio • 2 PM • ESPN+

Miami Head Coach
Jack Owens (Eastern Illinois '00)
Overall: 20-30 (2nd season)
Record at Miami: 20-30 (2nd season)
MAC Record: 14-17 (2nd season)

AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 208-161 (11th Season)
Record at Akron: 28-30 (2nd Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 12-19 (2nd Season)
Overall MAC Record: 46-49 (at Ohio and Akron)

Broadcast
TV/Video: ESPN+ – Michael Reghi (PxP), Jacki Windon (Analyst)
Live Stats: GoZips.com/Schedule - Live Stats
Radio: Akron-Learfield/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 Akron's three-game losing streak (season) and three game skid to Miami
•The Zips are No. 22 in defense efficiency, and No. 100 overall team in Ken Pomeroy Rankings
• Akron Ranks in the NCAA Top 100 teams in 11 Categories
• The Zips are ranked 15th in the NCAA for scoring defense only allowing 62.7 points per game
• Akron is ranked 17th 3-point FGs attempted (741), 20th in 3-point FG% Defense (30.0), 27th FG% Defense (40.2), 45th TO/game (11.5), 52nd Fewest TO (298), 56th TO margin (2.5), 71st 3pt/game (8.8), 70th Scoring Margin (+6.7), 75th in 3-point FGs made (230) and 80th DREB/g (26.46).

What's Ahead
The Akron Zips look to snap Miami's four-game winning streak over the Zips and three-game skid on the season as the Miami RedHawks visit James A. Rhodes Arena for the second meeting between the two teams. The MAC East Division battle is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. and is the first game of a men's and women's doubleheader. Fans can follow the action on ESPN+ and Akron-Learfield/IMG Sports Radio Network 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship). The free audio stream is available at SportsRadio1350.com, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn.com/Akron Zips.

Scouting the RedHawks
Miami enters the contest with an 14-12 overall record and 6-7 in MAC play. The RedHawks won 6-of-9 games since they played the Zips with the three losses coming against Toledo (66-63), @Kent State (70-67) and @Western Michigan (84-79). Miami is 10-3 (4-3 MAC) at home, 3-7 (2-4 MAC) on the road and 1-2 in neutral site games.

Miami has seven players that average over 6.2 points per game and eight with 10 or more made 3-point field goals. The three players scoring in double figures are Nike Sibande, Dalonte Brown and Bam Bowman.

Sibande leads the way with 15.8 points per game. He is shooting 40.0 percent from the floor with 132 made field goals on 330 attempts. More than half of Sibande's attempts are from long distance (183) as he buried a team-high 62 made 3-pointers while shooting at a 33.9 percent clip. Sabande adds 30 assists and a second-best 14 steals and 12 blocked shots.

Dalonte Brown follows with 12.2 points per game and averages a team-best 5.4 rebounds per game (141 rebs). Brown has made 46 long-distance buckets while shooting 44.0 percent from the floor and 35.7 percent from deep. Bam

Bowman rounds out the double-digit scorers with a 10.2 average and 26 made 3-pointers on 48.9 percent shooting from the floor and 38.8 percent from deep. He owns a team-best 5.4 rebounds per game (135 rebs).

Jalen Adaway and Darrian Ringo contribute 7.7 and 7.6 points,respectively. Adaway has 13 made triples with a team-best 54.1 shooting percentage from the field while Ringo leads Miami with 131 assists and 60 steals with 14 made shots from beyond the 3-point arc.

Isaiah Coleman-Lands and Mekhi Lairy add 6.8 and 6.2 points per game. Coleman-Lands made 10 field goals all from long range while Mekhi buried 18 3-point field goals with 34 assists. Abdoulaye Harouna has made 20 long-distance shots, averaging 5.0 points per game.

Defensively, Miami limits its opponents to 69.1 points per game on 43.1 percent shooting from the floor and 32.3 percent from 3-point range, allowing 7.3 long distance strikes per night. The RedHawks caused 307 turnovers (11.8 to/g) with 143 steals (5.5 stl/g). Miami holds the edge on the glass, outrebounding the opponent by a +3.3 margin and limiting the opponent to grab 872 total boards compared to the 957 total rebounds secured.

The Akron-Miami Series
Saturday's game marks the 62nd meeting in series history between Akron and Miami, and 13th meeting for a Groce coached squad, fourth at Akron. Miami claimed a 32-29 series advantage after winning the last four games of the series, starting with a 79-75 with at James A. Rhodes Arena (2016-17) and followed by a sweep in 2017-18, 79-64 win at Millett Hall and a 64-62 win at James A. Rhodes Arena. Earlier this season, the RedHawks extended the streak with a 68-61 triumph at Millett Hall. Groce is 6-6 all-time against the RedHawks, but is 0-3 as a Zip. The RedHawks have won the last four meetings, while the Zips have won 13 of the last 22 games.

In 2016-17, the two teams split the season series with both squads winning on the road. Akron posted a 74-70 win in Oxford and, the RedHawks bounced back with a 79-75 victory at Rhodes Arena. The Zips' win marked the first win in Oxford since February 9, 2013. In 2015-16, Miami defeated Akron 77-64 at Millett Hall, and the Zips won 2015-16 series opener 75-46 in Akron.

Akron is 17-9 against the RedHawks in Akron, 10-22 on the road in the series, and 2-1 in neutral site competition. Akron and Miami have met four times in the MAC Tournament with the series tied at 2-2. The Zips are 2-1 in Cleveland against the RedHawks and dropped a first-round game in Oxford. the RedHawks won five of the last seven games at Millett Hall.

Strong Defensive Stance
The Akron Zips are ranked in the Top 25 in defense efficiency, according to the Ken Pomeroy rankings. The Zips are 22nd overall and cracked KenPom's Top 100 teams, ranking 100th overall. Akron has limited opponents to scoring 60 points or less in 10 games, including five games of 50 points or under. The Zips allow only 62.7 points per game which ranks No. 15 in the NCAA for scoring defense and first in the MAC. Akron limits opponents to 40.2 shooting from the floor (27th) and 30.0 from long distance (20th). Akron has caused 363 turnovers (14.0 t/g) with 148 steals (5.7 stl/g). Jimond Ivey leads the team in takeaways with 34 steals, Tyler Cheese is second (29), Loren Cristian Jackson (26), Channel Banks (22), Daniel Utomi (14). In addition, players are sacrificing their bodies by taking charges as Jackson has taken 21, Cheese 20 and Channel Banks 12.

Defending the JAR
Akron is 11-2 at home this season and 5-1 in league play. The Zips only allow opponents to score 58.2 points per game at home, and only 59.67 in the four league games. Akron has allowed 757 total points in 13 games and 358 points in the four MAC games. Akron's two losses at home were to Marshall (75-74) and No. 25 Buffal0 (76-70) -- the highest point totals for the opposition at Rhodes Arena this season. In fact, Akron has held nine teams to 60 points or less, including four teams to 50 or less.

Marshall (75), Central Michigan (67), Northern Illinois (65), Tennessee St. (60), Detroit Mercy (59), Carnegie Mellon (55), Alabama St. (54), Kent State (53), Cedarville (50), Western Michigan (48), Eastern Michigan (49), Chicago St. (46)

Zips in the MAC
The Zips have posted a 51-30 mark (.630) in the last 81 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 105-52 in the regular season against the West Division (.669), including winners of 48 of the last 64 regular-season games since divisional play began during the 1997-98 season.

Akron is 59-14 (.808) at home in league play since the start of the 2011 MAC schedule. UA has seen a ton of success in league play since the start of the 2004-05 season, and is 167-83 overall (.668), including a 104-21 mark in MAC play at home (.832). The Zips' 167 wins are the most in the league during that stretch. The Zips have won 87 of their last 127 MAC games (.685).

Akron is 29-18 all-time in the MAC Tournament, going 22-7 in 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.

Fight to the Finish
The Akron Zips are currently 14-12 overall and 6-7 in MAC play, picking up 11 wins at home, one on the road and two wins on a neutral floor. Akron won all 14 games by a +17.2 margin and currently rank 70th in the NCAA and 5th in the MAC with a +6.7 scoring margin. Taking it a step further, in eight of Akron's setbacks, the Zips only lost by a combined total of 25 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, 68-62 to No. 6 ranked Nevada and 88-86 to Central Michigan. Zips fell 73-56 @NIU, 68-61 @ Miami, 76-70 Buffalo, 57-56 @Ball State and 73-69 @Bowling Green.

Utomi Scores 1,000 Points
Daniel Utomi became the second Zips of the season to eclipse the 1,000 career point mark. He entered the club as the 45th member on Tuesday, Feb. 12 against Buffalo. He scored 14 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. In 88 games, Utomi scored 1,012 points. Utomi is leading the Zips' scoring efforts with 13.9 ppg and 362 total points . 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 a 998 career total. In addition, Utomi is ranked in the NCAA's Top 100 players in three categories. He is 46th (1st MAC) overall in 3-point FG attempts (200), 73rd (3rd MAC) in 3-point FG per game (2.77), 63rd (2nd MAC) overall in 3-point FG made (72), and 110th (7th MAC) in 3-point FG percentage (36.0).

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 334 points, averaging 12.8 points per game as Akron's third leading scorer. Over his four-year playing career at Akron, Ivey averages 9.5 points per game. He appeared in 126 total games with 86 starting appearances and 1,202 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 19-of-26 games, including 10 straight games. He notched a career-high 26 and five 20-plus point performances, Marshall (26), Clemson (25), Tennessee State (23) and Northern Illinois (22). 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 scored double figures in 12-of-the-last-14 games 22 (NIU), 20 (Buffalo), 19 (Kent State), 14 (Bowling Green), 13 (Miami), 12 four times (WMU, CMU, @CMU, Ohio), 11 (UT, BSU) and 10 (EMU). He is the Zips second leading scorer (13.6 ppg).

The Broadcasts
The Zips' game is scheduled to air on ESPN+ as Michael Reghi will call the action and Jacki Windon will provide 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-Learfield/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.

UP NEXT
Akron will travel to No. 25 ranked Buffalo on Tuesday, Feb. 26 for a 7 p.m. tip-off in the season's second meeting. Fans can also follow the action on ESPN+, Akron-IMG Sports Radio Network 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship). The free audio stream is available at SportsRadio1350.com, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn.com/Akron Zips.

Akron Returns to the JAR for Miami Rematch on Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Channel Banks

Tyler Cheese

Jimond Ivey

Loren Cristian Jackson

Daniel Utomi

The University of Akron Athletics