The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Eastern Michigan
Zips Travel to Eastern Michigan on Saturday
January 10 | Men's Basketball
Akron (9-5, 2-0 Mid-American) at Eastern Michigan (7-7, 1-1 Mid-American)
Saturday, Jan. 11 – Gervin GameAbove Center –Ypsilanti, Mich.
3:30 pm ET – ESPN + - WHLO 640
HEAD COACHES
Akron: John Groce | Overall Record: 331-218 | At Akron: 149-86
Central Michigan: Stan Heath | Overall Record: 247-276 | At Eastern Michigan: 38-69
ALL-TIME SERIES
Akron Leads: 37-24 | Groce vs. Eastern Michigan: 9-4 At Akron | 11-6 Overall
First Met: Feb. 3, 1968 (W, Akron 62, Eastern Michigan 55) At Akron
Last Met: Mar. 5, 2024 (L, Eastern Michigan 61, Akron 60) At Akron
At Akron: 20-10 |Â Neutral: 3-1 | At Ypsilanti: 14-13
Current Streak: 1L
INSIDE THE SERIES
Saturday's game marks the 62th meeting in series history between Akron and Eastern Michigan. It's the 18th meeting for a Groce-coached squad, 14th at Akron. Akron holds a 37-24 all-time series advantage while Groce is 11-6 overall against the Eagles all-time and 9-4 at Akron.
The Zips have won 27 of the last 34 meetings, including 14-of-18 games after falling to EMU on March 5, 2024 on a last second dunk. The Zips split the season series in 2023-24 after winning at EMU77-46 while falling at the JAR 61-60.
Akron swept EMU in 2022-23, winning 104-67 at the JAR while winning 78-51 on the road. The Zips
swept the 2021-22 series, winning 46-44 at James A. Rhodes Arena and 67-48 at Gervin GameAbove
Center. The two teams split the 2020-21 season series with lopsided victories defending their respective home courts. Eastern Michigan won the first meeting this season 71-59 at EMU Convention Center and Akron claimed the second meeting 86-65 at The JAR.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Eastern Michigan comes into Saturday with a 7-7 overall record, a 1-1 record in the MAC and a 3-2 record at the Gervin GameAbove Center.Â
The Eagles began MAC play with a 75-71 home victory over Northern Illinois before falling 90-87 at Toledo on January 7.Â
EMU trailed the Rockets by 13 at the halftime break and would come back to take a 74-73 lead with 2:37 left in the second half, but would ultimately fall to the Rockets. Christian Henry scored 25 points, Jalen Terry had 23 points, and Da'Sean Nelson netted 20 points as three Eagles scored 20-plus points for the first time since Dec. 6, 2017. Eastern Michigan was 31-of-56 (55.4%) from the floor and 10-of-23 (43.5%) from three-point range.
Da'Sean Nelson leads the Eagles in points (16.0) and rebounds (5.8) while Christian Henry is the leader in assists (3.7) and Jalen Terry leads the way in steals (1.5). Jalin Billingsley is the leading shot blocker with 10 on the season.Â
The Eagles average 72.1 points per game and have been outscored by their opponents this season by 4.4 points per game. EMU is shooting .453 from the field and .335 from beyond the arc with 7.4 3-point shots falling per game. The Green and White average 32.5 rebounds, 13.0 assists,12.9 turnovers, 6.9 steals and 2.7 blocks per game.Â
EMU ranks in the top five in the MAC in fg percentage (5th - .453), 3pt percentage (5th - .335) and opp rebounds (5th - 34.2).Â
The Eagles rank 84th in the NCAA in fastbreak points (12.93) while Da'Sean Nelson ranks 78th in the NCAA in field goal percentage (.528). Jalen Terry ranks 4th in the NCAA for minutes played ( 36:52), 89th in 3-point percentage (.382) and 43rd in 3-pointers made per game (3.00).
ZIPS AT A GLANCE
The Zips travel to Eastern Michigan with a 9-5 overall record, 2-0 record in the MAC and a 1-3 record on the road.
Akron is coming off a dominate performance against Central Michigan where the Blue and Gold took down the Chippewas 87-71 behind 18 3-pointers and a career-high 18 points from Seth Wilson. In total, six Zips scored in double figures as the Zips recorded their seventh consecutive home victory of the season.
Akron shared the ball well in Tuesday's game, racking up 21 assists on 30 made field goals. Nate Johnson and Isaiah Gray each had four assists.
Tavari Johnson currently leads Akron in scoring with 12.5 points and is tied for the lead in assists with 3.4 per game. Nate Johnson is second in scoring with 11.6, shares the team lead for assists with Tavari while leading the Blue and Gold in steals with 1.4 per game. James Okonkwo serves as the leader in rebounds with 8.5 and total blocked shots with 17. Amani Lyles is second in blocked shots with 11.Â
Akron is currently scoring 80.4 points per game and has outscored its opponents by 7.7 points per game this season. The Zips are shooting .429 from the field, .350 from beyond the arc and average 11.7 3's per game. The Blue and Gold hold a .744 ft percentage while averaging 39.7 rebounds, 17.5 assists,12.4 turnovers,7.8 steals and 3.3 blocks per game.
Akron is in the top five in the MAC for scoring offense (2nd - 80.4), scoring defense (5th - 72.7), scoring margin (2nd - +7.7) , opp. fg pct (4th - .432), 3pt pct ( 4th - .350), opp. 3pt pct (5th - .333), 3pters made (1st - 11.7), ft pct (4th .744), rebounds (1st - 39.7), off. rebounds (3rd - 13.1), def. rebounds (4th - 26.6), rebound margin (5th - +1.6), assist-turnover margin (3rd - +1.42), assists (1st - 17.50) and steals (5th - 7.79).
The Zips rank 65th in the NCAA in assist-turnover ratio (+1.42), 20th in assists per game (17.5), 17th in bench points per game (32.71), 59th in fastbreak points (13.71), 95th in free throw percentage (.744), 81st in def. rebounds per game (26.79), 34th in off. rebounds per game (13.43), 27th in rebounds per game ( 40.21), 68th in scoring offense (80.4), 5th in 3-pointers made per game (11.7), 88th in turnover margin (+2.0) and 67th in turnovers forced per game (14.36). James Okonkwo ranks 30th in the NCAA in off. rebounds per game (3.29), 46th in rebounds per game (8.6) and 95th in total rebounds (120).
LAST TIME AGAINSTÂ EASTERN MICHIGAN (3/5/24)
AKRON, Ohio - Enrique Freeman collected a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, but the Akron men's basketball team fell to the Eastern Michigan Eagles 61-60 at home Tuesday.
The Zips (21-9, 13-4) had three players score in double figures, led by Freeman, who put together a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Ali Ali added 12 points and Sammy Hunter chipped in as well with 11 points.
Akron did a great job disrupting Eastern Michigan shots in the contest, coming away with five blocks. Freeman's four rejections led the way individually for the Zips.
After falling behind 2-0, Akron went on an 8-0 run with 19:15 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Freeman, to take an 8-2 lead. The Zips then lost some of that lead but still entered halftime with a 27-25 advantage. Akron did most of its first-half damage in the paint, scoring 16 of its 27 points close to the basket.
Eastern Michigan proceeded to take a 47-40 lead before Akron went on an 11-0 run, finished off by Ali's jumper, to seize a 51-47 lead with 9:18 to go in the contest. Eastern Michigan re-asserted control, outscoring the Zips 14-9 the rest of the way to hand Akron the 61-60 loss. Akron took care of business in the paint, recording 18 of its 33 points in the lane.
AKRON IN THE MAC
Akron is 67-25 since the 2019-20 season in MAC play, owning the highest winning percentage (.728) in the league. The Zips are 53-22 in the MAC under the new conference format without divisions (new in 2020-21). Akron is 101-28 (.783) 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 236-108 overall (.686), including a 143-32 mark in MAC play at home (.817). The Zips' 236 wins are the most in the league during that stretch. The Zips have won 151 of their last 216 MAC games (.699).
CAREER NIGHT AGAINST THE CHIPPEWAS
Seth Wilson scored a career-high 18 points against Central Michigan on January 7. Willson scored his 18 points on a 6-of-12 night (.500) from beyond the arc. Wilson's previous career-high was 15 points.
RAINING 3'S
The Zips have made 10 or more 3-pointers in nine games this season while hitting 15 or more in four games. Akron connected on a season-high 18 3's against against Omaha on November 23 and Central Michigan on January 7.
COMING OFF THE BENCH
Akron ranks 17th in the NCAA for bench production with 32.71 points per game. The Zips' bench has recorded 10 games with 30 or more points and three games with 40 or more points. The Akron bench recorded a season high 45 points against Alabama State on November 24.
IN THE ASSOCIATION
Enrique Freeman became the first Akron player to be selected in the modern two-round NBA Draft era as the Indiana Pacers selected him with the 50th pick of the second round on June 27, 2024.
He became the seventh Zip to be drafted in the NBA Draft, joining Louis Arko (Syracuse Nationals, 1950), Bill Turner (Golden State Warriors, 1967), Len Paul (Detroit Pistons, 1973), Nate Barnett (Houston Rockets, 1975), Joe Jakubic (Cleveland Cavaliers, 1984) and Marcel Boyce (Phoenix Suns, 1987). In addition, Fred "Fritz" Nagy (Pittsburgh Ironmen, 1947) and Joe Wahl (Philadelphia Warriors, 1948) were selected to the Basketball Association of America that existed for three seasons and merged with the NBA in 1949.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Akron returns to James A. Rhodes Arena to begin a two-game home stand with the Toledo Rockets coming to town on Tuesday, January 14 from a 7 p.m. start.
