Zips Prepare to Host Bowling Green at The JAR on Friday

Akron (9-4, 1-0 Mid-American) vs Bowling Green (10-3, 1-0 Mid-American)
Friday, Jan. 5 – James A. Rhodes Arena – Akron, Ohio
9:00 pm ET – CBS Sports Network - WHLO 640

WHAT'S AHEAD
The Akron Zips return to the JAR to host the Bowling Green Falcons on January 5 for the 74^th all-time meeting. Akron and BGSU can be viewed on CBSSN with Dave Ryan (PxP) and Tim Doyle (Analyst). 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.

HEAD COACHES
Akron: John Groce | Overall Record: 307-206 | At Akron: 125-74
Bowling Green: Todd Simon | Overall Record: 148-125 | At Bowling Green: 10-3

ALL-TIME SERIES
Akron Leads: 45-28                             Groce vs. Bowling Green: 9-3 (12-9 Overall)
First Meeting: Akron 52, BGSU 29           in Akron 1937-38 season
Last Meeting: Akron 74, BGSU 70           at Bowling Green, Jan. 10, 2023
Current Streak: 3W

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
The Bowling Green Falcons come into Friday's game riding an eight game win streak that features a 92-90 OT victory over Eastern Michigan to begin MAC action.
BGSU was led by Marcus Hill's 35 points on a 10-of-22 shooting night. Hill was also 13-of-17 from the free throw line against the Eagles. Rashaun Agee posted a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds while two other Falcons posted double-figure scoring.
Averaging 75.4 points per game as a team, Bowling Green is led by Hill's 20.5 points per game. Trey Thomas (12.1), Agee (11.1) and Jason Sprugin (10.8) are also scoring in double-figures this season. Agee is the leader in rebounds with 8.3 per game while Sprugin leads the way with 17 blocks on the year.
The Falcons are 29th in the NCAA in defensive rebounds per game (29.00), 83rd in rebounds per game (39.00), and 92nd in scoring defense (67.0).
Hill is 24th in the country field goals made (93), 24th in free throws made (70), 23rd in total points (267), and 16th in points per game (20.5). Agee is 93rd in total rebounds (108), 64th in offensive rebounds per game (3.00), and 84th in rebounds per game (8.3).

ZIPS AT A GLANCE
Akron won it's sixth consecutive MAC opener when it took down NIU 73-51 on January 2. Enrique Freeman led the Zips in scoring while three others Zips recorded a double-figure scoring night.
The Zips moved up to 92nd in the NET rankings which leads the MAC. KenPom has the Zips ranked 99th.
Akron looks to get a new winning streak going after seeing a four-game win streak ended with a 62-61 loss to St. Bonaventure at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on December 30.
Freeman is one of three Zips to average double-digit scoring this season with a team-high 17.9. Ali Ali is scoring 17.6 points per game while Sammy Hunter is scoring 10.2 points per game. Freeman also leads the Blue and Gold in rebounds per game (13.2) and total blocks (18).
As a team, the Zips rank 42nd in the country in effective fg% (.553), 77th in fg% (.472), 53rd in rebound margin (+6.2), 50th in scoring defense (65.2), 68th in scoring margin (+11.3), 87th in 3pt% (.360), and 49th in 3-pointers made per game (9.2).

LAST TIME OUT (JAN. 2, 2024)
DEKALB, Ill. --Enrique Freeman notched a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds to help the Akron men's basketball team beat the Northern Illinois Huskies 73-51 on the road Tuesday.
The Zips (9-4, 1-0) had four players score in double figures, led by Freeman. Ali Ali tacked on 16 points and six rebounds and Nate Johnson chipped in as well with 13 points and six rebounds.
The Akron offense was very productive from beyond the arc, knocking down eight threes on 19 attempts. Johnson was the most prolific shooter for the Zips, draining three treys in the contest.
The Zips defense held Northern Illinois shooters to just 32.1 percent from the field, including 18.2 percent from three-point range. The Zips also kept Zarique Nutter to 3-of-14 shooting and nine points in the game. The Huskies did not get many second opportunities on the offensive end, as they grabbed only eight offensive rebounds and scored 11 second chance points while Akron pulled down 30 defensive rebounds.

LAST TIME AGAINST BOWLING GREEN (JAN. 10, 2023)
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio –The Akron Zips received a total team effort for their first road win of the season, defeating Bowling Green 74-70 at the Stroh Center on Tuesday evening.
The Zips (10-6, 2-1) battled the Falcons (8-8, 2-1) to the final seconds of regulation behind a third-straight double-double from junior Enrique Freeman (Cleveland, Ohio), a career performance by junior Sammy Hunter (Nassau, Bahamas), the return of Xavier Castaneda (Chicago, Ill.) and a pair of clutch free throws by Nate Johnson (Liberty Twp., Ohio) to ultimately hand Bowling Green its first Mid-American Conference loss.
Freeman recorded his ninth double-double of the season, scoring 21 points and grabbing 16 rebounds, with 15 of those points and 11 rebounds coming in the second half. The reining MAC Player of the Week added a 90-percent (9-of-10) shooting performance from the free throw line. Hunter followed with a career-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor, including a career-best 4-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc. He kept the Zips in the game throughout the first 20-minutes, knocking down big shot after big shot.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Zips own a 461-134 (.775) all-time record at the James A. Rhodes Arena. In the last 17 seasons, Akron has posted a 257-39 (.868) record at the JAR. The Zips are 5-0 at the JAR this season.
Under coach Groce, Akron is 81-14 (.852) at home. The Zips were 15-1 at home in 2022-23.

AKRON IN THE MAC
Akron is 54-21 since the 2019-20 season in MAC play, owning the highest winning percentage (.720) in the league. The Zips are 40-17 in the MAC under the new conference format without divisions (new in 2020-21). Akron is 91-25 (.785) 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 223-103 overall (.684), including a 134-31 mark in MAC play at home (.822). The Zips' 223 wins are the most in the league during that stretch. The Zips have won 138 of their last 198 MAC games (.697).

THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Freeman has 11 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-11 players in Div. 1 to average a double-double, while recording 20+ points and 10+ rebounds seven times. Freeman has also recorded seven consecutive double-doubles.

Additionally, he ranks 36th in fg% (.597), 99th in made field goals (83), 62nd in made free throws (61), 81st in points per game (17.9), 2nd in total rebounds (171), 4th in def. rpg (9.31),11th in off. rpg (3.85) and 1st in rebounds per game (13.2).

WHAT'S NEXT?
Akron hits the road as it travels to Ball State on Tuesday, January 9 for a 7 pm start.

Zips Prepare to Host Bowling Green at The JAR on Friday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ali Ali

Xavier Castaneda

Enrique Freeman

Sammy Hunter

Nate Johnson

The University of Akron Athletics