Zips Battle MAC-Leading Toledo Rockets on CBS Sports Network Friday

Zips Battle MAC-Leading Toledo Rockets on CBS Sports Network Friday
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Game 19 Notes: Akron at Toledo (PDF)

Akron Zips (12-5, 5-2 MAC) at Toledo (16-4, 8-1 MAC)
Friday, Jan. 28 • Savage Arena • Toledo, OH • 7 PM • CBS Sports Network

Akron Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 265-186 (14th Season)
Record at Akron: 83-54 (5th Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 46-34 (5th Season)
Overall MAC Record: 80-64 (at Ohio and Akron)

Central Michigan Head Coach
Tod Kowalczyk (Minnesota-Duluth '89)
Overall Record: 357-269 (20th Season)
Record at UT: 221-157 (21th Season)
MAC Record: 117-85 (12th Season)

All-Time Series
Toledo Leads: 37-29 • Groce vs. Toledo 1-5 (6-6 Overall)
Last Meeting: Toledo 91 (OT), Akron 76 at Savage Arena on Feb. 2, 2021
First Meeting: Akron 37, Toledo 8 in Akron 1915-16 season
In Akron:17-12, Neutral: 1-1, In Toledo: 10-25

Broadcast
TV: CBSSN – Dave Ryan (PxP) and Sydney Johnson (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 Zips won four straight games and the Toledo Rockets are on a seven-game winning streak as the two teams collide on CBS Sports Network at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio on Friday night at 7 p.m. The Zips' radio broadcast will air on the Akron 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. Fans can also follow the action on GoZips.com via Live Stats.

The Akron-Toledo Series
Friday's game marks the 67th meeting in series history between Akron and Toledo, and 13th meeting for a Groce coached squad (seventh at Akron). Toledo owns a 37-29 all-time series advantage while Groce is 6-6 all-time and 1-5 at Akron against the Rockets. The Zips have won nine of the last 18 meetings and snapped a four-game losing skid with a 95-94 overtime win on Jan. 16, 2021, at James A. Rhodes Arena. The Rockets bounced back with a 91-76 win last season at Savage Arena on Feb. 2, 2021.

In 2018, the two teams met at Savage Arena (Jan. 5) on CBS Sports Network as Toledo claimed a narrow 67-65 advantage. Almost a month later (Feb. 3), Toledo claimed its second win of the season, 77-56, at Rhodes Arena. Over the last two seasons, Toledo claimed the lone matchups at Savage Arena 63-52 (Feb. 5, 2019) and at James A. Rhodes Arena 99-89 (Jan. 18, 2020).

UA is 17-12 all-time at Rhodes Arena, 10-25 on the road at Savage Arena, and 1-1 in the MAC Tournament with a loss at Quicken Loans Arena.

Scouting the Rockets
The Toledo Rockets are riding a seven-game winning streak in league play, standing a MAC-best 8-1 and 16-4 overall after defeating Buffalo on Tuesday (86-75). Toledo's only league loss was at Kent State (66-63). The Rockets are 8-0 at home, 5-4 on the road and 3-0 in neutral site games this season.

The Rockets average 80.2 points per game (3^rd MAC) on 47.1 percent shooting from the floor (1^st MAC) and 36.3 percent effort from beyond the 3-point arc (2^nd MAC), draining 7.1 triples a game (9^th MAC). In addition, Toledo shoots 78.7 percent from the free throw line (1^st MAC) with 14.8 FT made per game.

UT has four players scoring in double figures led by the MAC-leader Ryan Rollins with 20.0 points per game. He shoots 47.8 percent from the floor and 34.4 percent from deep with a second-best 31 made 3-point field goals. Rollins owns a team-highs with 88 made free throws and 39 steals to go along with a second-best 71 assists and 117 rebounds (5.9 Reb/g).

JT Shumate follows with 15.2 points per game fueled by a team-high 40 made 3-pointers. He shoots 48.8 percent from deep and owns a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game (125 tot rebs). Setric Millner, Jr. and Rayj Dennis round out the double-digit scoring with 14.2 and 11.8 points per game. Millner averages 6.0 rebounds per game (119 tot rebs) and Dennis averages 6.1 rebounds per game (121 tot rebs). They also add 25 and 19 3-point field goals, respectively. Dennis owns a team-high 74 assists while Millner adds 32 helpers.

Defensively, Toledo allows its opponents to score 67.9 points per game on 39.6 percent shooting from the floor and 29.2 percent from 3-point range, allowing 7.9 long distance strikes per night. The Rockets caused 241 turnovers (12.0 to/g) with 121 steals (6.1 stl/g). UT outrebounds the opponent by a +4.7 margin as the opponent grabbed 712 total boards (35.6 rebs/g) compared to the 805 total rebounds (40.3 rebs/g) secured.

On the Road
Akron is 3-2 on the road this season, dropping the season opening game to Ohio State (67-66) as time expired and defeating Wright State by a decisive 18 points (66-48). The Zips second road setback came against Kent State (67-55) in the first installment of the 2021-22 Wagon Wheel series. Zips bounced back with 91-66 win over Bowling Green and a 60-56 win over Central Michigan.

From Deep
Junior Bryan, Trimble, Jr. buried 10 long distance buckets against Bowling Green, shooting a sizzling 71.4 percent. He went 6-of-10 in the first half and drained all four attempts in the second stanza. Trimble was the first Zips to make 10 trifectas since Derrick Tarver in 2003 vs. Wright State. The all-time record at Akron is 11 triples in a game held by Mark Alberts in 1992 against Wright State.

The X Factor
Junior guard Xavier Castaneda has scored in double figures 11 straight games and 14 games overall. He notched a career-high 29 points against Ball State and followed with a 21-point performance against Kent State. He posted a 16-point effort the last time out (CMU) before recording 14 points three-straight games. Castaneda has five 14-point games total as well as a pair of 17-point, 13-point and 11-point performances.

Freeman and The NCAA Player Rankings
Sophomore Enrique Freeman registered nine double-double performances this season and is one of 13 players in the NCAA to average a double-double in points (12.2) and rebounds (10.8). He ranks among the Top 20 Players in the NCAA in five categories, including No. 6 in rebounds per game (10.8). In addition, Freeman ranks No. 8 in total rebounds (195), No. 9 offensive rebounds per game (3.67), No. 13 in double-doubles (9) and No. 13 in defensive rebounds per game (7.17). Freeman leads the MAC in 4-of-5 categories, ranking second overall in offensive rebounds per game.

Xavier Castaneda is ranked No. 44 (NCAA) and No. 3 (MAC) in free throw percentage (.877), Bryan Trimble, Jr. is ranked No. 47 (NCAA) and No. 2 (MAC) in 3-point field goals per game (2.81) and Aziz Bandaogo is ranked No. 99 (NCAA) and No. 2 (MAC) in total blocked shots (26) and No. 101 (NCAA) and No. 2 (MAC) in blocked shots per game (1.44).

UP NEXT
Akron is scheduled to play Friday on CBS Sports Network against Miami at James A. Rhodes Arena on Friday, Feb. 4 at 6:30 p.m. The Zips will have a quick turnaround and travel to Oxford, Ohio to play the RedHawks on Sunday, Feb. 8 at 4 p.m. on ESPN3. 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.

Zips Battle MAC-Leading Toledo Rockets on CBS Sports Network Friday

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Players Mentioned

Aziz Bandaogo

Xavier Castaneda

Enrique Freeman

Bryan Trimble, Jr.

The University of Akron Athletics