Zips Open MAC Play against Buffalo at The JAR

Zips Open MAC Play against Buffalo at The JAR
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Game 11 Notes: Akron vs Buffalo (PDF)

Akron Zips (7-3, 0-0 MAC) vs Buffalo (6-5, 0-1 MAC)
Saturday, Jan. 1 • James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, OH • 2 PM • ESPN+

Akron Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 259-184 (13th Season)
Record at Akron: 77-52 (4th Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 40-32 (4th Season)
Overall MAC Record: 74-62 (at Ohio and Akron)

Buffalo Head Coach
Jim Whitesell (Luther '82)
Overall Record: 429-326 (27th Season)
Record at UB: 42-26 (3rd Season)
MAC Record: 23-13 (3rd Season)

All-Time Series
Akron Leads: 35-33 • Groce vs. Buffalo: 1-8 (6-12 Overall)
Last Meeting: Buffalo 81, Akron 74 (OT) at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on March 13, 2021
First Meeting: Akron 84, Buffalo 74 in Akron 1954-55 season
MAC Tournament: Buffalo Leads: 5-1

Broadcast
TV/Video: ESPN+ - Michael Reghi (PxP) and Jacki Windon (Analyst)
Radio: Akron Sports Network-Dave Skoczen (PxP), Joe Dunn (Analyst)-WHLO 640 AM (iHeart Radio)
Live Stats: GoZips.com/Schedule - Live Stats

What's Ahead
The Akron Zips open Mid-American Conference play at James A. Rhodes Arena against Buffalo on New Year's Day at 2 p.m. due to Akron's original MAC opener at Bowling Green being postponed. Fans can follow the action on ESPN+ with Michael Reghi calling the action and Jacki Windon providing analysis or listen to Akron Sports Radio Network on WHLO 640 AM with Dave Skoczen (PxP) and Joe Dunn (analyst). Live stats are also available on GoZips.com.

Opening MAC Play
Akron is 21-8 in MAC openers since joining the league in 1992. Over the last 15 seasons, the Zips are 12-3 in MAC openers. Akron has won the last 12-of-13 MAC openers, including a 3-1 mark under head coach John Groce. The Zips fell in Groce's initial MAC opener, but have won three straight leading into the 2021-22 opener.

The Akron-Buffalo Series
Saturday's game marks the 69th meeting in series history between Akron and Buffalo, and 19th meeting for a Groce coached squad, 10th at Akron. Akron holds an all-time 35-33 series advantage while Groce is 6-12 overall and 1-8 at Akron. In three of those five setbacks, the Zips led at halftime and took a one possession game to the final minutes. The Zips and the Bulls have met six times in postseason play with Buffalo holding a 5-1 edge.

Buffalo claimed the last meeting in 81-74 overtime to advance to the MAC Tournament finals. The Zips dropped the only regular season meeting in 2021 as Buffalo led by as many as 22 points and the Zips battled back to a one possession game with Buffalo winning 80-78 at Alumni Arena. In 2019-20, Akron and UB split the series last season as Akron won at Alumni Arena, 86-73, and the Bulls posted a 77-74 win at the JAR on a 3-pointer with six seconds remaining in the game. The Bulls won three games against the Zips -n 2018-19, including an 82-46 win in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament. The No. 21/22 ranked Bulls defeated the Zips at Alumni Arena (77-64) and started the series sweep when the No. 24/25 ranked Bulls defeated Akron at James A. Rhodes Arena 76-70 on Feb. 12. The Bulls swept the 2016-17 season's series with an 87-65 win in Akron and an 80-68 win in Buffalo. The Zips swept the regular season series in 2015-16 and 2016-17 and have won five of the last 13 meetings.

Scouting The Bulls
Buffalo enters the Akron's MAC opener with a two-game setback streak and a 6-5 overall record while dropping its first MAC game to Miami (91-81). Buffalo also fell 65-64 to Canisius. The Bulls average 81.5 points per outing on 45.2 percent shooting from the floor and a 33.2 percent effort from beyond the 3-point arc, draining 9.1 triples a game. The Bulls are 2-3 on the road, 1-1 at neutral sites and 3-1 at home this season.

Buffalo has three players scoring in double figures and one player just under double-digits as Jeenathan Williams leads the squad in scoring with 18.6 points per game on 45.4 percent shooting from the floor and 35.6 from deep with a third-best 16 made 3-pointers. He is second on the glass with 5.4 rebounds per game.

Ronaldo Segu follows with 15.7 points per game and a team-best 26 triples while shooting 44.8 percent shooting from deep. He adds a team-high 58 assists, dishing out 5.27 helpers per night.

Josh Mballa leads the team in five statistical categories , pacing the squad in shooting percentage (.546), free throws (42-of-68), rebounds (95), steals (19) and blocked shots (11) while scoring a third-best 15.2 points per night. Maceo Jack adds 9.8 points per night and buried a second-best 18 long-distance strikes while shooting at a 30.0 percent clip from deep.

Defensively, Buffalo allows its opponents to score 71.5 points per game on 41.5 percent shooting from the floor and 33.0 percent from 3-point range, allowing only 6.3 long distance strikes per night. The Bulls have caused 138 turnovers (12.5 to/g) with 78 steals (7.1 stl/g). The Bulls outrebounds the opponent by a +7.6 margin, allowing the opponent to grab 397 total boards (36.1 rebs/g) compared to the 481 total rebounds secured by the Bulls (43.7 rebs/g).

The Polls - Zips Rank in Mid-Major Top 25 Poll
For the first time of the 2021-22 season, the Akron Zips appeared on The CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, ranking 25th overall on Dec.13, 2021. The Zips moved to 22nd overall over the last two weeks (12/20 and 12/27). In the Ken Pom rankings, Akron is currently ranked 133rd overall in the NCAA. Akron is ranked 150th in adjusted offensive efficiency (102.3) and 142nd in defensive efficiency (99.5). The Zips rank No. 201 in the NCAA NET Rankings.

Freeman and the NCAA Player Rankings
Enrique Freeman ranks among the Top 15 Players in the NCAA, including a pair of No. 5 rankings in rebounds per game (11.3) and offensive rebounds per game (4.0). In addition, Freeman ranks No. 10 in field goal percentage (.638, 51-of-80), No. 12 in double-doubles (6) and No. 13 defensive rebounds per game (7.30). He also ranks No. 21 in the NCAA for total rebounds (113) and leads the MAC in all six categories.

UP NEXT
Akron is back in action at James A. Rhodes Arena against the Ohio Bobcats on CBS Sports Network at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 4. Fans can also follow the action on Akron Sports Radio Network on WHLO 640 AM with Dave Skoczen (PxP) and Joe Dunn (analyst) or live stats on GoZips.com.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Enrique Freeman

The University of Akron Athletics