Akron and Bowling Green Battle for Top Spot in the MAC on Tuesday

Tuesday, February 25

Bowling Green, Ohio

7 PM

University of Akron

Bowling Green

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Akron and Bowling Green Battle for Top Spot in the MAC on Tuesday

February 24 | Men's Basketball

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Akron Zips (21-6, 11-3 MAC) vs Bowling Green (20-7, 11-3 MAC)
Tuesday, Feb. 25 • Stroh Center • Bowling Green, Ohio • 7 PM • ESPN+

Bowling Green Head Coach
Michael Huger (BGSU, 1994)
Overall Record: 87-72 (5th Season)
Record at EMU: 87-72 (5th Season)
MAC Record: 42-44 (5th Season)

AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 232-171 (12th Season)
Record at Akron: 52-40 (3rd Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 25-25 (3rd Season)
Overall MAC Record: 59-55 (at Ohio and Akron)

All-Time Series
Akron Leads: 40-26 - Groce vs. Bowling Green: 4-1 (7-7 Overall)
Last Meeting: Akron 74, BGSU 59 at James A. Rhodes Arena Feb. 11, 2020
First Meeting: Akron 52, BGSU 29 in Akron 1937-38 season

Broadcast
TV/Video: ESPN3 – Brad Woznicki (PxP), Brent Klassen (Analyst)
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 Akron Zips travel to Bowling Green to battle for Mid-American Conference supremacy, as both teams own a MAC-best 11-3 records. On Tuesday, Feb. 25, the two teams are scheduled to square-off for a second time in 14 days. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio. The contest will 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.

Akron is riding a five-game winning streak, and the Zips are 21-6 overall with a 11-3 league mark. Akron opened league play against five consecutive western division opponents. All other league foes played at least two divisional opponents during that stretch. Akron is 7-1 against the West, defeating Eastern Michigan twice in the MAC season opener on the road (69-45) and at home (59-58), Western Michigan twice (84-69, H) and (71-67, A), Ball State (75-60, H), Northern Illinois (72-49, A) but fell to Toledo (99-89, H). The Zips are 3-2 in divisional play, defeating Miami (81-60), Ohio (88-86) and Bowling Green (74-59) on the road and falling to Buffalo at home and Kent State on the road.

Scouting the Falcons
Bowling Green enters the game with a 20-7 overall record and 11-3 league mark. The Zips handed the Falcons their seventh loss of the season and third in league play, but BGSU has won two-straight games since, The Falcons are 12-1 at home, 5-3 on the road and 3-3 in neutral site games this season.

BGSU averages 75.0 points per game on 42.3 percent shooting from the floor and 33.6 percent effort from beyond the 3-point arc, draining 7.7 triples a game. In addition, Bowling Green shoots 74.0 percent from the free throw line with 13.1 per game. BGSU has three players scoring in double figures led by Justin Turner with 19.0 points on 43.8 percent shooting from the floor (140-of-320). He buried 32 long-distance buckets and adds 4.9 rebounds per game. Turner is third on the team in assists (58) and has 19 steals and five blocked shots.

Dylan Fryes and Daeqwon Plowden follow with 13.5 and12.5 points per game, respectively. Frye leads the squad from behind the 3-point arc (48-of-150) and in assists (97). He shoots 38. 0 percent from all areas of the court (115-of-303) and 32.0 percent from deep, while Plowden connected with 48.7 percent from the field (129-265) which includes a 35.8 effort from downtown (29-of-81). He is the team's top rebounder, pulling down 8.2 boards per night and has 222 total rebounds. Plowden is second in steals (26) and blocked shots (20) . Trey Diggs and Caleb Fields supply the Falcons with 7.9 and 6.8 points per game. Diggs has made 70 field goals with more than half coming from deep (46). Fields nailed 25 (one per game) on a 31.1 percentage from deep. Michael Laster owns a second-best 81 assists and Tayor Mattosis second on the glass (136).

Defensively, BGSU limits its opponents to 72.4 points per game on 41.6 percent shooting from the floor and 34.5 percent from 3-point range, allowing 8.1 long distance strikes per night. The Falcons caused 322 turnovers (11.9 to/g) with 147 steals (5.4 stl/g). Bowling Green slightly outrebounds the opponent by a +2.0 margin as the opponent grabbed 1,024 total boards (37.9 rebs/g) compared to the 1,077 total rebounds (39.9 rebs/g) secured.

On The Road Again...
Akron is 7-3 on the road this season with an impressive 6-1 record when traveling to league foes. The Zips own a +8.2 scoring margin and have outscored the home team (+82, 773-691). Akron averages 77.3 points per game as the visitors while shooting 46.2 from the field and 41.6 percent from downtown with 10.4 made triples per game. On the glass, the Zips edge the home team, 362-359.

The Akron-Bowling Green Series
Tuesday's game marks the 67th meeting in series history between Akron and Bowling Green, and 15th meeting for a Groce coached squad. Akron holds an all-time 40-26 series advantage while Groce is 7-7 against BGSU and 4-1 at Akron. The Zips have won 29 of the last 32 games, including a 74-59 win this season. Both teams protected home court and split the 2019-20 series . Akron dropped the last season's series opener at the Stroh Center (73-69) and bounced back with a lopsided 91-67 triumph. Akron swept 2018-19 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 nine 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 Last Meeting...
In a battle between the two of the top teams in the Mid-American Conference East Division, an amped-up Akron Zips defense grounded the visiting Bowling Green Falcons in a decisive 74-59 win that knotted the two rivals in the loss column in the division standings at James A. Rhodes Arena on Tuesday.

Junior Loren Cristian Jackson led all scorers with 28 points, while senior Tyler Cheese contributed 17 in the win. In addition, the trio of senior Channel Banks senior Xeyrius Williams and junior Camron Reece had nine, eight and seven points, respectively. Williams led the Zips on the glass, posting his 13th double-digit rebounding performance with 10 boards.

Akron kept the clamps on the Falcons all game long, clipping the wings of their normally potent offense to the tune of 35.8 percent shooting (24-of-67) and 24.0 percent shooting from 3-point range (6-of-25). The Zips also forced 10 turnovers and converted them in 11 points, fueling their offense in a game where defense ruled the day.

Bowling Green made numerous runs throughout the second half, closing to within one at 45-44 midway through the half, but Akron shook off a series of calls by the officials that went in favor of the Falcons and uncorked a 14-4 run punctuated by a fast break 3-pointer from the right wing and a subsequent fast break jumper from the right elbow by Banks that elevated the Akron advantage to 59-48 with 7:51 remaining in the game.

It was a different Bowling Green team than the one Akron was expecting to face just a few days earlier, as the all-time leading 3-pointer shooter in program history, Dylan Frye, left the Falcons over the weekend for person reasons. Despite his departure, the Falcons entered the game in first place in the MAC East, one and a half games ahead of the Zips. They left it tied with Akron in the loss column, although the Falcons have a one-game edge in the win column thanks to having played one more MAC game than Akron.

The Zips delivered a consistent, even effort in the opening 20 minutes and because of it, took a 35-29 lead to the locker room at the half. Although their shooting was a bit below their season average - including 3-of-13 marksmanship from 3-point range - the Zips made up for it with hard-nosed defense that limited the Falcons to 37.1-percent shooting (13-of-15), including just 2-of-13 from beyond the arc.

Compounding the impact of that effort, Akron outrebounded Bowling Green by four in the first 20 minutes and allowed the Falcons to get to the foul line for just two shots. Jackson, after Eastern Michigan made it a mission to take him out of the game offensively in the Zips' previous game, returned to form with 16 points in the first half. He made all of his team's 3-pointers in the half and also canned one more triple in the frame than the Falcons did as a team.

Junior forward Daeqwon Plowden led Bowling Green with 18 points and 10 rebounds in defeat and redshirt junior guard Justin Turner added 12.

Defending the JAR
Akron is 13-2 at James A. Rhodes Arena and had a 12-game home court winning streak snapped by Toledo and fell to Buffalo the next time out. The Zips only allow opponents to score 62.4 points per game at home on 37.8 percent shooting from the field (345-of-913) and 28.4 percent from deep (87-of-306). Akron averages +14.1 scoring margin and has allowed 936 total points in 15 games – 99 points was the most for the opposition at Rhodes Arena this season. In fact, Akron has held nine teams to 60 points or less, including five teams to 50 or less.

Akron in the MAC
The Zips have posted a 56-35 mark (.615) in the last 91 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 112-53 in the regular season against the West Division (.679), including winners of 55 of the last 72 regular-season games since divisional play began during the 1997-98 season. Akron is 65-17 (.793) 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 180-89 overall (.669), including a 110-24 mark in MAC play at home (.821). The Zips' 180 wins are the most in the league during that stretch. The Zips have won 98 of their last 143 MAC games (.685).

Creating Space
The Akron Zips are 12-3 in the last 15 games, including seven MAC wins by double figures. During that stretch, the Zips have outscored the opponents by a +9.0 margin (+135, 1,143-1,008). In the 14 league games, Akron holds a +9.2 margin (+129, 1,058-929). The Zips defeated UMass (+6), EMU (+24), WMU (+15), BSU (+15), NIU (+23), Miami (+21), Ohio (+2), EMU (+1), BGSU (+15), CMU (+13), WMU (+4) and Miami (+10). The Zips fell to Toledo (-10), Buffalo (-3) and Kent State (-1). The Zips own a +10.4 scoring margin in all games (+281, 2,049-1,768).

The Polls - Zips Rank in Mid-Major Top 25 Poll
For the first time since the 2016-17 season, Akron basketball returned to the The CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. Akron is currently No. 14 (2/17/20). The Zips entered the poll at No. 19 with 194 votes to climb eight spots on the Jan. 6 rankings. The Zips were previously ranked 27th overall with 43 points. Akron jumped five spots to No. 14 with 359 points (1/13/2020). Akron split week three MAC games and dropped to No. 16 with 336 points (1/20/2020). Akron climbs to its best ranking of the season at No. 12 after a pair of road wins (1/27/20). Zips fell to 16th after two losses (2/3/20), but moved up to 15th with a lone win during bye week (2/10/20). Zips moved up to No. 14 after two wins (2/17/20). In 2016-17, the Zips climbed as high as No. 7 in the mid-major poll, receiving 577 votes by Jan. 30.

In addition, Akron received one vote for the AP Poll on Monday, Jan. 27 and Jan. 13. The Zips debuted at No. 63 in the first NCAA NET Rankings and now stands 72nd. Akron's highest ranking of the season was No. 34. In the Ken Pom rankings, Akron is currently 70th overall and is at the top of the MAC in offensive efficiency according to Ken Pom (110.4) and 50th in the NCAA (109.0). Akron has the third-best defensive efficiency rating in the MAC (96.9) and stands 106th in the NCAA (98.4).

Long Distance Attacks
Akron is shooting 37.5 percent as a team from beyond the 3-point arc (256-of-683), ranking 20th NCAA and 1st MAC. The 256 made 3-pointers ranks 28th NCAA and 1st MAC while attempts (683) ranks 63rd NCAA and 3rd MAC. Akron averages 9.5 triples per game, standing 23rd NCAA and 1st MAC. The long distances attacks are spearheaded by Loren Cristian Jackson with 81 while Channel Banks and Xeyrius Williams follow with 66 and 60, respectively. Jackson ranks 25th in the NCAA, while Banks and Williams rank 101st and 151st, respectively. Cheese has 41 made 3-pointers.

2020 Vision
Four different players have scored at least 20 points 22 times this season. Loren Cristian Jackson leads with 10 20-plus point performances, registering a career-high 35 points in addition to a 33-, 31-, a trio of 28-, a pair of 26- and a pair of 20-point efforts. Tyler Cheese owns eight of those performances, scoring 20 points three times coupled with 25-, a pair of 23-, and a pair of 21-point efforts. Xeyrius Williams and Channel Banks round out the 20-point performers list as Williams posted a career-best 25-point, 23-point and 20-point games. Banks is also a career-high with 21 points. In addition, the Zips have six 19-point efforts by Williams (NC Central, Miami), Cheese (YSU, Toledo) and Jackson (YSU, Kent State).

Strong Defensive Stance and Sacrifice
The Akron Zips have limited opponents to scoring 60 points or less in 12 games, including six games of 50 points or under. The Zips allow only 65.5 points per game, ranking No. 72 in the NCAA for scoring defense and 4th MAC. Akron limits opponents to 40.0 shooting from the floor (43rd NCAA, 2nd MAC) and 29.7 from long distance (33rd NCAA, 2nd MAC). Akron has caused 367 turnovers (13.6 t/g) with 132 steals (4.9 stl/g). In addition, players are sacrificing their bodies by taking charges as Banks leads with 23 followed by Cheese (19) and Jackson (17).

Zips Scoring in Bunches
The Zips have four players averaging double figures in scoring led by Loren Cristian Jackson with 19.1 points per game followed by Tyler Cheese (16.1), Xeyrius Williams (13.8) and Channel Banks (10.7). Over 26 games, the Akron Zips have seen at least three players score in double digits in 24 times. Akron had five double-figure scorers against Malone (Williams 17, Banks 15, Cheese 15, Reece 13 and Jackson 12) ... four against Miami (Cheese 17, Williams 17, Jackson 14, Banks 14), Central Michigan (Jackson 31, Banks 14, Williams 11, Cheese 11), Buffalo (Jackson 28, Williams 16, Cheese 12 and Banks 11), Miami (Jackson 20, Williams 19, Cheese 18, Banks 12), 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), Liberty (Banks 17, Jackson 17, Williams 15 and Cheese 12), Ohio (Jackson 35, Cheese 16, Banks 12 and Williams 12) and Kent State (Jackson 19, Cheese 15, Williams 15 and Banks 10).

Zips in the MAC Tournament
Akron is 30-19 all-time in the MAC Tournament, 23-8 in its last 31 tournament games. The Zips have won at least one game in the MAC Tournament every year since the 2004-05 season and has advanced to the MAC Tournament title game in nine consecutive seasons with an unprecedented 12-of-13 semifinal appearances. The Zips' runs of the consecutive title game (9) and semifinal appearances (12) are the longest streaks in MAC history. The Zips are 24-13 at Quicken Loans Arena. Akron is 7-6 in opening round games, 1-0 second round, 10-4 in the quarterfinals, 9-3 semifinals, and 3-6 in title games.

The Broadcasts
The Zips game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ with Brad Woznicki calling the action and Brent Klassen 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 continues its final regular season road trip at Buffalo. On Saturday, Feb. 28 the Zips battle the Bulls at the Alumni Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. on ESPN3 which also 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.