The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Ohio
Zips Travel to Battle Ohio on ESPN2 on Saturday
February 21 | Men's Basketball
Akron (21-5, 13-0Â Mid-American) at Ohio (14-12, 8-5 Mid-American)
Saturday, Feb. 22 – Convocation Center – Athens, Ohio
6 pm ET – ESPN2 - WHLO 640
HEAD COACHES
Akron: John Groce | Overall Record: 343-218 | At Akron: 161-86
Ohio: Jeff Boals | Overall Record: 167-113 | At Ohio: 112-72
ALL-TIME SERIES
Akron leads 50-44 | Groce vs.Ohio: 9-6 (9-6 Overall)
First Met: 1911-12 season (W, Akron 21, Ohio 18 At Akron)
Last Met: Jan. 17, 2025 (W, Akron 92, Ohio 80 At Akron)
At Akron: 30-15 |Â Neutral: 4-1 | At Ohio: 16-28
Current Streak: 2W
INSIDE THE SERIES
Akron and Ohio will be meeting for the 95th time on Saturday with the Zips leading 50-44. John Groce,who began his head coaching career at Ohio, is 9-6 all-time against the Bobcats.
Akron struck first blood this season with a 92-80 victory over the Bobcats at the JAR where Isaiah Gray and Amani Lyles set career highs in scoring.
The Zips took the first game of the series in 2023-24 on January 23 with a 67-58 victory at James A. Rhodes Arena while the Bobcats struck back with a 74-67 victory of their own at the Ohio Convocation Center. The Zips took the third meeting last season in the MAC Championship semifinals 65-62.
Akron and Ohio split the series in 2022-23 with both squads protecting home court. Xavier Castaneda led all scorers with a career-high 34 points, on 10-of-15 shooting in the most recent meeting between the two sides that saw Ohio win 90-81.
Enrique Freeman had a career performance at the JAR in the 2022-23 season against the Bobcats, scoring 32 points to help the Zips defeat Ohio 83-77 on January 28, 2023.Â
Holding a 50-44 series advantage, The Zips have won 19 of the last 29 meetings, and are 30-15 against the Bobcats in Akron, winning 19 of the last 23 meetings at Rhodes Arena. The Zips are 16-28 against OU in Athens, winning six of the last 12 meetings at the Convocation Center.
SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
The Bobcats come into Saturday's game with a 14-12 overall record, an 8-5 record in the MAC and a 10-2 record at home.
Ohio is coming off a close 84-82 victory at home over Central Michigan on February 18. Ohio was led by Jackson Paveletzke, who finished with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while he added six rebounds and four assists. AJ Brown contributed 20 points, tying his career-high at 5-of-8 from beyond the arc in the second half. Shereef Mitchell recorded 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists, including two crucial free throws in the final seconds.
Clayton leads the Bobcats in points (14.3) and total blocks (37). Paveletzke is the leader in assists (5.0), Aidan Hadaway leads the way in rebounds (5.7) while Mitchell serves as the leader in steals (1.6).
Ohio averages 79.3 points per game and has outscored their opponents this season by 4.3 points per game. The Bobcats are shooting .471 from the field and .361 from beyond the arc with 8.8 3-point shots falling per game. Ohio is also shooting .768 from the free-throw line. The Bobcats average 33.5 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 11.2 turnovers, 7.0 steals and 3.2 blocks per game.Â
The Bobcats rank in the top five in the MAC in scoring offense (3rd - 79.8), scoring margin (4th - +4.3), fg pct (.471), 3pt pct. (3rd - .361), ft pct. (1st - .768), turnover margin (4th - +1.69), assist-turnover margin (+1.29) and assists (3rd - 14.38).
Ohio ranks 55th in the NCAA in effective fg pct. (.545), 12th in fastbreak points (15.42), 58th in fg pct. (.471), 35th in ft pct. (.768), 95th in ft made per game (15.2), 48th in scoring off. (79.8), 72nd in 3pt pct. (.361), 73rd in 3pters made per game (8.8) and 92nd in turnover margin (+1.7).  Jackson Paveletzke ranks 53rd in total assists (130) and 51st in assists per game (5.0). AJ Clayton ranks 60th in blocks per game (1.61). AJ Brown ranks 69th in ft pct. (.862).
ZIPS AT A GLANCE
The Zips set sail to battle the Ohio Bobcats as it looks to keep its winnings way rolling on Saturday, February 22. Akron holds a 21-5 overall record, a 12-0 record in the MAC and a 6-3 record on the road
Akron is coming off an 80-70 victory over NIU at the JAR on February 18. Tavari Johnson and Shammah Scott led the Zips with 15 points each while Nate Johnson scored 14.
N. Johnson leads the Zips in scoring (14.0) and steals (2.0). Nate is one of two Zips to average 10 or more points per game with Tavari Johnson (12.6) joining him. T. Johnson leads Akron in assists (4.3) while James Okonkwo leads the Zips in rebounds (7.7). Amani Lyles leads the Zips in for blocks (28).
Akron is currently scoring 84.2 points per game and has outscored its opponents by 10.8 points per game this season. The Zips are shooting .468 from the field while shooting .362 from beyond the arc and averages 11.2 3-pointers per game. The Blue and Gold hold a .749 ft percentage while averaging 39.7 rebounds, 18.8 assists,12.5 turnovers, 7.8 steals and 3.7 blocks per game.
Akron is in the top five in the MAC for scoring offense (1st - 84.2), scoring defense (4th - 73.4), scoring margin (1st - +10.8), fg pct. (3rd - .468), opp. fg pct (2nd - .418), 3pt pct (2nd - .362), opp. 3pt pct (1st- .309), 3pters made (1st - 11.2), ft pct (4th - .749), rebounds (1st - 39.7), off. rebounds (3rd - 11.9), def. rebounds (1st - 27.8), rebound margin (2nd - +4.3), assist-turnover margin (1st - +1.50), blocked shots (1st - 3.73), assists (1st - 18.77) and steals (2nd - 7.85).
The Zips rank 31st in the NCAA in assist-turnover ratio (+1.50), 2nd in assists per game (18.8), 8th in bench points (33.42), 41st in effective fg pct. (.554), 17th in fastbreak points (14.81), 81st in fg pct. (.468), 75th in fg pct. def. (.418), 74th in ft pct. (.749), 59th in reb. margin (+4.5), 20th in def. rebounds (27.85), 70th in off. rebounds (12.08), 18th in rebounds per game (39.92), 30th in scoring margin (+10.8), 7th in scoring off. (84.2), 78th in steals per game (7.8), 4th in 3-pointers attempted per game (30.9), 65th in 3-point pct. (.362), 48th in 3pt def. (.309), 3rd in 3-pointers made per game (11.2) and 99th in turnovers forced per game (13.00). James Okonkwo ranks 92nd in total rebounds (202), 82nd in off. rebounds (2.77) and 84th in rebounds per game (7.8). Nate Johnson ranks 41st in total steals (52) and 40th in steals per game (2.00).
LAST TIME AGAINSTÂ OHIO (1/17/2025)
AKRON, Ohio - Isaiah Gray and Amani Lyles set career highs in scoring as the Akron Zips took down the Ohio Bobcats, 92-80 at home Friday evening.
Akron moves to 5-0 in the MAC and 9-0 at home this season.
The Zips (12-5, 5-0) had three players score in double figures, led by Isaiah Gray, who had a career high 22 points and two steals. Amani Lyles tacked on a career high 17 points while adding six assists and three blocks from the bench. Nate Johnson chipped in with 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.
Akron did a stellar job taking care of the basketball, dishing out 24 assists while turning the ball over nine times. Lyles' six assists paced the Zips. Sharron Young also added with five assists of his own. The Akron defense held Ohio shooters to only 34.4 percent from the field, including 25 percent from three-point range.
After jumping out to a 27-20 advantage, Akron went on a 7-0 run with 5:45 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Johnson, to increase its lead to 34-20. The Zips then added one point to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 44-29 advantage. Akron relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down six shots to account for 18 of its 44 points. Akron kept its lead intact before going on a 6-0 run, finished off by Gray's layup, to grow the lead to 72-54 with 8:44 to go in the contest. The Bobcats narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Zips still cruised the rest of the way for the 92-80 win. Akron took care of business in the paint, recording 28 of its 48 points in the lane.
WINNING... IT'S WHAT WE DO
Akron is currently on a 14-game winning streak, which is currently the longest active streak in the country. George Mason is second in the nation with an 11-game winning streak. The Citadel holds the nation's longest losing streak with 18 straight defeats.
UNDEFEATED IN CONFERENCE
Akron (13-0) is one of two teams in Div. I to hold a perfect record in conference play. Yale (9-0) is the only other team in Div. I to remain perfect in conference. Four teams have yet to win a conference game this season.
HOT START TO #MACTION
The Blue and Gold have started conference play with 13straight wins. The 13 wins to begin conference action is the best start for an Akron-led John Groce squad. The Blue and Gold started last season 7-0 in MAC play.
The last time the Zips started 13-0Â was when the 2012-13 squad began conference with 13 straight wins. The 2012-13 squad started #MACtion to the tune of a 13-0 record and finished that season 26-7 overall and 14-2 in the MAC.Â
AKRON IN THE MAC
Akron is 78-25 since the 2019-20 season in MAC play, owning the highest winning percentage (.757) in the league. The Zips are 64-22 in the MAC under the new conference format without divisions (new in 2020-21). Akron is 107-28 (.793) 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 247-108 overall (.696), including a 149-32 mark in MAC play at home (.823). The Zips' 247 wins are the most in the league during that stretch. The Zips have won 162 of their last 226 MAC games (.717).
ON NATIONAL TV
Akron is 3-0 on the national stage with wins at Bowling Green (71-68) and against Ohio (92-80) at the JAR while defeating Kent State 85-71 on the road. All three games were broadcasted on CBS Sports Network.Â
The Zips next nationally televised game will come on February 22 when they travel to Ohio to face the Bobcats on ESPN2/U for a 6 p.m. start.
Akron was also selected to have its home contest against Kent State on February 28 broadcasted on ESPN2 at 9 p.m.
The Zips have one more possible date that could be flexed to national TV. The remaining date will be announced 21 days prior to the contests which includes a home games against Buffalo (3/7/24).
COMING OFF THE BENCH
Akron ranks 8th in the NCAA for bench production with 33.42 points per game. The Zips' bench has recorded 18 games with 30 or more points and eight games with 40 or more points. The Akron bench recorded a season high 49 points against Ball State om February 4.
DISHING OUT DIMES
Ranking in the top-10 in assists per game in the NCAA (2nd - 18.8), the Zips aren't afraid to share the rock. Akron has recorded 20 or more assists in 13 games with a season high 28 coming against Ohio Wesleyan (11/8/24).Â
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Zips travel to Muncie, Ind., to take on the Ball State Cardinals on Tuesday, February 25 for a 7 p.m. start.
