2017-18 AKRON ZIPS BASKETBALL GAME NOTES Game 19 • Jan. 23, 2018 117th Season | 12-Straight 21-Plus Win Seasons | MAC Champions: 2009, 2011, 2013 | MAC Regular-Season Champions: 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017 2017 -18 BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) ...................Time Akron Zips (9-9, 2-4) Nov. 11 Cleveland State (1) .......... W, 67-57 Nov. 18 UT Martin .......... W, 76-59 vs Ohio (9-9, 2-4) Nov. 25 at Dayton .................L, 73-60 Nov. 28 UT Chattanooga .......... W, 75-70 Tuesday, Jan. 23 • James A. Rhodes Arena Dec. 2 at Marshall .................L, 86-64 Dec. 6 Fort Wayne .......... W, 83-79 Akron, Ohio • 7 PM ET • ESPN3 Dec. 9 Appalachian State .......... W, 94-89 Dec. 16 Mississippi Valley State .......... W, 81-62 Dec. 22 USC (#) ((ESPNU) .................L, 84-53 Dec. 23 Princeton (#) (ESPN3) .................L, 64-62 Dec. 25 Davidson (#) (ESPNU) .................L, 91-78 Dec. 29 Concord .......... W, 86-49 Jan. 2 at Western Michigan* .................L, 87-75 Jan. 5 at Toledo* (CBS-SN) .................L, 67-65 Jan. 9 Buffalo* ............L, 87-65 OHIO HEAD COACH AKRON ZIPS HEAD COACH Jan. 13 Bowling Green* .......... W, 80-78 Jan. 16 at Eastern Michigan* .................L, 63-49 Saul Phillips (Wisconsin-Platteville ‘96) John Groce (Taylor ‘94) Jan. 20 Northern Illinois* .......... W, 82-67 Overall Record: 196-136 (11th Season) Overall Record: 189-140 (10th Season) Jan. 23 Ohio* .............. 7 p.m. Record at Ohio: 62-52 (4th Season) Record at Akron: 9-9 (First Season) Jan. 27 at Ball State* (CBS-SN) ..................... Noon Jan. 30 at Miami (OH)* ....................7 p.m. MAC Record: 29-31 (4th Season) MAC Record at Akron: 2-4 (First Season) Feb. 3 Toledo* (CBS-SN) ............... Noon Overall MAC Record: 36-34 (at Ohio and Akron) Feb. 6 at Ohio* ....................7 p.m. Feb. 10 Central Michigan* .............. 2 p.m. ALL-TIME SERIES Feb. 13 Ball State* .............. 7 p.m. Akron Leads: 40-38 Groce vs. Ohio: First Meeting Feb. 17 at Kent State* ....................7 p.m. Last Meeting:Ohio 85, Akron 70 at Convocation Center on Feb. 4, 2017 Feb. 20 at Bowling Green* ....................7 p.m. Feb. 24 Miami (OH)* .............. 2 p.m. BROADCAST Feb. 27 at Buffalo* ....................7 p.m. TV/Video: ESPN3 – March 2 Kent State* .............. 7 p.m. Michael Reghi (PxP) and Jacki Windon (Analyst) Live Stats: GoZips.com/Schedule - Live Stats Home games in BOLD | All times Eastern Standard Radio: Akron-IMG Sports Network - Steve French (PxP) and Joe Dunn (Analyst) *Mid-American Conference game | (1) Coaches vs. Cancer WARF 1350 AM (flagship), iHeart Radio, TuneIn.com/Akron Zips (#) Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic 2017-18 Zips At-A-Glance ^ - Indicates Previous Game Starter | * - Indicates Blocked Shots | #-Steals | G - Guard | W - Wing | F - Frontcourt RETURNING LETTERWINNERS (5): 2017-18 No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr.-Exp. Notables 0 Jimond Ivey G/W 6-5 200 Jr.-2L Scored 15 points twice this season, Recorded double-double 15 pts, 10 ast. against App State 12 Marquelle McIntyre G 5-10 175 So.-1L Played in three games last season, Appeared in 2 games this season All-Time Record: .............................................506-525-36 22 Emmanuel Olojakpoke F 6-8 190 So.-1L Scored a career-high 24 points against Fort Wayne, MAC East Player of the Week (12/11) All-Time MAC Record: ....................76-117 (24 yrs.) 3 Daniel Utomi W 6-6 215 So.-1L Led Zips’ scoring in 6-of-8 games, Scored career-high 32 points against UT Martin NEWCOMERS (8): 2017-18 4 Malcolm Duvivier G 6-2 210 Gr.-3L Scored a career-high 24 points against App State Record at InfoCision Stadium: ......... 16-26 (7 yrs.) 11 Virshon Cotton G 6-1 165 Fr.-HS Played in all 8 games, scored a career-high 10 points against Fort Wayne 14 Sina Gbadebo G 6-1 190 Fr.-HS High basketball I.Q. and great skill level, Appeared in 3 games this season 44 Mark Kostelac F 6-11 250 Fr.-HS Played in 7-of-8 games this season 20 Eric Parrish G/W 6-6 195 Fr.-HS Moved into a starting role after 4 games, Scored a career-high 17 points in collegiate debut 23 Jaden Sayles F 6-9 235 Fr.-HS Played in all 8 games, Scored a career-high 10 points against Dayton 24 Torrey Patton G/W 6-4 195 Fr.-HS Started first 4 games, Scored a career-high 10 points against Mississippi Valley State 25 Lucas Smith W 6-5 195 Jr.-2L Played at Iowa Lakes Community College, Made 4 appearances this season TRANSFERS (3): Previous Statistics 2 Eric Hester (20/0) G 6-3 170 RS-1L 2.2 0.5 0.3 Scored 16 pts at LSU, knocking down all five 3-pt attempts. 1 Loren Cristian Jackson (34/5) G 5-8 160 RS-1L 5.8 1.2 2.0 Scored 15 pts with six assists and a steal against UCLA 10 Deng Riak (33/17) F 6-10 225 RS-1L 3.2 5.2 *0.5 Started final 17-of-18 games for ECU, career-high 11 rebs * - Assists per game G - Guard, W - Wing, F - Frontcourt AKRON BASKETBALL GAME NOTES 1 WHAT’S AHEAD The Akron men’s basketball team continues Mid-American Conference play at James A. Rhodes Arena AKRON QUICK FACTS against the Ohio Bobcats. On Tuesday, Jan. 23, the Zips are scheduled to host the Bobcats at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be aired on ESPN3 with Michael Reghi calling the action and Jacki Windon providing analysis. Location .........................................Akron, Ohio (44325) Population ......................200,000 (fifth largest in Ohio) Fans can also follow the action on GoZips.com via Live Stats or by Zips’ radio. The Zips’ radio broadcast Founded ............................... 1870 (as Buchtel College) will air on the Akron-IMG Sports Network SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship) with Steve Enrollment ..........................................................26,000 French calling the action and Joe Dunn providing analysis. The pregame show starts 30 minutes prior Nickname ................................................................Zips to the contest. The free audio stream is available at SportsRadio1350.com, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn. Colors.................Blue (PMS 282) and Gold (PMS 7503) com/Akron Zips. Conference ..............................................Mid-American President ..........................................Matthew J. Wilson THE AKRON-OHIO SERIES Director of Athletics .................................Larry Williams Tuesday’s game marks the 79th meeting in series history between Akron and Ohio, and first meeting for Senior Associate AD .......................... George Van Horne a Groce coached squad. Akron holds an all-time 40-38 series advantage. The Zips have won nine of the Senior Associate AD/SWA. ................ Mary Lu Gribschaw last 12 meetings, and Akron is 24-12 against the Bobcats in Akron, winning 13 of the last 15 meetings Faculty Athletics Representative ......Dr. Deborah Owens at Rhodes Arena, including an 83-68 win on Jan.17, 2017. The Zips are 13-24 against OU in Athens, Athletic Dept. Phone: ...........................(330) 972-7080 winning three of the last five meetings at the Convocation Center. The Zips dropped the last meeting Ticket Office Phone: ...........................1-888-99-AKRON 85-70 to Ohio on Feb. 4, 2017 at the Convocation Center. The Zips are 3-2 against the Bobcats in the JAMES A. RHODES ARENA MAC Tournament. SCOUTING THE BOBCATS Capacity ................................................................5,500 Ohio enters the contest with a 9-9 overall record and 2-4 in MAC play. The Bobcats opened league play Opened .............................................December 3, 1983 with a 75-50 loss at Central Michigan, and claimed their first MAC win in the home opener against W, 78-74 over Eastern Michigan Northern Illinois (78-68). The Bobcats dropped three straight games, Ball State (75-68), Kent State (70- Seating ....................................2,096 arm-chair seating 69), and Toledo (91-57) before snapping the streak the last time out at Eastern Michigan (72-66). This ................................ 3,404 bleacher-style seating season, Ohio is 7-3 (1-2 MAC) at home, 1-4 (1-2 MAC) on the road, and 1-2 in neutral site games. Record at Rhodes Arena ... 388-120 (.764) – 34 Seasons Record under John Groce ...................9-9 (First Season) Ohio has three players scoring in double figures led by Mike Laster with 15.9 points on 48.4 percent Press Row Phone ..................................(330) 374-8771 shooting from the floor (106-of-219) and 41.0 percent from downtown with a second-best 34 made PROGRAM HISTORY 3-point FG (34-of-83). Laster shoots 71.4 percent from the free throw line (25-of-35) while adding 3.0 rebounds (51) and 1.76 assists (30) per game. Teyvion Kirk follows with 14.3 points per game. Kirk does most of his scoring inside the 3-point arc, as 79 of his 86 field goals are 2-point FGs. He leads the Seasons of Basketball ............................ Entering 117th squad at the charity stripe, draining 78 free throws on 102 attempts for a 76.5 shooting percentage. In First Season of Basketball .................................1901-02 addition, Kirk is the team leader in steals (25) and is second on the glass. He pulls down 5.9 rebounds Seasons of Division I Basketball .............. Entering 37th per game (106) while dishing out a second-best 3.17 assists per night (54). In addition, Kirk leads the First Season of Division I Basketball .................1980-81 Ohio at the charity stripe. All-Time Record .................................1,579-1004 (.611) All-Time Division I Record ......................622-484 (.562) Jordan Dartis rounds out the double-digit scoring with 13.3 points per game. He shoots a 42.5 percent All-Time MAC Record ..........236-200 (.541/25 seasons) from the field (74-of-174) and 41.1 percent from deep (46-of-112) that includes a team-high 46 made MAC Tournament Titles ................3 (2009, 2011, 2013) 3-pointers.