Zips Host Bowling Green for Senior Night

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Akron Zips (15-14, 7-9) vs. Bowling Green (20-9, 12-4)
Tuesday, March 5 • James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, Ohio • 7 PM • ESPN+

Bowling Green Head Coach
Michael Huger (Bowling Green '94)
Overall Record: 65-62 (4th Season)
Record at BGSU: 65-62 (4th Season)
MAC Record: 31-39 (4th Season)

AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 209-162 (11th Season)
Record at Akron: 29-32 (2nd Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 13-21 (2nd Season)
Overall MAC Record: 47-51 (at Ohio and Akron)

All-Time Series
Akron Leads: 38-26 Groce vs. Bowling Green: 2-1 (5-7 Overall)
Last Meeting: BGSU 73 , Akron 69at Stroh Center on Feb. 19, 2019
First Meeting: Akron 52, BGSU 29 in Akron 1937-38 season

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 move Akron closer to hosting a first round MAC Tournament game.
•The Zips are No. 28 in defense efficiency, and No. 119 overall team in KenPomeroy Rankings
• Akron Ranks in the NCAA Top 100 teams in 11 Categories
• The Zips are ranked 18th in the NCAA for scoring defense only allowing 63.4 points per game
• Akron is ranked 14th in 3-point FG% Defense (29.9), 22nd FG% Defense (40.3), 26th 3-point FGs attempted (813), 60th Fewest TO (341), 62nd TO/game (11.8), 77th TO margin (1.8), 77th 3pt/game (8.7), 79th DREB/g (26.48), 91st 3-point FGs made (253), 95th Fewest Fouls (492) and 102nd Scoring Margin (+5.2).

What's Ahead
Akron will wrap-up the regular season at home against Bowling Green on Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. at James A. Rhodes Arena. The game will serve as the Zips' Senior Night as Akron will honor its lone senior Jimond Ivey before the game. The men's game is scheduled to be aired on ESPN+ and Akron-IMG Sports Radio Network 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship).

Scouting the Falcons
Bowling Green enters the contest with a 20-9 overall record and 12-4 in MAC play. The Falcons are 1-2 after defeating the Zips, winning at home the last time out against Kent State (77-72) and falling at Ohio in overtime (92-87) and Miami at home (82-69). BGSU is 14-2 (7- MAC) at home, 5-7 (5-2 MAC) on the road and 1-0 in neutral site games.

BGSU has three players scoring in double figures and a fourth player at 9.2 points per game in Antwon Lillard.

Justin Turner leads the squad in points, assists and steals, averaging 18.7 points per game with 94 assists and 40 steals. He shoots 48.2 percent from the floor (201-of-417) and 38.8 percent from downtown (54-of-139). Turner shoots 71.4 percent (85-of-119) at the free throw line and grabs 3.8 rebounds per game (111 rebs).

Demajeo Wiggins and Dylan Frye follow with 12.9 and 12.7 points per game, respectively. Wiggins grabs a team-best 11.2 rebounds per game (324 rebs) while connecting with 50.6 percent of his shots, all in the painted area. He has buried a team-best 137 free throws, blocked 17 shots, and dished out 27 assists. Frye leads the Falcons from behind the 3-point arc, draining 73 triples in 193 attempts (.378). Frye has buried 30 bonus buckets while dishing out 73 assists, grabbing 68 rebounds and swiping 34 steals.

Lillard's 9.2 points per game comes from 43.4 percent shooting from the field (82-of-189) and 40.0 percent from deep (38-of-95). He adds 39 assists, 27 steals and 10 blocks. In addition, Caleb Fields is a threat from deep, posting 23 long-distance makes on 69 chances for a 33.3 percent effort with only 16 standard field goals (39-of-109).

Defensively, BGSU allows opponents to score 71.8 points a night on 41.3 percent shooting from the field and 34.4 percent from downtown, allowing 9.0 made 3-pt FG per game. The Falcons caused 386 turnovers (13.3 tpg) while collecting 201 steals (6.9 stl/g) and 79 blocked shots (2.7 blk/g). On the glass, BGSU outrebounds the opponent by a +5.9 margin as the opponent to grabs 1,030 (35.5) total boards compared to the 1,201 (41.4) total rebounds.

The Akron-Bowling Green Series
Tuesday's game marks the 65th meeting in series history between Akron and Bowling Green, and 13th meeting for a Groce coached squad. Akron holds an all-time 38-26 series advantage while Groce is 5-7 against BGSU and 2-1 at Akron. The Zips have won 27 of the last 30 games, but dropped the 2019 series opener at the Stroh Center (73-69). Akron swept last season's series with an 80-78 win at Rhodes Arena (1/13/18) and an 81-79 win at the Stroh Center (2/20/18). Both games came down to the final possession.

In 2016-17, the two teams split the season series. The Zips opened Mid-American Conference play with an 89-84 win over BGSU at the JAR (1/3/17). BGSU picked up the win in the closing seconds at the Stroh Center, 66-65, snapping the Zips' 17-game winning streak against the Falcons. It was Akron's first loss to BGSU since March 1, 2009, a 50-46 loss at Rhodes Arena. Akron has won eight consecutive games at the JAR and 13-of-14 at the Stroh Center.

In addition, Akron posted three wins in the 2015-16 season, including an 80-66 win during the semifinal round of the MAC Tournament. The Zips have met the Falcons four times in the MAC Tournament with the series being tied at two games apiece. In addition, the 2017 MAC opener was the third time in series history that Akron and Bowling Green have met to open the MAC schedule. Akron holds a 3-0 advantage in conference openers, posting a 53-51 win in 1992-93, 71-45 victory during the 2009-10 season, and an 89-84 win in 2016-17 – all at Rhodes Arena.

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 its cross-town rival on Friday, March 8 for round two of the Crystal Clinic Wagon Wheel Challenge against Kent State at 6:30 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center. The season finale will air on CBS Sports Network, and fans can also follow the action on 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.

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Players Mentioned

Jimond Ivey

The University of Akron Athletics