Zips Final Homestand Starts with the Ohio Bobcats

Tuesday, March 3

Akron, Ohio

7:30 PM

University of Akron

Ohio

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Zips Final Homestand Starts with the Ohio Bobcats

March 02 | Men's Basketball

Akron Zips (22-7, 12-4 MAC) vs Ohio (15-14, 7-9 MAC)
Tuesday, March 3 • James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, Ohio • 7:30 PM • CBS Sports Network

Ohio Head Coach
Jeff Boals (Ohio '95)
Overall: 65-50 (4th season)
Record at Ohio: 10-9 (1st season)
MAC Record: 2-4 (1st season)

AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 233-172 (12th Season)
Record at Akron: 53-41 (3rd Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 26-26 (3rd Season)
Overall MAC Record: 60-56 (at Ohio and Akron)

All-Time Series
Akron Leads: 43-40 - Groce vs.Ohio 3-2 (3-2 Overall)
Last Meeting: Akron 88, Ohio 86 at Convocation Center on Jan. 25, 2020
First Meeting: Akron 21, Ohio 18 in Akron 1911-12 season
In Akron:25-14, Neutral: 3-1, In Athens: 15-25

Broadcast
TV/Video: CBS Sports Network – Dave Ryan (PxP), Steve Wolf (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
Akron returns to James A. Rhodes Arena for its final homestand of the regular season against The two-game stretch includes rivals Ohio and Kent State. On Tuesday, March 3, CBS Sports Network will broadcast the rematch between Ohio and Akron at 7:30 p.m. Three days later, Akron will share the floor with its cross-town rival, Kent State. Both games can also be heard on at SportsRadio1350.com, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn.com/AkronZips. Fans can also follow the action on GoZips.com via Live Stats.

The Zips are are back at the top of the league standings after an 86-73 win at Buffalo. Akron is 22-7 overall with a 12-4 league mark. The Zips are 5-3 in divisional play, defeating Miami twice, Ohio, Buffalo and Bowling Green. The Zips fell to Buffalo, Kent State and Bowling Green.

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, Western Michigan twice, Ball State and Northern Illinois but fell to Toledo.

Scouting the Bobcats
Ohio enters the second game of the series with a 15-14 overall record and 7-9 in MAC play under new head coach Jeff Boals. The Bobcats have posted a 5-5 mark since the last time the two teams met. Ohio is 11-5 (6-3 MAC) at home, 3-7 (1-6 MAC) on the road and 1-2 in neutral site games.

Ohio has three players averaging double figures in points led by Jason Preston with 16.3 points per game. Preston is shooting 50.9 percent from the floor with a 179 made field goals on 352 attempts. From long distance, he has buried 27 triples while shooting at a 36.5 percent clip. Preston adds a team-best 216 assists and 45 steals. He grabs 6.6 rebounds per game (190 rebs).

Ben Vander Plas follows with 15.5 points per game and averages a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game (198 rebs) with 78 assists, 30 steals and 19 blocked shots. Vander Plas has made a second-best 39 long-distance buckets while shooting 49.4 percent from the floor and 30.5 percent from deep. Jordan Dartis rounds out the double-digit scoring with 13.3 points per game and leads the squad from deep, draining 80 triples for a 37.7 shooting percentage (80-of-212). He adds 59 rebounds, 34 assists and 30 steals.

Ohio has four additional players with double-digit 3-point field goals made in Ben Roderick (.363, 29), Lunden McDay (.349, 22), Nate Springs (.410, 16) and Mason McMurray (.282, 11).

Defensively, Ohio limits its opponents to 68.6 points per game on 42.0 percent shooting from the floor and 34.0 percent from 3-point range, allowing 7.6 long distance strikes per night. The Bobcats caused 382 turnovers (13.2 to/g) with 190 steals (6.6 stl/g). Ohio slightly outrebounds the opponent by a +0.9 margin. The opponents snagged 996 (34.3) total boards compared to the 1,023 (35.3) total rebounds secured.

The Akron-Ohio Series

Tuesday's game marks the 84th meeting in series history between Akron and Ohio, and sixth meeting for a Groce coached UA squad. Groce owns a 3-2 record against his former team.

Akron holds an all-time 43-40 series advantage. The Zips have won 12 of the last 18 meetings, and Akron is 25-13 against the Bobcats in Akron, winning 14 of the last 17 meetings at Rhodes Arena, including a 71-68 win on Jan.23, 2018. Ohio's last win in the series was at the JAR last year 73-49 (3/2/19).

The Zips are 15-25 against OU in Athens, winning five of the last eight meetings at the Convocation Center, including an 88-86 win earlier this season. The Zips dropped two meetings in 2017-18 by scores of 99-75 (2/6/18) Rhodes Arena and 85-70 (2/4/17) at the Convocation Center. The Zips are 3-2 against the Bobcats in the MAC Tournament.

Jackson 46th Member of Akron's 1,000 Point Club
Junior Loren Cristian Jackson became Akron's 46th member of the 1,000th point club as the Zips fell 78-60 to Bowling Green at the Stroh Center. Prior to the game, Jackson needed only 24 points to enter the exclusive group at Akron as he scored his 1,000th career point against Ohio in a 35-point scoring effort. Jackson matched that career-high scoring effort against Bowling Green. In less than two seasons at Akron (61 games), Jackson has eclipsed the 1,000-point mark. Last season he scored 460 points and so far this year he has registered 551 points for 1,011 total points. Jackson eclipsed the 1,000th point threshold at Akron on a 3-pointer from the far wing while being fouled. It was his 24th point of the game and he completed four-point play for a 1,001 total. He led all scorers with his second 35-point performance of the season. Jackson tallied 13 points in the first half and followed with 22 in the final frame.

The Last Meeting...
Loren Cristian Jackson recorded his 1,000th career point and finished with a career-high 35 while leading the Zips to an 88-86 road win over Ohio at the Convocation Center. Jackson was on fire, shooting 76.5 percent from the floor (13-of-17) which included a 77.8 percent showing from beyond the 3-point arc. He knocked down seven triples (7-of-9) and scored the Zips final six points in a tight game that was decided in the final moments. Jackson handed out a team-high five assists and tallied two steals.

Senior Tyler Cheese followed with 16 points, four assists and a blocked shot, and seniors Xeyrius Williams and Channel Banks collected 12 points apiece. Williams added five rebounds, four steals and two assists while Banks grabbed four rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot.

Akron shot over 50-percent from all areas of the court, finishing 56.9 percent from the floor (33-of-58), 56.5 percent from deep (13-of-23) and 90 percent from the charity stripe (9-of-10). In two games this week, Akron went 27-of-47 from long distance, shooting 57.4 percent while draining 14 and 13 triples, respectively.

Jackson started the scoring for the Zips, recording the Zips first five points and outscored Ohio 20-7 over the next four minutes of play. An old-fashioned 3-point play by Banks capped the Zips' run at 25-11 with 11:11 remaining in the first half. During the run, Jackson eclipsed the 1,000 career-point threshold with a 3-pointer from the wing as the Zips lead swelled to 14-points.

Ohio bounced back with a run of their own, cutting the deficit to four points, 30-28, fueled by three deep strikes and 10 points in the paint. Cheese answered with a layin and added nine points to a Zips 16-2 run to finish out the half. Akron led 48-32 at intermission.

In the second half, Ohio cut the lead to 12 points five times, but Akron kept the game hovering in the 15- to 14-point range. With the Zips ahead 61-47, Ohio hit back-to-back 3-pointers as Jason Preston and Miles Brown initiated an 11-0 run. Preston followed with layup and a Ben Roderick 3-pointer brought the 5,000-plus fans to their feet, but Akron still held a 61-58 lead with 11:35 remaining in the game.

The Bobcats cut the Zips advantage to two points, 86-84, with 28-seconds left in regulation. Jackson scored the Zips final two points, cashing in on two free throws after being fouled in the paint. Preston answered for Ohio with a 2-point field goal, but the Zips held on for the win.

Jordan Dartis led the Bobcats scoring with 21 points while Ben Vander Plas followed with 18, Preston notched 15 and Lunden McDay had 11. Ohio shot 61.8 percent from the field (21-of-34) and 63.6 from downtown (7-of-11) in the second half and finished the game shooting above 55.6 from the floor and 45.5 from long distance. Ohio held a 28-27 advantage on the glass and turnovers were tied at 11 each.

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.

Creating Space
The Akron Zips are 13-4 in the last 17 games, including eight MAC wins by double figures. During that stretch, the Zips have outscored the opponents by a +7.6 margin (+130, 1,289-1,1159. In the 16 league games, Akron holds a +7.8 margin (+124, 1,204-1,080). 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), Miami (+10) and Buffalo (+15). The Zips fell to Toledo (-10), Buffalo (-3), Kent State (-1) and BGSU (-18). The Zips own a +9.5 scoring margin in all games (+276, 2,195-1,919).

Akron in the MAC
The Zips have posted a 57-36 mark (.613) in the last 93 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 181-90 overall (.668), including a 110-24 mark in MAC play at home (.821). The Zips' 181 wins are the most in the league during that stretch. The Zips have won 99 of their last 145 MAC games (.683).

Long Distance Attacks
Akron is shooting 36.2 percent as a team from beyond the 3-point arc (269-of-743), ranking 51st NCAA and 2nd MAC. The 269 made 3-pointers ranks 29th NCAA and 1st MAC while attempts (743) ranks 50th NCAA and 3rd MAC. Akron averages 9.3 triples per game, standing 26th NCAA and 1st MAC. The long distances attacks are spearheaded by Loren Cristian Jackson with 88 while Channel Banks and Xeyrius Williams follow with 71 and 61, respectively. Jackson ranks 17th in the NCAA, while Banks and Williams rank 98th and 180th, respectively. Cheese has 41 made 3-pointers.

2020 Vision
Four different players have at least 20 points 24 times this season. Loren Cristian Jackson leads with 12 20-plus point performances that includes five 30-plus performances, registering a career-high 35 points three times 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).

The Broadcasts
The Zips game will be televised on CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan calling the action and Steve Wolf 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 James A. Rhodes Arena for its final game of the regular season against archrival Kent State. The Crystal Clinic Wagon Wheel challenge game will also serve as the Zips Senior Night. In addition, Akron will honor one of its program greats, Romeo Travis, at halftime by honoring his jersey. On Friday, March 3, CBS Sports will again broadcast the game but this time at 6:30 p.m. The game can also be heard on at SportsRadio1350.com, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn.com/AkronZips. Fans can also follow the action on GoZips.com via Live Stats.