The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Nevada
Zips Travel to No. 6 Ranked and Undefeated Nevada on Saturday
December 21 | Men's Basketball
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Akron Zips (7-4)Â vs. No. 6 Nevada (11-0)
Saturday, Dec. 22 • Lawlor Events Center • Reno, Nev. • 7 PM ET • ESPN3
Nevada Head Coach
Eric Musselman (San Diego '87)
Overall Record: 92-29 (4th Season)Â
Record at Nevada:92-29 (4thSeason)
MW Record: 39-15 (4th Season)
AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 201-153 (11th Season)
Record at Akron: 21-22 (2nd Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 6-12 (2nd Season)
Overall MAC Record: 40-42 (at Ohio and Akron)
All-Time Series
Wolf Pack leads: 0-2 Groce vs Nevada: First Meeting
Last Meeting: Nevada 73, Akron 71 Dec. 22, 2006 at James A. Rhodes Arena (Akron, Ohio)
First Meeting: Nevada 88, Akron 61 Feb. 17, 2006 ESPN Bracket Busters (Reno, Nev.)Â
In Akron 0-1, Neutral 0-0, In Reno 0-1
Broadcast
TV/Video: ESPN3 – Trey Bender (PxP), Richie Schueler (Analyst)Â
Live Stats: GoZips.com/Schedule - Live Stats
Radio: Akron-IMG Sports Network - Steve French (PxP), Joe Dunn (Analyst) WARF 1350 AM (flagship), iHeart Radio, TuneIn.com/Akron Zips
Quick Hits
• The Zips are 4-5 all-time against the Mountain West Conference
• Jimond Ivey reached 1,000 career points against Tennessee State (1,013 total points)
• Akron lost all four games by five points or less. (12 points total)
• The Zips are ranked 18th in the NCAA for scoring defense only allowing 61.4 points per game
• Akron is ranked 20th in 3-pointers/game (10.3), 21st in th NCAA for 3-point FGs attempted (325), 25th in 3-point FGs made (113), 40th in scoring margin (+14.2) and FG percentage Defense (39.2), 63rd in turnovers/game (12.2) and 77th in turnover margin (2.5)
What's Ahead
The Akron men's basketball program continues its 118th season of non-conference hoops by traveling to Reno, Nev. to play against the No. 6 ranked Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday, Dec. 22 at Lawlor Events Center. The sold-out game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) tip-off. Under second-year head coach John Groce, the Zips are 7-4 overall and coming off an 82-60 win at home which snapped a two-game skid. Akron is 5-1 at Rhodes Arena, 0-1 on the road and 2-2 in neutral site games this season.Â
The Broadcasts
The Zips' game is scheduled to air on ESPN3 as Trey Bender will call the action and Richie Schueler 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.
Scouting the Wolf Pack
Nevada enters the game ranked No. 6 in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and the AP Poll with an unblemished 11-0 record. The 11-0 start is the best start to a season for the Wolf Pack in the Division I era. Nevada is a perfect 5-0 at home, 2-0 on the road and 4-0 in neutral site games. The Wolf Pack averages 83.8 points per outing on 47.1 percent shooting from the floor and a 34.4 percent effort from beyond the 3-point arc, draining 8.5 triples a game.Â
The Wolf Pack has four players scoring in double figures led by Jordan Caroline and Caleb Martin with 18.8 points per game. Caroline also leads the squad on the glass, grabbing 10.1 rebounds per game (111 total rebounds). Caroline tallied seven double-doubles in 11 games on 48.2 percent shooting from the floor, including a 40-percent clip from beyond the 3-point arc with 12 triples. Martin owns a team-best 32 long distance strikes while shooting 32.3 percent from deep. He connected with 41.2 percent of his total shots and is second best on the team with 32 assists and 14 steals.
Jazz Johnson follows with 12.6 points per game on 58.7 percent shooting, and 55.6 percent from deep with a second-best 25 made 3-pointers. Cody Martin rounds out the double-digit scoring with 10.4 points per night. Martin shoots 48.8 percent from the field and dishes out a team-high 67 assists to go along with 10 steals and nine blocks. Tre'Shawn Thurman also has nine blocks and adds a team-best 17 steals while contributing 8.5 points per game.
In addition, the Wolf Pack has six players with at least 30 rebounds. Caroline leads with 111 boards followed by Thurman (67), Caleb Martin (57), Trey Porter (56), Cody Martin (47) and Jordan Brown (31).Â
Defensively, Nevada limits its opponents to 67.6 points per game on 40.7 percent shooting from the floor and 30.9 percent from 3-point range, allowing only 7.7 long distance strikes per night. The Wolf Pack caused 134 turnovers (12.2 to/g) with 52 steals (4.7 stl/g). Nevada holds the edge on the glass, outrebounding the opponent by a +3.8 margin and limiting the opponent to grab 384 total boards compared to the 426 total rebounds secured.
The Akron-Nevada Series
Tuesday's game marks the third meeting in series history between Akron and Nevada, and first for head coach John Groce. The Wolf Pack holds a 2-0Â edge in the series. Akron is 0-1 at home and 0-1 in Reno.Â
The series began during the 2005-06 season when Akron played Nevada in the ESPN Bracket Busters game in Reno, Nev. on Feb. 17, 2006. The Wolf Pack defeated Akron 88-61. The following season (2006-07), the two teams me at James A. Rhodes Arena on Dec. 22, 2006. The Wolf Pack slid out of Akron with a two-point win (73-71).
Strong Defensive Stance
The Akron Zips have limited opponents to scoring only 61.4 points per game which ranks No. 18 in the NCAA for scoring defense and first in the MAC. Akron limits opponents to 39.2 shooting from the floor and 31.4 from long distance. Akron has caused 160 turnovers (14.5 t/g) with 57 steals. Tyler Cheese leads the team in takeaways with 12 steals and 11 offensive charges taken. In addition, Loren Cristian Jackson leads the team in offensive charges taken with 13 to go along with a third-best 10 steals. Jimond Ivey has 11 steals.Â
Fight to the Finish
The Akron Zips are currently 7-4 overall, picking up five wins at home and two wins on a neutral floor. Akron won all seven games by a +24.3 margin and currently rank 40th in the NCAA and third in the MAC with a +14.2 scoring margin.Â
Taking it a step further, in Akron's four setbacks, the Zips have only lost by a combined total of 12 points, falling by five points or less in each contest. Akron fell 72-69 to No. 16 Clemson, 73-68 to Illinois State, 68-65 to Purdue Fort Wayne and 75-74 to Marshall. In addition, the Zips have not allowed an opponent to score more than 75 points this season.
Ivey Passes 1,000 Career Points
Senior guard Jimond Ivey reached the 1,000-point career milestone against Tennessee State with an old-fashioned 3-point play. He became the 44th member of the Zips' 1,000 point club after scoring 19 points to finish with 1,013 points in 111 games. In 2018-19, Ivey has scored 145 points, averaging 13.2 points per game as Akron's third leading scorer. Over his four-year playing career at Akron, Ivey averages 9.1 points per game. He appeared in 111 total games with 72 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).
Raising the Bar
Loren Cristian Jackson didn't show any signs of rust as the sophomore transfer from Long Beach State has scored double-digits in 7-of-11 games which includes a career-high (26), three 20-plus point performances and three consecutive game efforts . He continues to raise the bar, setting and resetting career-highs in points. He set a new personal best by scoring 25 points against No. 16 Clemson and broke his personal record against Marshall with 26 points on a career-high 9-of-18 (.500) shooting from the floor with an exceptional 5-of-8 (.625) showing from downtown. He followed with a 23-point performance against Tennessee State and started the three-straight performances with a 12-point showing at Purdue Fort Wayne.Â
Another 1,000 Points?
As Jimond Ivey entered the 1,000 point club, teammate Daniel Utomi is close to becoming the 45th member. Utomi is leading the Zips' scoring efforts with 15.9 points per game and 175 points scored this season. The Junior wing led last year's squad with 16.7 points per game and 535 total points. As a freshman he notched 143 points for an 853 career total.
Pass the Cheese Tre
Junior Tyler Cheese set a career-high scoring mark against Alabama State with 19 points on 3-of-4 shooting from downtown and a 7-of-9 effort from the floor. He added a career best five assists. Cheese has scored in double figures 4-of-11 games with 13 points against Youngstown State and Clemson and 14 points against Marshall. Cheese currently ranks fourth in team scoring with 9.1 points per game.
Like Money in the Bank
Junior college transfer Channel Banks (Las Vegas, Nev.) has scored in double digits 4-of-10 games this season and is currently fifth on the team in scoring with 8.6 points per game. He is shooting 36.2 percent (17-of-47) from long distance. Those 17 made 3-point field goals ranks third on the team as Dan Utomi (36) and Loren Cristian Jackson (28) leads the way. Banks led the squad in scoring with 15 points (Cedarville) and 17 points (Chicago State), while adding a 10-point performances against Alabama State and Detroit Mercy.
UP NEXT
The Zips return to Akron for the final game of non-conference action on Sunday, Dec. 30 at 2 p.m. against Carnegie Mellon at James A. Rhodes Arena. The final game of the calander year is scheduled to be aired on ESPN3 and Akron-IMG Sports Radio Network 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship) with Steve French calling the action and Joe Dunn providing analysis. The free audio stream is available at SportsRadio1350.com, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn.com/Akron Zips.
