The University of Akron Athletics
Saturday, March 16
Cleveland, Ohio
7:30 PM
University of Akron
vs
Kent State
Akron And Kent State To Battle For MAC Championship Tonight
March 16 | Men's Basketball
Akron (23-10, 13-5 Mid-American) vs Kent State (17-16, 8-10 Mid-American)
Saturday, Mar. 16 – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse – Cleveland, Ohio
7:30 pm ET – ESPN 2- WHLO 640
HEAD COACHES
Akron: John Groce | Overall Record: 321-212 | At Akron: 139-80
Kent State: Rob Senderoff | Overall Record: 264-163| At Kent State: Same
ALL-TIME SERIES
Tied: 82-82 Groce vs. Kent State: 9-7 (13-12 Overall)
First Meeting: Akron 37, Kent 16 in Kent 1915-16 season
Last Meeting: Akron 77, Kent 71 at M.A.C Center January 19, 2024
In Akron:46-25 | Neutral: 9-2 | In Kent: 28-53 | MAC Tournam MAC Tournament: 6-4 | MAC Title Games: 2-2
Current Streak: 2W
WHAT'S AHEAD
The Akron Zips battle the Kent State Golden Flashes in the Championship round of the MAC Tournament on Saturday, March 16 for the 165th all-time meeting. Akron and Kent State can be viewed on ESPN 2 with Eric Rothman and Mark Adams on the call. Fans can 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.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN FLASHES
The Golden Flashes have defeated Toledo in the quarterfinals and Bowling Green in the semifinals to reach the Championship round.
The Flashes are 17-16 overall and recently defeated the BGSU Falcons 73-60. Jalen Sullinger and Giovanni Santiago scored 22 and 20 points to lead Kent State to the victory. The Pair combined for an 11-of-15 night from beyond the arc. Cli'Ron Hornbeak was close to a double-double with a 9-point, 9- rebound performance.
Sullinger, VonCameron Davis and Santiago are all averaging 16 or more points per game in the MAC Tournament.
Sullinger leads the Golden Flashes with 15.3 points per game this season while Davis (13.6) and Chris Payton Jr. (12.6) round out the top three scorers. Payton is the leading rebounder with 7.4 boards per game and leader in blocks with 30 on the year. Santiago leads the way in assists with 4.2.
Kent State holds the third best scoring offense in the MAC with 75.2 points scored per game while holding the fourth best scoring margin (+3.7). The Golden Flashes have the 7th ranked scoring defense (71.6). KSU is ranked 8th in opponent fg% (.449) and 6th in shooting percentage (.443). The Golden Flashes are 4th in 3pt field goal percentage (.36) and make the second most 3's in the MAC per game (8.4). KSU does hold the fourth lowest rebounding mark in the conference (34.6) but is third in the MAC with 11.0 offensive rebounds per game. Kent is third in steals with 6.94 per game.
ZIPS AT A GLANCE
Akron comes into the MAC Championship with wins over Miami and Ohio. The Zips were down 26-16 at the half against Ohio in the semifinals and came back to win 65-62.
Enrique Freeman led the way with a 24-point, 21-rebound performance and had a career-high seven blocks. Sammy Hunter hit four 3-pointers and Ali Ali had 16 points in the win.
Freeman has averaged 27 points per game and 16.5 rebounds in the MAC tournament. Ali is scoring 15 points per game while averaging four assists per game.
Freeman continues to lead the Zips in scoring (18.6), rebounds 13.0) and total blocks (56).
The Zips hold the fourth best scoring offense (74.4) in the MAC while holding the best scoring margin (+8.4) and scoring defense (66.0). Akron is also second in the MAC in shooting percentage (.458) while holding opponents to a conference low .299 percentage. Akron is third in rebounding (36.8), first in rebound margin (+4.7) along with opponent rebounds (32.1).
INSIDE THE SERIES
Saturday's game marks the 165th meeting in series history between Akron and Kent State. The Zips and Golden Flashes are tied 82-82. The first meeting was during the 1915-16 season at Kent State where Akron pulled out the win, 37-16.
The Zips have won 21 of the last 36 meetings with Akron sweeping the regular season with a 77-71 win at Kent State (Jan. 19) and an 83-70 victory at Rhodes Arena (Feb. 23).
Akron went 1-2 against the Golden Flashes last season with each side defending its home court while Kent State won in the MAC Tournament to take a 82-80 advantage in the overall series.
In 2020-21, Akron swept the season series, claiming the New Year's Day game at The JAR (66-62) and followed with a win at the M.A.C. Center in Kent, Ohio on Feb. 5 (72-61). The season sweep marked the first time either team swept the series since the 2011-12 season when Akron posted three wins. In 2019-20, the two teams split the series as Akron posted a 79-76 victory at James A. Rhodes Arena (March 6) and KSU claimed the earlier contest 68-67 (Jan. 31) at the M.A.C Center. In 2018-19, Akron and Kent State split the series -- Zips won at home 72-53 (Feb. 8) and Kent State won 68-65 in Kent (March 8).
The team from the east entered 2018-19 season winning 2-of-3 contests, including a split in the 2017-18 season series (W 78-68 in Kent), (L 67-65 in Akron) and the 2017 MAC Championship game (W 70-65 in Cleveland).
Akron earned a season series sweep, during the 2011-12 season. In fact, the Zips posted three consecutive wins that season, defeating the Flashes 84-75 at home (Jan. 21), 61-55 in Kent (March 2) and 78-74 in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament in Cleveland (March 9). In addition, Akron won 2-of-3 games the following season (2012-13), winning on the road (71-67, Jan. 15) and falling at home (68-64, March 8) before winning its second consecutive semifinal matchup in the MAC Tournament (62-59, March 15). During that stretch, Akron won 5-of-6 games.
Neither team has done historically well on the road. Akron is 46-25 at home while just 29-53 on the road against the Golden Flashes.
Akron and Kent State have met in the MAC Tournament nine times. Akron is 6-3 in the MAC Tournament against the Golden Flashes. In addition, Akron and Kent State have played for the MAC Tournament championship four times and the series is split 2-2 in MAC title games. Kent State won the tournament in 2007-08 (74-55), Akron won the title in 2010-11 in overtime (66-65), Kent State won the tournament in 2016-17 (70-65) and the Zips won in 2022 (75-55).
LAST TIME AGAINST KENT STATE (FEB. 23, 2024)
AKRON, Ohio - Enrique Freeman notched a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds while Mikal Dawson went 4-of-5 from deep to help the Akron men's basketball team beat the Kent State Golden Flashes 83-70 at home Friday.
In addition to Freeman's impressive outing, the Zips (20-7, 12-2) were led by Greg Tribble, who had 15 points and three steals, and Dawson, who added 14 points and two steals.
With the win, the Zips have swept the Golden Flashes in the regular season.
The Akron offense was strong from deep, making eight threes on 21 attempts. Dawson hit four treys for the Zips in the contest.
Akron forced 13 Kent State turnovers while committing just nine themselves in Friday's game. The Zips turned those takeaways into 21 points on the offensive end of the floor. Tribble's three steals led the way for Akron.
After jumping out to a 12-9 advantage, Akron went on a 7-0 run with 10:23 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Freeman, to increase its lead to 19-9. The Zips then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 32-27 advantage. Akron did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 20 of its 32 points close to the basket.
Akron kept its lead intact before going on an 8-0 run, finished off by Dawson's three, to grow the lead to 58-48 with 9:23 to go in the contest. The Zips kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 83-70 win.
AKRON IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
Akron is 37-21 all-time in the MAC Tournament, 30-10 in its last 40 tournament games. The Zips have won at least one game in the MAC Tournament every year since the 2004-05 season and set an unprecedented 17-of-19 semifinal appearances. The Zips' runs of the consecutive title games (7) and semifinal appearances (13) are the longest streaks in MAC history. The Zips are 31-15 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Akron is 7-6 in opening round games, 1-0 second round, 14-4 in the quarterfinals, 11-5 semifinals, and 4-6 in title games.
MAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Enrique Freeman was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year on March 12 by the conference office.
Freeman becomes the fourth player in Akron history to be named the MAC Player of the Year; joining Romeo Travis (2007), Isaiah Johnson (2017), and Loren Cristian Jackson (2020). He was also a unanimous selection by the 11 opposing head coaches.
Earning All-MAC First Team honors for the second year in a row and All-Defensive Team honors for the third time in his career, Freeman led the conference in double-doubles (28), rebounds per game (12.8), total rebounds (397), defensive rebounds per game (9.16), and field goal percentage (.584). He is first in the NCAA in double-doubles (28), rebounds per game, and total rebounds.
THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Freeman has 30 double-doubles this season, ranking 1st in the NCAA, and is the only player in the MAC to average a double-double. He is 1-of-15 players in Div. I to average a double-double and has recorded 20+ points and 10+ rebounds 15 times. Freeman recorded 11 consecutive double-doubles from Nov. 28 to Jan. 16 and has recorded 15 straight since Jan. 23.
ONE BY ONE THEY FALL
Enrique Freeman became the all-time leading rebounder after recording 12 rebounds in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals against Miami to break Fred Golding's (1956-59) record of 1,360.
NEW MAC TOURNAMENT RECORD
Recording 21 rebounds against Ohio in the MAC Tournament semifinals (Mar. 15, 2024), Freeman set a new MAC Tournament record for rebounds in a single tournament game.
THE FINAL 5
Akron senior forward Enrique Freeman was one of 5 finalists for the 2024 Karl Malone Award as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on March 7. The annual honor is in its tenth year and recognizes the top power forwards in Division I men's college basketball.
Later in March, the finalists will be presented to Malone and the Hall of Fame's selection committees. The Selection Committees for the Karl Malone Award are composed of top men's college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors, and Hall of Famers.
WHAT'S NEXT?
A win over the Golden Flashes will put Akron into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022.
Saturday, Mar. 16 – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse – Cleveland, Ohio
7:30 pm ET – ESPN 2- WHLO 640
HEAD COACHES
Akron: John Groce | Overall Record: 321-212 | At Akron: 139-80
Kent State: Rob Senderoff | Overall Record: 264-163| At Kent State: Same
ALL-TIME SERIES
Tied: 82-82 Groce vs. Kent State: 9-7 (13-12 Overall)
First Meeting: Akron 37, Kent 16 in Kent 1915-16 season
Last Meeting: Akron 77, Kent 71 at M.A.C Center January 19, 2024
In Akron:46-25 | Neutral: 9-2 | In Kent: 28-53 | MAC Tournam MAC Tournament: 6-4 | MAC Title Games: 2-2
Current Streak: 2W
WHAT'S AHEAD
The Akron Zips battle the Kent State Golden Flashes in the Championship round of the MAC Tournament on Saturday, March 16 for the 165th all-time meeting. Akron and Kent State can be viewed on ESPN 2 with Eric Rothman and Mark Adams on the call. Fans can 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.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN FLASHES
The Golden Flashes have defeated Toledo in the quarterfinals and Bowling Green in the semifinals to reach the Championship round.
The Flashes are 17-16 overall and recently defeated the BGSU Falcons 73-60. Jalen Sullinger and Giovanni Santiago scored 22 and 20 points to lead Kent State to the victory. The Pair combined for an 11-of-15 night from beyond the arc. Cli'Ron Hornbeak was close to a double-double with a 9-point, 9- rebound performance.
Sullinger, VonCameron Davis and Santiago are all averaging 16 or more points per game in the MAC Tournament.
Sullinger leads the Golden Flashes with 15.3 points per game this season while Davis (13.6) and Chris Payton Jr. (12.6) round out the top three scorers. Payton is the leading rebounder with 7.4 boards per game and leader in blocks with 30 on the year. Santiago leads the way in assists with 4.2.
Kent State holds the third best scoring offense in the MAC with 75.2 points scored per game while holding the fourth best scoring margin (+3.7). The Golden Flashes have the 7th ranked scoring defense (71.6). KSU is ranked 8th in opponent fg% (.449) and 6th in shooting percentage (.443). The Golden Flashes are 4th in 3pt field goal percentage (.36) and make the second most 3's in the MAC per game (8.4). KSU does hold the fourth lowest rebounding mark in the conference (34.6) but is third in the MAC with 11.0 offensive rebounds per game. Kent is third in steals with 6.94 per game.
ZIPS AT A GLANCE
Akron comes into the MAC Championship with wins over Miami and Ohio. The Zips were down 26-16 at the half against Ohio in the semifinals and came back to win 65-62.
Enrique Freeman led the way with a 24-point, 21-rebound performance and had a career-high seven blocks. Sammy Hunter hit four 3-pointers and Ali Ali had 16 points in the win.
Freeman has averaged 27 points per game and 16.5 rebounds in the MAC tournament. Ali is scoring 15 points per game while averaging four assists per game.
Freeman continues to lead the Zips in scoring (18.6), rebounds 13.0) and total blocks (56).
The Zips hold the fourth best scoring offense (74.4) in the MAC while holding the best scoring margin (+8.4) and scoring defense (66.0). Akron is also second in the MAC in shooting percentage (.458) while holding opponents to a conference low .299 percentage. Akron is third in rebounding (36.8), first in rebound margin (+4.7) along with opponent rebounds (32.1).
INSIDE THE SERIES
Saturday's game marks the 165th meeting in series history between Akron and Kent State. The Zips and Golden Flashes are tied 82-82. The first meeting was during the 1915-16 season at Kent State where Akron pulled out the win, 37-16.
The Zips have won 21 of the last 36 meetings with Akron sweeping the regular season with a 77-71 win at Kent State (Jan. 19) and an 83-70 victory at Rhodes Arena (Feb. 23).
Akron went 1-2 against the Golden Flashes last season with each side defending its home court while Kent State won in the MAC Tournament to take a 82-80 advantage in the overall series.
In 2020-21, Akron swept the season series, claiming the New Year's Day game at The JAR (66-62) and followed with a win at the M.A.C. Center in Kent, Ohio on Feb. 5 (72-61). The season sweep marked the first time either team swept the series since the 2011-12 season when Akron posted three wins. In 2019-20, the two teams split the series as Akron posted a 79-76 victory at James A. Rhodes Arena (March 6) and KSU claimed the earlier contest 68-67 (Jan. 31) at the M.A.C Center. In 2018-19, Akron and Kent State split the series -- Zips won at home 72-53 (Feb. 8) and Kent State won 68-65 in Kent (March 8).
The team from the east entered 2018-19 season winning 2-of-3 contests, including a split in the 2017-18 season series (W 78-68 in Kent), (L 67-65 in Akron) and the 2017 MAC Championship game (W 70-65 in Cleveland).
Akron earned a season series sweep, during the 2011-12 season. In fact, the Zips posted three consecutive wins that season, defeating the Flashes 84-75 at home (Jan. 21), 61-55 in Kent (March 2) and 78-74 in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament in Cleveland (March 9). In addition, Akron won 2-of-3 games the following season (2012-13), winning on the road (71-67, Jan. 15) and falling at home (68-64, March 8) before winning its second consecutive semifinal matchup in the MAC Tournament (62-59, March 15). During that stretch, Akron won 5-of-6 games.
Neither team has done historically well on the road. Akron is 46-25 at home while just 29-53 on the road against the Golden Flashes.
Akron and Kent State have met in the MAC Tournament nine times. Akron is 6-3 in the MAC Tournament against the Golden Flashes. In addition, Akron and Kent State have played for the MAC Tournament championship four times and the series is split 2-2 in MAC title games. Kent State won the tournament in 2007-08 (74-55), Akron won the title in 2010-11 in overtime (66-65), Kent State won the tournament in 2016-17 (70-65) and the Zips won in 2022 (75-55).
LAST TIME AGAINST KENT STATE (FEB. 23, 2024)
AKRON, Ohio - Enrique Freeman notched a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds while Mikal Dawson went 4-of-5 from deep to help the Akron men's basketball team beat the Kent State Golden Flashes 83-70 at home Friday.
In addition to Freeman's impressive outing, the Zips (20-7, 12-2) were led by Greg Tribble, who had 15 points and three steals, and Dawson, who added 14 points and two steals.
With the win, the Zips have swept the Golden Flashes in the regular season.
The Akron offense was strong from deep, making eight threes on 21 attempts. Dawson hit four treys for the Zips in the contest.
Akron forced 13 Kent State turnovers while committing just nine themselves in Friday's game. The Zips turned those takeaways into 21 points on the offensive end of the floor. Tribble's three steals led the way for Akron.
After jumping out to a 12-9 advantage, Akron went on a 7-0 run with 10:23 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Freeman, to increase its lead to 19-9. The Zips then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 32-27 advantage. Akron did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 20 of its 32 points close to the basket.
Akron kept its lead intact before going on an 8-0 run, finished off by Dawson's three, to grow the lead to 58-48 with 9:23 to go in the contest. The Zips kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 83-70 win.
AKRON IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
Akron is 37-21 all-time in the MAC Tournament, 30-10 in its last 40 tournament games. The Zips have won at least one game in the MAC Tournament every year since the 2004-05 season and set an unprecedented 17-of-19 semifinal appearances. The Zips' runs of the consecutive title games (7) and semifinal appearances (13) are the longest streaks in MAC history. The Zips are 31-15 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Akron is 7-6 in opening round games, 1-0 second round, 14-4 in the quarterfinals, 11-5 semifinals, and 4-6 in title games.
MAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Enrique Freeman was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year on March 12 by the conference office.
Freeman becomes the fourth player in Akron history to be named the MAC Player of the Year; joining Romeo Travis (2007), Isaiah Johnson (2017), and Loren Cristian Jackson (2020). He was also a unanimous selection by the 11 opposing head coaches.
Earning All-MAC First Team honors for the second year in a row and All-Defensive Team honors for the third time in his career, Freeman led the conference in double-doubles (28), rebounds per game (12.8), total rebounds (397), defensive rebounds per game (9.16), and field goal percentage (.584). He is first in the NCAA in double-doubles (28), rebounds per game, and total rebounds.
THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Freeman has 30 double-doubles this season, ranking 1st in the NCAA, and is the only player in the MAC to average a double-double. He is 1-of-15 players in Div. I to average a double-double and has recorded 20+ points and 10+ rebounds 15 times. Freeman recorded 11 consecutive double-doubles from Nov. 28 to Jan. 16 and has recorded 15 straight since Jan. 23.
ONE BY ONE THEY FALL
Enrique Freeman became the all-time leading rebounder after recording 12 rebounds in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals against Miami to break Fred Golding's (1956-59) record of 1,360.
NEW MAC TOURNAMENT RECORD
Recording 21 rebounds against Ohio in the MAC Tournament semifinals (Mar. 15, 2024), Freeman set a new MAC Tournament record for rebounds in a single tournament game.
THE FINAL 5
Akron senior forward Enrique Freeman was one of 5 finalists for the 2024 Karl Malone Award as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on March 7. The annual honor is in its tenth year and recognizes the top power forwards in Division I men's college basketball.
Later in March, the finalists will be presented to Malone and the Hall of Fame's selection committees. The Selection Committees for the Karl Malone Award are composed of top men's college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors, and Hall of Famers.
WHAT'S NEXT?
A win over the Golden Flashes will put Akron into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022.
Players Mentioned
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