The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Eastern Michigan
Akron Opens MAC Play at Eastern Michigan
January 03 | Men's Basketball
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Akron Zips (10-3) vs Eastern Michigan (10-3)
Saturday, Jan. 4 • Convocation Center • Ypsilanti, Mich. • Noon • ESPN+
What's Ahead
Mid-American Conference play is back - #MACtion – and the Zips are set to open the 28th season of league play on the road against Eastern Michigan. On Saturday, Jan. 4 Akron is scheduled to battle the Eagles at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich. Tip-off is slated for Noon and is scheduled to be aired on ESPN+ and the Akron 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.
The Zips are off to a solid start, standing 10-3 overall with an unblemished 8-0 record at home, 1-2 on the road and 1-1 in neutral site contests. Akron is 19-8 in MAC openers, 11-1 at home since joining the league in 1992. Over the last 15 seasons, the Zips are 12-4 in MAC openers and 8-1 at home. Akron has won the last 8-of-9 MAC openers.
Akron in the MAC
The Zips have posted a 53-33 mark (.616) in the last 86 games against the MAC East dating back to the start of the 2012 league schedule. Akron is 6-3 against the MAC East at the conference tournament during that stretch. Akron is 106-52 in the regular season against the West Division (.671), including winners of 49 of the last 65 regular-season games since divisional play began during the 1997-98 season. Akron is 61-15 (.803) 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 169-85 overall (.665), including a 106-22 mark in MAC play at home (.828). The Zips' 169 wins are the most in the league during that stretch. The Zips have won 89 of their last 131 MAC games (.679).
Scouting the Eagles
Eastern Michigan enters league play with a 10-3 overall record. The Eagles own a perfect 6-0 mark at home and 2-3 on the road and 2-0 in neutral site games this season. EMU averages 67.9 points per game on 43.2 percent shooting from the floor and 31.3 percent effort from beyond the 3-point arc, draining 6.5 triples a game. In addition, the Eagles shoot 63.1 percent from the free throw line with 15.2 per game.Â
EMU has two players scoring in double figures and three players just shy of the mark led by Ty Groce with 12.2 points on 41.7 percent shooting from the floor (48-of-113). He buried 14 long-distance buckets, third best on the team, and leads the squad in steals (26) while adding 21 assists and 671 rebounds (5.5 rebs/g) to the stat sheet.
Noah Morgan follows with 10.2 points per game. Morgan is shooting 40.4 percent from the floor, including a team-best 18-of-50 from downtown (.360). He is second in assists (26) and steals (21). Yeikson Montero and Boubacar Toure add 9.7 and 9.4 points, respectively, to EMU's total. Montero drained 13 triples and is second in steals (21) while dishing out 18 assists. Boubacar controls the paint, ranking first in shooting percentage (.667, 50-of-75), rebounds (7.8, 101) and blocked shots (17).
In addition, Thomas Binelli and Chris James are deep threats, connecting 15 and 13 long-range shots while averaging 8.2 and 5.7 points per outing. Darion Spottsville is the team's assist leader (29).Â
Defensively, EMU limits its opponents to 60.7 points per game on 40.1 percent shooting from the floor and 35.7 percent from 3-point range, allowing 9.0 long distance strikes per night. The Eagles caused 260 turnovers (20.0 to/g) with a league-best 151 steals (11.6 stl/g). Eastern Michigan is slightly outrebounded by the opponent by a -0.3 margin as the opponent grabbed 456 total boards (35.1 rebs/g) compared to the 453 total rebounds (34.8 rebs/g) secured.
The Akron-Eastern Michigan Series
Saturday's game marks the 51st meeting in series history between Akron and Eastern Michigan, and eighth meeting for a Groce coached squad, fourth at Akron. Akron holds a 29-21 all-time series advantage while Groce is 3-4 overall against the Eagles, 1-2 at Akron.Â
The Zips have won 19 of the last 24 meetings, including 6-of-8 games. The Zips snapped EMU's two-game winning streak with a 51-49 win at the JAR last season. In 2017-18, Eastern Michigan snapped Akron's five game winning streak in the series with a 63-49 win at the Convocation Center. In addition, the Eagles came from behind to advance to the semifinals of the MAC Tournament with a 67-58 win. EMU overcame a 19-point deficit in the second half, 47-28 Zips with 12:30 remaining in the game.Â
The Zips won both regular-season meetings in 2016-17, 70-63 on Jan. 20, at Rhodes Arena and 87-76 on Feb. 10, at the EMU Convocation Center. The Zips and the Eagles played a third time during the 2016-17 season. Akron met Eastern Michigan in the quarterfinal of the MAC Tournament for the second-straight season. The No. 1 ranked Zips defeated the No. 8 ranked Eagles, 79-62, at Quicken Loans Arena on March 9, 2017. Akron is 5-1 in the MAC Tournament against the Eagles.
2020 Vision
The Zips have seen 10 20-point scoring performances this season, including 28, 26 and 20 points by Loren Cristian Jackson, a 25 and 20 point performances by Xeyrius Williams and a 21-point effort from Channel Banks. 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 four 20-plus point performances against N.C. Central (20), at No.2 Louisville (20), Merrimack (20) and Southern (21). 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 15.6 points per game followed by Tyler Cheese (14.1), Xeyrius Williams (13.7) and Channel Banks (13.0). Over the first 13 games, the Akron Zips have seen at least three players score in double digits in every 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), YSU (Cheese 19, Jackson 19, Banks 12 and Reece 10), Southern (Cheese 21, Williams 15, Banks 14, and Reece 11), Concord (Banks 19, Sayles 16, Williams 12 and Tribble 11) and Liberty (Banks 17, Jackson 17, Williams 15 and Cheese 12).
Getting Votes
Akron is receiving votes for The CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, now in its 21st season of existence. The Zips received 43 votes which places Akron 27th overall among teams from the America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast and Western Athletic.
In addition, the Zips debuted at No. 63 in the first NCAA NET Rankings and now stands 66th overall. Statistically, Akron ranks in the NCAA Top 100 in 16 statistical categories, including 12th 3PT FG Defense (26.8), 21st D-REB/g (29.5), 32nd 3PT FG/g (9.5), 42nd Total Reb./g (40.2), 45th FG% Defense (38.7), 47th FT % (75.3), 48th W/L % (76.9), 51st Scoring Margin (11.7), 52nd FT Made (210), 54thTotal 3PT FGM (123), 58th 3PT FG % (36.4), 83rd Scoring Defense (63.3), 84th 3PT FG attempts (338), 90th Scoring Offense (76.2), 94th FT Attempts (279) and 99th Assists/g (14.6).
Are You Xeyrius?
Senior Xeyrius Williams impacts both sides of the floor for the Zips, nearly averaging a double-double with 13.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per night. He owns team-highs in rebounds (129) and blocked shots (19). Williams is shooting 84.6 percent from the free throw line (22-of-26). In the NCAA, Williams ranks 6th in defensive rebounds per game (8.23), 20th rebounds per game (9.9), 37th total rebounds (129), 76th double-doubles (3), 97th blocked shots per game (1.5) and 99th total blocks (19). He ranks among the league's best in five categories including rebounding (2nd), defensive rebounds (2nd), blocked shots (3rd), free throw percentage (4th) and scoring (17th). He has scored with double figures nine times this season, including a career-high 25 points against Marshall – Others: vs WVU (20), vs Malone (17), vs NC Central (19), vs Merrimack (14), vs Southern (15), vs Concord (12), vs Tulane (16) and vs Liberty (15). He has four double-doubles this season.
Pass the Cheese
Senior Tyler Cheese ranks second in scoring for the Zips, averaging 14.1 points per game. He registered double-digit points in 10-of-13 games with a season high of 21 points. He posted 20 points three times – NC Central, No.2 Louisville and Merrimack and also scored 15 twice (Malone and WVU) and 19 (YSU). Cheese is fourth on the squad in 3-pointers made (19) and is shooting at a 35.8 percent clip from deep (19-of-53). He stands 13th in league scoring, 7th in free throw percentage (.786, 44-of-56) and 10th assists (3.2) and 12th assists/turnover ratio (1.2).
Like Money in the Bank$
Senior Channel Banks ranks fourth in scoring for the Zips with 13.0 points per game. He is shooting a team-high 48.8 percent from deep and owns a team-best 42 made 3-pointers (42-of-86). His 3.2 made 3-pointers per game ranks 2nd best in the MAC and 9th in the NCAA. He ranks in the nation's Top 25 in three categories from deep the other two are 3-point FG per game (20th) and 3-point FG made (25th) Banks scored in double figures in 10-of-13 games which includes a career-high 21 against UMass and vs Malone (15), @ WVU (16), vs YSU (12), @ No.2 Louisville (18), vs Merrimack (11), Southern (14), Concord (19), Tulane (14) and Liberty (17). Beyond the arc in the MAC, Banks ranks 1st 3-point FG per game (3.2), 1st 3-point FG per game (3.23), 2nd 3-point FG percentage and 13th in steals (1.3).
Action Jackson
Junior Loren Cristian Jackson is the leading scorer for the Zips, averaging 15.6 points per game. He scored double-digit points in 10-of-13 games, including a season-high 28 points against Marshall. He leads the squad in assists (62), dishing out 4.8 helpers per game while making 49-of-57 from the charity stripe (.860). Jackson buried a second-best 28 triples. Jackson is ranked in the top of the MAC in four categories, including free throw percentage (3rd, .860), assists (4th, 4.9), assist/to ratio (4th, 2.1 ) and scoring (7th, 15.6). In the NCAA, Jackson ranks 64th free throw percentage, 76th assists per game, 77th assists to turnover ratio and 88th total assists.
Reece's Piece's
Junior Camron Reece is a huge piece for the Zips frontcourt, clocking 18-minutes per game and averaging 7.6 points on 56.7 percent shooting from the floor. He scored in double-digits five 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 5.1 rebounds per game and posted five blocked shots. Reece has made 23-of-32 free throws for a 71.9 free throw percentage.
Williams Named MAC East Player of the Week
Xeyrius Williams (Springfield, Ohio) was named Mid-American Conference Eastern Division Co-Player of the Week, sharing the honor with Ohio's Jason Preston (12/9/19). Williams led the Zips to a pair of wins last week, averaging 20 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 blocked shots and 1.0 steals per game. He connected with 44.1 percent of his shots from the field (15-of-34) which included a 50 percent showing from beyond the 3-point arc (8-of-16). For the week, he scored 40 points, grabbed 19 rebounds, dished out four assists, blocked two shots and had two steals. Against Marshall, Williams posted his second double-double of the season with 25 points and 14 rebounds, both career-highs. He added a blocked shot and a steal en route to the Zips 85-73 triumph. Against Southern, Williams tallied 15 points with five boards, a blocked shot and a steal for Akron to remain unbeaten at home, 72-57.
The Broadcasts
The Zips game is available for broadcast on ESPN+3 with Ryan Wooley calling the action and (PxP) - Tom Helmer providing 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.
UP NEXT
Akron returns to the JAR for the MAC home opener against Western Michigan on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. The league contest is scheduled to be broadcasted on ESPN+ and 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.
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