3 Games. 5 Days. Starts at Western Michigan

3 Games. 5 Days. Starts at Western Michigan
Follow Akron Basketball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram | Follow Coach Groce on Twitter

Game 24 Notes: Akron vs Western Michigan (PDF)

Akron Zips (16-7, 9-4 MAC) at Western Michigan (5-20, 1-13 MAC)
Tuesday, Feb. 15 • Read Fieldhouse • Kalamazoo, Mich. • 6 PM • ESPN3

Akron Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 268-186 (14th Season)
Record at Akron: 86-54 (5th Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 49-34 (5th Season)
Overall MAC Record: 83-64 (at Ohio and Akron)

Western Michigan Head Coach
Clayton Bates (Florida '95)
Overall: 10-36 (2nd season)
Record at WMU: 10-36 (2nd season)
MAC Record: 5-25 (2nd season)

All-Time Series
Akron Leads: 36-20 (7-2 MAC Tournament) • Groce vs. Western Michigan: 6-1 (9-3 Overall)
Last Meeting: Akron 74, Western Michigan 73 at James A. Rhodes Arena Jan. 18, 2022
First Meeting: Akron 79, Western Michigan 74 March 5, 1988 in Kalamazoo, Mich.
In Akron:19-7, Neutral: 5-2, In Kalamazoo: 12-11

Broadcast
TV: ESPN3 - Evan Stockton (PxP), Joe Haklin (Analyst) and Lexi Ayala (Sideline)
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
Akron travels to Kalamazoo, Mich. to battle Western Michigan for the second time this season. In the first meeting, the Zips scored 11 points in the final two-minutes for a 74-73 win. 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-Western Michigan
Tuesday's game marks the 57th meeting in series history between Akron and Western Michigan with the Zips owning a 36-20 all-time series advantage. In addition, the Zips and the Broncos have met nine times in postseason history as Akron holds a 7-2 edge.

Head coach John Groce is 9-3 all-time against the Broncos and 6-1 at Akron. Akron has won 12 of the last 13 meetings and 24 of the last 28 games of the series. Akron won the first meeting of 2022 in dramatic fashion, coming from 11 points down to win at in the final possession as Ali hit the game winner for a 74-73 win at the JAR. The Zips won the season series in 2019-20 with an, 84-69 at Rhodes Arena and 71-67 in Kalamazoo. Akron won the lone game in 2020-21 (79-68) and 2018-19 (56-48).

In 2017-18, the two teams split the series (1-1) as the Broncos defeated Akron in the MAC opener 87-75 in Kalamazoo, ending the Zips five-year, six-game winning streak – Western Michigan's pervious win came during the 2014 MAC Tournament semifinals on March 14. WMU needed overtime to advance to the title game, defeating Akron 64-60 at Quicken Loans Arena. In the second meeting of 2017-18, Akron pulled-off an improbable come-from-behind victory to advance in the 2018 MAC Tournament. In the first round of the MAC Tournament at University Arena, the No. 11 seeded Zips earned a 79-78 win over No. 6 seeded Broncos after trailing by 19 points. In 2016-17, Akron swept the season series, winning game one 66-59 at James A. Rhodes Arena and followed with a 90-80 win in Kalamazoo, Mich. In the 2015-16 season's lone meeting, Akron posted a 62-53 win over the Broncos at Rhodes Arena.

Akron is 7-2 in the MAC Tournament against WMU and 5-2 on a neutral court. In addition, the Zips are 10-11 in Kalamazoo, winning six of the last eight meetings at University Arena. In 2002, Akron opened the MAC Tournament in Kalamazoo and advanced to Cleveland after a 90-83 win as the 11th seed. The Zips are 2-0 in the MAC Tournament at University Arena and 6-6 all-time in opening round games.

Scouting the Broncos
Western Michigan is looking for its second league win as the Broncos overcame a 14-game winning streak to defeat Central Michigan 77-63 at home on Saturday. WMU is 5-20 overall and 1-13 in the MAC 2-0 in neutral site games, 3-8 at home and 0-12 on the road. The Broncos average 65.2 points per game on 42.5 percent shooting from the floor and 32.8 percent effort from beyond the 3-point arc, draining 8.2 triples a game. In addition, the Broncos shoot 70.2 percent from the free throw line with 10.3 made per game.

Western Michigan has one player scoring in double figures as Lamar Norman Jr. scores a MAC second-best 20.1 points per game. He shoots 44.9 percent from the floor (170-of-379) with more than half of his shots coming from beyond the 3-point arc. Norman buried 82 long distance buckets on 219 attempts for a 37.4 percentage from deep. He owns a team-best 41 assists and 20 steals to go along with 69 rebounds.

Markeese Hastings controls the glass for the Broncos, grabbing 8.8 rebounds per game, securing 220 total boards. Hastings adds 8.8 points per game with a third-best 18 steals and team-high eight blocked shots. B.Artist White adds 7.9 points per game with 22 made trifectas while Mack Smith buried 23 triples and averages 7.0 points per game.

Defensively, Western Michigan allows its opponents to scoring 76.1 points per game on 46.7 percent shooting from the floor and 33.9 percent from 3-point range, allowing 8.0 long distance strikes per night. The Broncos caused 260 turnovers (10.4 to/g) with 132 steals (5.3 stl/g). WMU is outrebounded by the opponent by a -2.2 margin as the opponent grabbed 871 total boards (34.8 rebs/g) compared to the 814 total rebounds (32.6 rebs/g) secured.

Freeman and the NCAA Player Rankings
Sophomore Enrique Freeman registered 13 double-double performances this season and is one of 13 players in the NCAA to average a double-double in points (13.2) and rebounds (11.0). He ranks among the Top 16 Players in the NCAA in six categories, including No. 4 in field goal percentage (65.8), No. 7 in rebounds per game (11.0), No. 8 in double-doubles (13) and No. 10 in total rebounds (254). In addition, Freeman ranks No. 11 in defensive rebounds per game (7.7) and No. 16 offensive rebounds per game (3.35). Freeman leads the MAC in 5-of-6 categories, ranking second overall in offensive rebounds per game.

Xavier Castaneda is ranked No. 91 (NCAA) and No. 3 (MAC) in free throw percentage (.831). Bryan Trimble, Jr. is ranked No. 60 (NCAA) and No. 2 (MAC) in 3-point field goals per game (2.71), No. 92 (NCAA) and No. 3 (MAC) in 3-point FG percentage (.348) and No. 115 (NCAA) and No. 3 (MAC) in 3-point FG made (57).

The X Factor
Junior guard Xavier Castaneda has scored in double figures 11 straight games and 17 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 at (CMU) before recording 14 points three-straight games. Castaneda has five 14-point games total as well as a pair of 17-point and 13-point showings with three 11-point performances. He scored 15 points Miami and 12 points last time out against Northern Illinois.

On the Road
Akron is 5-3 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. The Zips fell at Toledo (84-76). Zips defeated Miami (71-59) and NIU (70-64) in back-to-back road contests.

UP NEXT
The Zips will continue their three-game week at the JAR on Thursday, Feb. 17 against Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. before departing for Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 19 (3 p.m.). 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

Xavier Castaneda

Enrique Freeman

Bryan Trimble, Jr.

The University of Akron Athletics