The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Lamar
Zips Host Lamar, Nebraska Omaha and Alabama State This Week in the Akron Basketball Classic
November 21 | Men's Basketball
(Analyst) have the call on Saturday and Sunday. Fans can listen to Akron Sports Radio Network on WHLO 640 AM with Dave Skoczen (PxP), Joe Dunn (Analyst)on the call. Live stats are also available on GoZips.com/coverage.
Akron will battle Nebraska Omaha on November 23 (4 p.m.) and Alabama State on November 24 (3 p.m.) for the other two games in the classic.
RECORDS ENTERING THE AKRON BASKETBALL CLASSIC
Akron: 1-2 | Lamar: 1-2 | Nebraska Omaha: 2-3 | Alabama State: 1-2
HEAD COACHES
Akron: John Groce | Overall Record: 323-215 | At Akron: 141-83
Lamar:Â Alvin Brooks | Overall Record: 85-149 | At Lamar: 31-65
Nebraska Omaha:Â Chris Crutchfield | Overall Record:Â 36-53 | At Nebraska Omaha:Â 26-44
Alabama State:Â Tony Madlock | Overall Record:Â 38-64 | At Alabama State:Â 22-44
ALL-TIME SERIES
Lamar: Akron Leads 2-1 | Groce vs Lamar: 2-1 | First Met: Dec. 12, 1990 (Des Monies, Iowa) - W, Akron 92, Lamar 79 | Last Met: March 2, 1992 (Beaumont, Texas) - L, Lamar 94, Akron 71 | Current Streak: 1 L
Nebraska Omaha: First Meeting | Groce vs Nebraska Omaha: 0-0
Alabama State: Akron Leads 1-0 | Groce vs Alabama State: 2-0 | First/Last Met: Nov. 28, 2019 (Akron, Ohio) - W, Akron 85, Alabama State 54 | Current Streak: 1 W
INSIDE THE SERIES
Lamar:Â The Zips and Cardinals meet for just the fourth time and first since 1992. Akron came away with the first two victories in the series with a 92-79 win in Des Monies, Iowa, on Dec. 7, 1990 and a 65-62 win in Akron on Dec. 7, 1991. Lamar won the last matchup with a 94-71 victory at home in Beaumont, Texas.
Nebraska Omaha: First Meeting
Alabama State:Â Akron and Alabama State will meet for just the second time in the all-time series. The Zips and Hornets first met on Nov. 28, 2018, when the Zips posted an 86-54 victory at the JAR.
SCOUTING REPORT
Lamar:Â The Lamar Cardinals come into the Akron Basketball Classic with a 1-2 record after back-to-back losses to No. 23 Texas A&M and Sam Houston.
In their most recent match against Sam Houston, Andrew Holifieldled the Cardinals with 15 points on a 5-of-7 night from the field. Adam Hamilton and Ja'Sean Jacksonboth added 11 points in the 85-72 loss.
Lamar was picked to finish fifth in the Southland Conference Preseason Poll. McNeese State was picked to finish first with 21 first place votes, Stephen F. Austin was picked to finish second and Nichols was tabbed to finish third and got three first place votes.
Holifield leads the Cardinals in points (16.0) and blocks (3). Danquez Dawsey leads the way in assists (4.7), Errol White is the leader in rebounds (7.7) and Jayden Barrs is the leader in steals (4.0).
Nebraska Omaha:Â The Nebraska Omaha Mavericks come into the Akron Basketball Classic with a 2-3 record after losing their past three games to Minnesota, UNLV and Southern Utah.
Marquel Sutton was named to the Summit League Preseason Second Team. Entering his third season in Omaha, Sutton is coming off of another strong season on the court, starting all 33 games for the Mavericks in 2023-24. In that span he averaged 12.3 ppg and 6.3 rpg, good for 17th and seventh in the league, and totaled 406 points and 208 total rebounds, ranking 18th and sixth in the Summit, respectively. Sutton also posted 22 double-digit scoring games and four double-doubles.
The Mavericks were picked to finish eighth in the Summit League with Kansas City tabbed to be the top team after receiving 17 first place votes. South Dakota State earned 12 first place votes and was picked to finish second while North Dakota State was tabbed to finish third after getting three first place votes.
Nebraska Omaha was led by Lance Waddles' 20 points against Southern Utah on a 8-of-15 shooting performance from the field. He was one of three Mavericks to score in double figures. UNO fell 79-73 after falling behind 41-32 at the half but outscore the Thunderbirds 41-38 in the second half.
Sutton leads the Mavericks in scoring with 14.5 points per game and rebounds with 6.5 per game. Waddle leads the squad in assists with 2.8 per game while Grant Stubblefield leads the Mavericks with 1.0 steals per game. Kamryn Thomas is the leader in blocks with three while three Mavericks have recorded two on the season.
Alabama State:Â The Alabama State Hornets come into the Akron Basketball Classic with a 1-2 record after beating Virginia-Lynchburg (NCCAA) 115-64 for their first win of the season. The Hornets scored 65 points in the second half against the Dragons after scoring 50 in the first half. CJ Hines led the Hornets with 21 points while five other Hornets scored in double figures. Terrance Johnson of VUL led all scorers with 30 points. Micah Simpson had a 15 point, five assist and five steal night for ASU.
Amarr Knox leads the Hornets in scoring this season with 15 points per game while TJ Madlock is close behind with 14.7 and Hines averages 12.0 per game. Shawn Fulcher is one of three Hornets to average 3 or more assists a game with 3.5 while Knox and Hines both average 3.0. Mario Andrews is the leading rebounder with 7.3 per game while Hines leads ASU with 2.0 per game. Madlock leads the Hornets in blocks with two.
The Hornets were picked to finish sixth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Preseason Poll. Grambling State was picked to finish first after getting 10 first place votes. Texas Southern was picked to finish second with three first place votes while Southern rounded out the top three and received one first place vote. Eight teams in the SWAC received at least one first place vote in the Preseason Poll.
TJ Madlock was named First-Team All-SWAC while CJ Hines and Ubong Okon were voted to the Second-Team.Madlock averaged a team-best 15.8 points per game and shot 37.6 percent from the field in 2023-24. He added 126 rebounds and handed out 72 assists while recording 13 blocks. Hines led the team last season with 84 assists and averaged 9.7 points per game in 2023-24 while adding 91 total rebounds and 32 steals. Okon tallied 38 blocks and averaged 6.3 rebounds per game in 2023-24.
ZIPS AT A GLANCE
The Akron Zips return to the JAR for three games as they host the Akron Basketball Classic from November 22-24.
This will be the first of two in-season tournaments the Zips will compete in, with the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invite on the docket in December.
Akron enters with a 1-2 record after falling on the road to Saint Mary's on November 12.
The Zips (1-2) had two players score in double figures, led by Josiah Harris, who had 16 points. Amani Lyles tacked on 15 points from the bench and James Okonkwo added four points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Both Harris and Lyles recorded career highs in scoring against the Gales.
Akron tallied 18 assists on 24 made field goals. Isaiah Gray and Shammah Scott's four assists paced the Zips.
The Zips currently have three players in double-figure scoring. Harris leads the way with 14.5 points while Nate Johnson and Sharron Young are both averaging 10 points per game. Gray is the leader in assists with 4.0 per game while Johnson is close behind with 3.7 per game. Okonkwo serves as the leading rebounder with 8.7 per game and shot blocker with six on the season. Lyles is second in rebounds with 6.3 and Gray trails close behind with 6.0. Johnson is also Akron's leader in steals with 3.0 per game.
Akron is currently top five in the MAC in scoring offense (3rd - 77.0), 3pt percentage (1st - .392), 3pt field goals made ( 1st - 12.7), free throw percentage (1st - .792), turnover margin (3rd - +2.33)assist-turnover margin (1st - 1.86), assists (1st - 21.67) and steals (1st - 10.0).
As a team in the NCAA, the Zips rank 20th in assists-turnover ratio (+1.86), 5th in assists per game (21.7), 30th in bench scoring (36.00), 23rd in fewest fouls per game (13.7), 29th in FT percentage (79.2), 40th in steals per game (10.0), 49th in 3pt percentage (39.2) and 4th in 3pters made per game (12.7).
Individually, James Okonkwo ranks 37th in the NCAA in blocks per game (2.0) and 52nd in defensive rebounds per game (6.67). Isaiah Gray ranked 54th offensive rebounds per game (9.0) while Amani Lyles ranks 84th (3.00). Nate Johnson ranks 9th in steals per game (3.00).
NON-CONFERENCE FOES AT THE JAR
Under John Groce, Akron is currently 42-1 (.977) at home against non-conference opponents. Akron is on a 31-0 run against non-conference foes at the JAR since losing to Marshall on Dec. 15, 2018.Â
REGULAR SEASON TOURNAMENTS
Akron is 69-48 all-time and 48-41 in the Division I era (since 1980) in regular season tournaments and 9-13 over the last seven years under Groce.Â
The Zips will compete in two tournaments during the 2024-25 season. Akron will first host the Akron Basketball Classic from November 22-24. Lamar, Nebraska Omaha and Alabama State will join the Zips at the Jar in late November. Akron will also travel to El Paso, Texas, to take part in the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invite from December 20-21. The Blue and Gold are set to battle Yale on the first day and will face either host UTEP or Jackson State on the second day. This will be the first time since 2016 that the Zips have appeared in the Sun Bowl Invite.Â
2023 saw Akron go 1-2 at the Cayman Islands Classic, posting a win over FIU before falling to Utah State and Drake.
Akron posted a 1-2 record at the 2022 Cayman Islands Classic, defeating Western Kentucky and advancing to the semifinals before falling to LSU and finishing fourth overall after falling to Nevada.Â
The Zips registered a 1-2 record in the 2021 Gulf Coast Showcase, a 3-1 record in the Global Sports Shootout, and a 1-1 mark in the DC Holiday Hoops Fest, In 2018-19, the Zips went 2-2 at the Cayman Island Classic, and in Groce's first season, Akron posted an 0-3 mark at the 2018 Diamond Head Classic. Akron has posted multiple wins in 14 of the last 17 in-season tournaments, including three championships. The Zips won two tournaments in 2016-17, the Savannah Invitational (4-0) and the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational (2-0). In 2015-16, Akron went 2-0 at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic to claim the title.Â
In 2014-15, Akron posted a 2-1 record in the Gildan Charleston Classic following the previous tournament runs at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off (2012, 2-1), 2K Sports Classic (2011, 2-2), the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic (2010, 3-1), the Glenn Wilkes Classic (2009, 2-2), the Legends Classic (2008, 2-2), the Top of the World Classic (2007, 2-1) and the San Juan Shootout (2005, 2-1).
CAREER NIGHT IN SUNNY CALIFORNIA
Amani Lyles and Josiah Harris both posted career highs in scoring against the Saint Mary's Gales on November 12. Lyles knocked down a career-high five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points on a 5-of-7 performance from the field. Harris notched a career-high 16 points while going a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Zips remain home as they host Northern Kentucky at the JAR on Tuesday, December 3 for a 7 p.m. start.
