The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Alabama State
Zips Return to the JAR to Play Alabama State on Wednesday
November 27 | Men's Basketball
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Akron Zips (4-2) MAC vs. Alabama State (2-3) SWAC
Wednesday, Nov. 28 • James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, Ohio • 7 PM ET • ESPN3
Alabama State Head Coach
Lewis Jackson (Alabama State, '84)
Overall: 189-220 (14th season)
Record at Alabama State: 189-220 (14th season)
SWAC Record: 140-95 (14th season)
AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 198-151 (11th Season)
Record at Akron: 18-20 (2nd Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 6-12 (2nd Season)
Overall MAC Record: 40-42 (at Ohio and Akron)
All-Time Series
First meeting in series history, 0-0 - Groce vs Alabama State:Â 1-0
Broadcast
TV/Video: ESPN3 – Michael Reghi (PxP), Jacki Windon (Analyst)Â
Live Stats: GoZips.com/Schedule - Live Stats
Radio: Akron-IMG Sports Network - Steve French (PxP) and Joe Dunn (Analyst) WARF 1350 AM (flagship), iHeart Radio, TuneIn.com/Akron Zips
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What's Ahead
The Akron men's basketball program continues its 118th season of non-conference hoops by hosting Alabama State on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at James A. Rhodes Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Under second-year head coach John Groce, the Zips are 4-2 overall and coming off a 61-49 win over St. Bonaventure at the Cayman Islands Classic. Akron went 1-2 in George Town, Grand Cayman, falling to No. 16 Clemson (72-69) and Illinois State (73-68). Loren Cristian Jackson earned All-Tournament team honors. Akron is 2-0 at Rhodes Arena and 2-2 in neutral site games.
The Broadcasts
The Zips home game is scheduled to air on ESPN3 as Michael Reghi will call the action and Jacki Windon provides analysis. Fans can also follow the action on GoZips.com via Live Stats or by Zips' radio. The Zips' radio broadcast will air on the Akron-IMG Sports Network SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship) with Steve French calling the action and Joe Dunn providing analysis. The pregame show starts 30 minutes prior to the contest. The free audio stream is available at SportsRadio1350.com, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn.com/Akron Zips.
The Akron-Alabama State Series
Wednesday's contest marks the first meeting in series history between Akron and Alabama State. However, Groce owns a 1-0 all-time record over the Hornets. While at Illinois, Groce posted his lone win over Alabama State. The fighting Illini defeated the Hornets 80-63 at the State Farm Center on November 8, 2013.
Scouting the Hornets
Alabama State dropped its last contest at Iowa 105-78, which snapped a two-game winning streak. The Hornets are 2-3 on the season, defeating LaGrange (97-63) and Birmingham-Southern (86-44) at home. All three losses were on the road, beginning with Iowa State (79-53) and South Dakota State (78-61).
The Hornets have two players scoring in double figures as Reginald Gee leads the way with 16.4 points per game with a team-high 52.2 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. Gee is 12-of-23 from long distance and 26-of-53 (.491) from all areas of the court. Jacoby Ross follows with 15.0 points per game and also leads the squad with 16 made 3-pointers. He shoots 43.2 percent from deep (16-of-37) and adds a team best 15 assists. Branden Johnson leads the Hornets' rebounding efforts with 8.0 boards per night and totaling 40 rebounds on the season.Â
Defensively, Alabama State has allowed its opponent to score 73.8 points per game on 41.8 percent shooting from the field and 32.6 percent from downtown with 8.4 made 3-pt FGs per game. The Hornets caused 78 turnovers (15.6 tpg) while collecting 37 steals (7.4 stl/g) and 24 blocked shots (4.8 blk/g). On the glass, Alabama State outrebounds the opponent by a +2.2 margin, grabbing 196 total boards while allowing the opposition to secure 185 rebounds.
Closing on 1,000 Points
Senior guard Jimond Ivey is quickly approaching the 1,000-point career milestone. In 2018-19, Ivey has scored 69 points, averaging 11.5 points per game as Akron's third leading scorer. Over his four-year playing career at Akron, Ivey has accumulated 937 points, averaging 8.8 points per game. He appeared in 106 total games with 67 starting appearances. Last season, Ivey set Akron's single-game scoring record with a 48-point performance on the road at Ball State (1/27/18).
Cayman Islands All-Tournament Team
Sophomore Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) earned All-Tournament team honors at the Cayman Islands Classic. In three games, Jackson averaged a career-high 16.3 points per game with 4.3 Assists and 2.3 rebounds. Jackson opened the tournament with a career-best 25-point performance against No. 16 ranked Clemson (L, 72-69). He buried a personal best five 3-pointers (5-of-12, .417) and grabbed a career-high four rebounds with three assists. In the second and third games, he paced the Zips with five assists per game. Jackson added 15 points to his weekly total against Illinois State (L, 73-68) and scored nine points in the win over St. Bonaventure. For the week, Jackson scored 49 points, dished out 13 assists, grabbed seven rebounds and had one steal. He shot 11-of-35 (.314) from the floor, 7-of-24 (.292) from deep, and 20-of-27 (.741) from the free throw line.
Jackson Drops 25 Points on No. 16 Clemson
Jackson opened the Cayman Islands Classic with a career-high 25-point performance against No. 16 Clemson. Jackson shot 7-of-17 from the floor (.412), including a 5-of-12 performance from deep (.417). He made eight trips to the free throw line and buried six charity buckets. In addition, Jackson had four rebounds and three assists.
Like Money in the Bank
Junior college transfer Channel Banks (Las Vegas, Nev.) has scored in double digits 2-of-3 games this season and is currently third on the team in scoring with 13.3 points per game. He is shooting a team-best 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from long distance. Those nine made 3-point field goals ranks as theteam leader as Dan Utomi and Loren Cristian Jackson follow with seven 3-pointers each. Â
Banks buried 4-of-6 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc in Akron's season/home opener against Cedarville, went 2-of-4 against YSU, and 3-of-4. He led the squad in scoring with 15 points (Cedarville) and 17 points (Chicago State).
Five Players Score Double Figures
Five Zips reached double digits in scoringagainst Youngstown State as junior Daniel Utomi led all scorers with 25 points, shooting 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from the floor and 50.0 percent from downtown (2-of-4). He added five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot to his stat sheet. Senior Jimond Ivey followed with 18 points and five rebounds, while newcomers sophomore Loren Cristian Jackson, junior Deng Riak and junior Tyler Cheese all turned in career-high performances. Jackson posted a career-high 16 points and Riak reached career-best 14 points and rebounds (7). Cheese collected 13 points, a personal best, and tied his four assist best effort.
Olojakpoke Returns to Action
After having his 2017-18 campaign cut short due to season ending heart surgery, junior frontcourt specialist Emmanuel Olojakpoke returned to action. EMan played 13 minutes in Akron's season opener, scoring two points while causing havoc in the paint. Olojakpoke grabbed four rebounds, blocked two shots and had one steal.Â
Senior Leader Opens Season with a Double-Double
Senior guard/wing Jimond Ivey started the season off right by recording a double-double in Akron's first appearance of the season. Ivey scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He lead the Zips on the glass, pulling down 10 defensive rebounds and grabbing one offensive board. From the floor, Ivey used a 4-of-6 performance from the floor and a 4-of-6 showing from the free throw line for the 12 points.
Loren Cristian Jackson Did Not Miss a Beat
Transfer guard Loren Cristian Jackson didn't show any signs of rust as sophomore transfer from Long Beach State led the Zips offense and was second in scoring in the opener. He tallied 14 points in the 70-50 win over Cedarville. HE grabbed a second best seven rebounds while dishing out two assists. Jackson connected with four long range buckets on seven attempts for a 57.1 percent showing from beyond the arc.
Starting the Season Off Right
The Zips are 72-46 (.610) all-time in season openers with a 58-12 (.829) home record and 14-34 (.292) on the road. Since the 2004-05, UA is 10-5 (.667) when opening the season, standing 7-1 (.875) at home, 3-4 (.429) on the road and 2-0 (1.000) under head coach John Groce. In addition, Akron owns a 97-21 (.822) home-opening record and 32-4 (.888) at Rhodes Arena. The Zips have been winners in the last 17-of-18 home opening games. Akron is 18-8 in MAC openers, 10-1 at home since joining the league in 1992. Over the last 15 seasons, the Zips are 11-4 in MAC openers and 7-1 at home. Akron has won the last 7-of-8 MAC openers.
Best Start to a Season
The 2015-16 Akron Zips started the season with a 3-0 winning streak. The three consecutive wins to open the season marks the best start in the Division I era of Akron men's basketball history. In addition, the 13-2 start was the best opening to a season in Akron basketball's Division I era, while the Zips win over the Arkansas Razorbacks marked the fifth consecutive season the Zips posted a win over a Power Five Conference opponent.
The LeBron James Shoe Deal and Nike Apparel
Since June 2008, the Akron men's basketball program has been partnered with Nike under which the Zips' shoes, game uniforms, warm ups and accessories are licensed under the Nike and LeBron James Trademarks.
The Zips are just one of three college programs in the country that are partnered with the LBJ line of Nike equipment, the others are Ohio State and Duquesne. Akron rocks six pairs of LBJ kicks in three different styles all customized to Akron Basketball.
The Akron Zips men's basketball team has six different uniforms, including four new looks for the 2018-19 season. Akron will continue to sport the grey set of uniforms modeled after the Team USA uniforms, which were new for 2017-18. The Grey uniforms feature the script Akron on the chest in blue outlined in the university gold. The numbers are depicted the same way which matches the blue piping that outlines the uniform. The shorts feature the Z-logo on both sides of the leg and are piped with the blue. Akron also had a new set of purple se uniforms last season that are worn as a tribute to former coach and director of operations Dan Peters.
For 2018-19, the Zips will showcase new home and away, whites and blues, with combinations that brings back the gold. Both sets feature the script Akron across the chest in gold with the white set accented by blue outlines and piping, while the  blues are outlined in white.The pants feature the Z-Logo on one leg and script Akron on the opposite side. Also, the Roo-Head debuts on the waistband.Speaking of Gold, Akron's "Gold Standard" uniforms are back. Yes, Akron will be rockin gold uniforms once again. The Team USA inspired uniforms feature the script Akron in blue across the chest with the Roo-Head on the sides of the shorts. The waistband features the Z-Logo.
The final uniform is a Fear The Roo uniform that is anthracite (dark grey) as the base color. Those are all the details we can divulge at this time.
UP NEXT
Akron will be at home again on Saturday, Dec. 1 against Detroit Mercy. The Zips follow the Akron women's basketball game which starts at 2 p.m. The women's squad is scheduled to play Eastern Kentucky in their home opener. The men's game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start.
