GAME PREVIEW: Akron vs Northern Illinois, Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 2 PM | James A. Rhodes Arena

GAME PREVIEW: Akron vs Northern Illinois, Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 2 PM | James A. Rhodes Arena | ESPN3
Follow Akron Basketball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram | Follow Coach Groce on Twitter

GAME NOTES PDF | ESPN3 | LIVE STATS | TuneIn - Akron-IMG Sports Network | Akron Basketball Schedule

Akron Back at James A. Rhodes Arena to Avenge Early Season Setback Against Northern Illinois

AKRON HEAD COACH
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 246-176 (13th Season)
Record at Akron: 66-46 (4th Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 37-29 (4th Season)
Overall MAC Record: 71-59 (at Ohio and Akron)

NORTHERN ILLINOIS HEAD COACH
Lamar Chapman (Lane '93)
Overall Record: 1-4 (1st Season)
Record at NIU: 1-4 (1st Season)
MAC Record: 1-4 (1st Season)

ALL-TIME SERIES
Akron Leads: 27-13 - Groce vs. NIU 3-2 (7-2 Overall)
Last Meeting: Northern Illinois 67, Akron 65 at NIU Convocation Center on Jan. 12, 2021
First Meeting: Akron 75, Northern Illinois 68in DeKalb on Jan. 23, 1988
In Akron:17-2, Neutral: 0-0, In DeKalb: 10-11

BROADCASTS
TV/Video: ESPN3: Michael Reghi (PxP) and Jacki Windon (Analyst)
Radio: Akron Sports Network - Dave Skoczen (PxP), Joe Dunn (Analyst)
WHLO 640 AM (flagship), iHeart Radio, TuneIn.com/Akron Zips
Live Stats: GoZips.com/Schedule - Live Stats

WHAT'S AHEAD
The University of Akron men's basketball team is coming off a pair of road wins and looks to defend their 13-game winning streak at James A. Rhodes Arena, 8-0 this season, against the Northern Illinois Huskies on Tuesday, Feb. 16. The game is slated to be aired on ESPN3 and is scheduled to tipoff at 2 p.m.

The Zips' radio broadcast will air on the Akron-IMG Sports Network WHLO 640 AM with Dave Skoczen and Joe Dunn calling the action. The pregame show starts 30 minutes prior to the contest. The free audio stream is available at iHeart Radio and TuneIn.com/Akron Zips. Fans can also follow the action on GoZips.com via Live Stats.

THE AKRON-NORTHERN ILLINOIS SERIES
Tuesday's game marks the 41st meeting in series history between Akron and NIU, and 10th meeting for a Groce coached squad. Akron holds an all-time 27-13 series advantage while Groce is 3-2 at Akron and 7-2 against the Huskies all-time.

The Zips have won 10 of the last 14 games, but the Huskies claimed the first meeting of the season on a last second shot for a 67-65 win at the NIU Convocation Center on Jan. 12, 2021. Akron won the lone meeting in 2019-20 in DeKalb, 72-49. The two teams split 2018-19 season series with a 73-56 setback in DeKalb and a 67-65 triumph in Akron. The Zips won the 2017-18 lone matchup, 82-67, at James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron on Jan. 20. In 2016-17, The Zips won 76-73, at the NIU Convocation Center in DeKalb on Jan. 31. Akron and the Huskies split the 2015-16 season's series, winning at Rhodes Arena on Jan. 26, 76-66, but falling at NIU Convocation Center on Feb. 13, 80-79.

Akron is 17-2 all-time against the Huskies at Rhodes Arena. However, NIU established the series advantage in DeKalb with the win earlier this season, 10-11. The Huskies have won the last 7-of-11 meetings at the NIU Convocation Center.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
The Huskies own a 1-11 overall record, and 1-7 in league play, standing 2-4 at home and 0-7 on the road this season. NIU averages 59.3 points per game on 39.2 percent shooting from the floor and 29.7 percent effort from beyond the 3-point arc, draining 4.8` triples a game. In addition, the Huskies shoot 60.4 percent from the free throw line on 9.2 attempts per game. The Huskies have only played two games since defeating Akron in DeKalb and one game since Jan. 16, 2021.

Northern Illinois has three players averaging double-digits in points as Tyler Cochran leads the way with 13.7 points per game and is the squad's top rebounder with 7.5 boards per night (45 rebs).

Trendon Hankerson and Darius Beane follow with 12.4 and 10.5 points per game, respectively. Beane owns a team-highs with 65 rebounds, 36 assists and 17 steals. Hakerson grabs 4.2 rebounds per game (55 Rebs). Additionally, Hankerson is a threat from deep, draining nearly half of NIU's triples with 27 of the team's 62 trifectas to date.

Defensively, NIU limits its opponents to scoring 75.7 points per game on 46.8 percent shooting from the floor and 38.5 percent from 3-point range, allowing 9.8 long distance strikes per night. The Huskies caused 144 turnovers (11.1 to/g) with 69 steals (5.3 stl/g). Northern Illinois outrebounds the opponent by a +2.0 margin as the opponent grabbed 459 total boards (35.3 rebs/g) compared to the Huskies 485 total rebounds (37.3 rebs/g) secured.

AKRON IN THE MAC
Akron opened 2020-21 MAC play with a 90-70 win over Ohio and followed with a 66-62 win over rival Kent State, before falling to Eastern Michigan, 71-59, and Northern Illinois, 67-65. Akron bounced with a six-game winning streak, knocking off the top-ranked Toledo Rockets in overtime, 95-94, the top-ranked Bowling Green Falcons for the first road win, 69-57, the Central Michigan Chippewas, 81-67, the Western Michigan Broncos, 79-68, the rematch against Eastern Michigan, 86-65 and Ball State, 74-42. The Rockets ended the Zips consecutive game win streak with a 91-76 win, but the Zips bounced back with a rivalry sweep of the Kent State Golden Flashes, 72-61 and a win over Miami, 83-76 - both on the road.

The Zips are 10-3 in the MAC under the new conference format without divisions (new in 2020-21). Akron is 72-19 (.795) 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 193-92 overall (.669), including a 119-25 mark in MAC play at home (.822). The Zips' 193 wins are the most in the league during that stretch. The Zips have won 110 of their last 158 MAC games (.685). Previously, the Zips posted a 59-36 mark (.617) in the last 95 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.

THE LAST MEETING
The Akron Zips fell 67-65 at Northern Illinois after NIU's Darius Beane buried a game winner over the outstretched arm of Akron's 6'8" forward Ali Ali (Kendallville, Ind.) at the NIU Convocation Center on Tuesday afternoon.

After leading for 27-minutes and some change, the Zips found themselves trailing by five points with 1:34 left in regulation. Ali drained a deep 3-pointer near the top right-side of the arc to bring Akron (4-3, 2-2 MAC) within two points. Moments later, senior guard Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) knotted the game 65-all as he nailed a shot at the right elbow of the free throw line, leaving six seconds on the clock for Beane's last second heroics.

After a pair of timeouts by both teams, NIU (2-9, 1-5 MAC) inbounded the ball to Beane, who took the ball to the top of the key, just inside the 3-point line, and blanketed by Akron's Ali. He let the shot fly and just over Ali's fingertips, and the field goal was good as he finished the game 2-of-11 from the field and six points.

Ali led Akron in scoring with a career-high 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor which included a 4-of-7 effort from beyond the 3-point arc. he added a second-best five rebounds and four assists. Junior Bryan Trimble, Jr. (Kansas City, Mo.) and Jackson followed with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Trimble also buried four trifectas, while Jackson hit one 3-pointer and dished-out a team-best seven assists and collected a team-high two steals. Sophomore Enrique Freeman (Cleveland, Ohio) nearly notched a double-double with 11 rebounds and nine points.

The Zips opened the game with an 14-4 run and held the lead for 18:46 as the 10-point margin was Akron's largest lead of the game. NIU never held the lead in the opening frame, but managed to tie the game 18-18 with 9:24 remaining in the first half. Trimble gave the advantage back to Akron with a corner 3-ball and added another a couple possessions later.

in the final minute of the first half, NIU's Justin Lee cut the Zips' five-point lead to three points with a second chance bucket in the paint. Akron led 31-28 at the break.

NIU carried the momentum into the second half. After Jackson opened the second frame with a triple and Freeman followed with the first of two dunks for an 8-point Akron advantage, 36-28. The lead didn't last long as NIU knotted the game, 36-all behind a pair of long-range jumpers and two paint points. The Huskies added three consecutive triples and eventually grabbed its first lead of the game with 11:47 left to play in the game, 49-48. they increased the lead to as many as six points, 63-57, which setup the final sequence of the game.

NIU went 5-of-5 from long distance in the second half after opening the game with a 2-of-9 effort from deep before halftime. The Huskies received a combined 34 bench points from Lee, Chinedu Kingsley Okanu and Nathan Scott, who average 8.6 points combined on the season. Lee recorded a double-double with a career-highs in points (15) and rebounds (11), while Okanu and Scott contributed 10 and nine points, respectively – In addition, both players grabbed six boards apiece. Trendon Hankerson, the squads leading scorer, matched Lee's 15-point performance as the duo led the Huskies in scoring.

NIU outrebounded the Zips 41-33, while Akron won the turnover battle 11-15.

UP NEXT
Akron returns to national television on Friday, Feb. 19 as the Zips travel to Ball State for a 7 p.m. game on CBS Sports Network. Fans can also follow the action on 640 WHLO AM or GoZips.com.

WALK INTO A STARTING ROLE - ENRIQUE FREEMAN
Starting forward sophomore Enrique Freeman (Cleveland, Ohio) is a walk-on player that joined the Zips for the 2019-20 season. He is on a full academic scholarship and spent the 2018-19 year completely focused on his academics. During his second year on campus he walked into the gym for walk-on tryouts. Groce and staff added him to the team, and Freeman quickly adjusted to the role of student-athlete. He appeared in seven games last season, scoring five total points with a 1-of-1 showing from the floor and 3-of-4 effort from the free throw line. He grabbed four rebounds and had one block. In the offseason, Freeman put on 20 pounds with workouts and eating habits.

This season he has appeared in all 16 games with 13 starting appearances. Against Malone, he had a career showing with 22 points and 21 rebounds. That effort stands as the most by an Akron player since 1985.

Currently, he is third in scoring for the Zips with 8.1 points per game (130 pts) and leads the squad on the glass with 9.5 rebounds per game (152 rebs). He has three double-doubles and is leading the MAC in field goal percentage (.757, 56-of-74), defensive rebounds (7.0 - 112), rebounding (9.5 - 152) and blocked shots (1.6 - 25) and 7th in offensive rebounds (2.5 - 40). In addition, he ranks No. 26 in the NCAA in defensive rebounds, No. 31 in rebounds per game, No. 59 in total rebounds and 76th in blocked shots.

LCJ - ACTION JACKSON
Jackson leads the MAC in scoring with 21.6 points per game and is second in the MAC assists with 6.4 per game. Jackson has scored 345 total points on 44.1 percent (112-of-254) shooting from the field and 34.7 percent (41-of-118) from beyond the 3-point arc with five 30-plus point performances. His five 30-point games ranks second in the NCAA behind Iowa's Luka Garza's six 30-plus point efforts. Jackson notched two double-doubles in points and assists this season and ranks third in the league in free throw percentage (87.0; 80-of-92).

Jackson currently ranks 12th all-time in scoring at Akron with 1,420 points in 80 games played. For his career Jackson has scored 1,616 points and dished out 394 assists which ranks 8th among active players in the NCAA. He is the only player (NCAA) this year to average 20+ points and 6+ assists per game.

In the national rankings, Jackson ranks 10th assists per game (6.4), 10th points per game (21.6), 23rd total assists (102), 43rd free throw percentage (87.0), 47th free throws made (79), 53rd total points (345), 72nd field goals attempted (254), 75th 3-point field goals per game (2.56), 80th minutes per game (34:45), 83rd 3-point FG % (34.7), 87th assist turnover ratio (2.12), 90th field goals made (112), 95th free throw attempts (92), 99th 3-point field goal attempts (110) and 125th 3-point field goals made (41).

HIGH MAJOR PLAYERS
The Zips have three players from high-major schools that are making an impact in 2021. Junior Bryan Trimble,Jr.(St. Johns) averages a second-best 12.5 points per game and leads the team from beyond the 3-point arc, connecting with 54 triples out of 68 field goals made. He leads MAC and No. 7 in the NCAA with 3.4 trifectas made per game. Trimble shoots 39.7 percent from long distance, ranking 4th in the MAC and 48th in the NCAA. He is 54-of-136 from deep, ranking 34th and 39th in makes and attempts.

Senior Maishe Daily (Iowa) adds 6.8 points per game with 20 made 3-pointers and ranks 33rd in the MAC in 3-point field goal percentage (.317). Dailey is fourth in rebounds (55), grabbing 3.4 per game while dishing out 1.6 helpers for 26 total assists.

Michael Wynn (Wake Forest) has been making an impact offensively and defensively the last two weeks. He scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds against EMU. He knocked down a crucial 3-pointer that sparked the Zips' run to put away the eagles. He followed with a season-high 10-point performance against Ball State, shooting a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from deep and the charity stripe.

THE POLLS - ZIPS RANK IN MID-MAJOR TOP 25 POLL
Akron basketball returned to the The CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll on Feb. 1, 2021 the Zips entered the poll at No. 18. after wining six-straight games all against league opponents, and now the Zips rank No. 19. Last season, the Zips finished with their best ranking at No. 12 (2/24/20) and Akron received one vote for the AP Poll on Jan. 27 and Jan. 13 of 2020.

The Zips rank No. 82 in the NCAA NET Rankings. In the Ken Pom rankings, Akron is currently 90th overall and owns the second-best defensive efficiency rating in the MAC (98.8) and stands 120th in the NCAA (99.2). The Zips rank third in the MAC in offensive efficiency according to Ken Pom (110.4) and 77th in the NCAA (108.2).

HOME SWEET HOME
Akron is riding an 13-game homecourt winning streak, including a 8-0 start to the season. The Zips own a 428-130 (.766) all-time record at Rhodes Arena. In the last 16 seasons, Akron has posted a 222-34 (.866) record at the JAR. Under coach Groce Akron is 49-9 (.839) at home. Akron went 12-4 at Rhodes Arena in Groce's first year as head coach and followed with a 14-3 effort. The Zips went 15-2 at home last year en route to the regular season MAC Championship. Groce became the third Akron coach since 1940 to win his first six home games in the first season as head coach. The Zips rattled off seven straight wins at the JAR before falling in the MAC home opener to Buffalo. The Zips set the all-time longest home winning streak record at Rhodes Arena with 30 consecutive wins during the 2015-17 seasons, replacing the 26-game run the Zips made during the 1985-87 seasons under head coach Bob Huggins. The streak ranked No. 2 in the NCAA.

JACKSON NAMED TO LUTE OLSON AND LOU HENSON PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Senior Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) was named to a pair of mid-season watch lists, appearing on the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award and Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award lists, CollegeInsider.com. On Jan. 4, Jackson garnered the Lute Olson National Player of the Week accolades, placing him in the conversation for the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award. Jackson is one of 35 players mentioned for early consideration for national player of the year honors. In addition, Jackson made his second appearance on the Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award watch list in 2020-21, which is presented annually to the top mid-major player in division I college basketball. Jackson appeared on the preseason Lou Henson list after being named a finalist in the 2019-20 voting and earning Lou Henson All-America Team honors. Jackson is one of three players in the Mid-American Conference to receive recognition this season, and one of 40 players in division I basketball. Joining Jackson on the list in the MAC were Toledo's Marreon Jackson and Bowling Green's Justin Turner.

QUICK HITS

• Jackson named Lute Olson and Lou Henson National Player of the Year Mid-Season Watch List
• LCJ, Lute Olson National Player of the Week (1/4), MAC Player of Week last two weeks (12/28 & 1/4)
• Jackson has five 30-plus point performances this season and scored double-digits 13-of-14 games.
•Jackson leads the team in scoring (21.6 ppg) and assists (6.4 APG)
• Jackson has buried three or more 3-point FG in seven games with a 7-of-14 best against Kent State
• The Zips are 8-0 at James A. Rhodes Arena and currently own an 13-game winning streak at the JAR
• Enrique Freeman's 21-rebound effort stands as the most by an Akron player since 1985.
• Freeman leads the league in FG % (.754) and DReb with 7.0 per game (112 DREBS)
• Bryan Trimble, Jr. posted a career-high 6-of-6 from deep against Ohio and 25 points against CMU
• Trimble has hit four or more 3-point FG in nine games with a 7-of-14 best performance (CMU)
• Jackson, Dailey and Trimble combined for 14-of-20 from beyond the arc against Ohio 70.0 Percent

The University of Akron Athletics

GAME PREVIEW: Akron vs Northern Illinois, Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 2 PM | James A. Rhodes Arena | ESPN3

Players Mentioned

Ali Ali

Enrique Freeman

Loren Cristian Jackson

Bryan Trimble, Jr.

Michael Wynn

Related Videos