The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Princeton
Zips Welcome Princeton to the JAR on Saturday
November 07 | Men's Basketball
AKRON, Ohio - The Akron Zips battle Princeton on Saturday, November 8, in the fourth all-time meeting between the two schools. Akron and Princeton can be viewed on ESPN+ with Jeff Phelps (PxP) and Dave Bacon (Analyst) on the call. Fans can listen to the action on the Akron Sports Radio Network on WHLO 640 AM with Dave Skoczen (PxP) and Joe Dunn (Analyst) on the call. Live stats are also available on GoZips.com/coverage.
Akron (1-0, 0-0 Mid-American) vs Princeton (19-11, 8-6 Ivy League (24-25))
Saturday, Nov. 8 – James A. Rhodes Arena – Akron, Ohio
12 pm ET – ESPN+ - WHLO 640
HEAD COACHES
Akron: John Groce | Overall Record: 351-220 | At Akron: 169-88
Princeton: Mitch Henderson | Overall Record: 251-133 | At Princeton: Same
ALL-TIME SERIES
Akron Trails 2-1
First Met: Dec. 30, 2012 (Akron 62- Princeton 58) At Akron
Last Met: Dec. 30, 2024 (Akron 75, Princeton 76) At Princeton
Groce vs Princeton: 0-2
Current Streak: L2
INSIDE THE SERIES
Akron and Princeton battle for the fourth time in the all-time series. The Zips took the first meeting between the two schools with a 62-58 victory at James A. Rhodes Arena on December 30, 2012 before falling on a last second shot to the Tigers, 64-62, in Hawaii on December 3, 2017 as part of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. The two schools battled in Princeton, N.J. last season with the Tigers taking a 76-75 victory at the last second.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
The Princeton Tigers begin their 2025-26 campaign in the Rubber City when they battle the Akron Zips on November 8.
The Tigers went 19-11 overall and 8-6 in the Ivy League last season, with a 59-57 loss to Yale in the Ivy League semifinals ending the season.
Princeton was selected to finish fourth in the Ivy League Preseason Poll. Yale, who the Zips played last season, was picked to finish first while Harvard and Cornell rounded out the top three.
Last season, Princeton averaged 73.6 points per game and outscored opponents by 1.6 points per game. The Tigers shot .434 from the field and .355 from 3-point range, with 10.5 3's falling per game. The Dukes shot .710 from the free throw line while averaging 33.8 rebounds per game, 15.1 assists, 10.4 turnovers, 7.3 steals and 2.2 blocks.
Princeton ranked in the top four in the Ivy League in scoring margin (4th - +1.6), 3pt pct (3rd - .355), 3pters made per game (2nd - 10.5), opp rebounds (2nd - 33.8), off. rebounds (t3rd - 9.7), turnover margin (1st +1.70), assist-turnover ratio (4th - 1.45) and steals (3rd - 7.30).
ZIPS AT A GLANCE
The Zips return to James A. Rhodes Arena with a 1-0 record after defeating James Madison 85-71 in the season opener.
Amani Lyles scored a career-high 22 points, with 16 coming in the second half. Lyles added nine rebounds, four blocks and one steal in the victory. Along with Lyles, Shammah Scott, Tavari Johnson and Sharron Young all scored in double-figures. Evan Mahaffey led the way in assists with seven while Johnson followed with four.
The Zips will battle Princeton for the fourth time in program history, with the Tigers holding a 2-1 edge in the series.
Akron is scoring 85 points per game while outscoring its opponents by 14 points per game. The Zips shot .429 from the field while shooting .320 from beyond the arc and averaged 8.0 3-pointers per game. The Blue and Gold hold a .793 ft percentage while averaging 41.0 rebounds, 15.0 assists, 8.0 turnovers, 10.0 steals and 6.0 blocks per game.
Akron ranks in the top five in the MAC in scoring offense (5th - 85.0), scoring defense (5th - 71.0) ft pct (3rd - .793), opp. fg pct. (4th - .393), ft pct. (2nd. - .754), off. rebounds (4th - 15.0), def. rebounds (5th - 26.0), turnover margin (2nd - +11.0), assist-turnover ratio (3rd - +1.88), blocked shots (1st - 6.0) and steals (3rd - 10.0).
The Zips rank 75th in the NCAA in assist-turnover ratio (+1.88), 49th in blocks per game (6.0), 32nd for fewest fouls per game (13.0), 81st in ft attempted per game (29.0), 64th in ft pct (.793), 53rd in ft made per game (23.0), 91st in off rebounds per game (26.0), 88th in steals per game (10.0), 28th in turnover margin (11.0), 50th in turnovers force per game (19.0) and 39th for fewest turnovers per game (8.0).
Individually, Evan Mahaffey ranks 53rd in assists per game (7.0), 81st in blocks per game (2.0), 88th in total steals (4), 84th in off. rebounds per game (4.0) and 23rd in steals per game (4.0). Amani Lyles ranks 9th in total blocks (4), 9th in blocks per game (4.0), and 76th in points per game (22.0). Shammah Scott ranks 49th in 3pters made per game (4.0).
HOME SWEET HOME
The Zips own a 486-136 (.781) all-time record at the James A. Rhodes Arena. In the last 21 seasons, Akron has posted a 282-40 (.876) record at the JAR. Akron is currently on a 17-game winning streak at the JAR dating back to the 2024-25 season
Under coach Groce, Akron is 107-15 (.877) at home. The Zips were 15-1 at home in 2022-23,13-1 in 2023-24 and16-0 at the JAR in 2024-25.
Akron owns a 103-21 (.831) home-opening record and 39-4 (.907) at Rhodes Arena. The Zips have been winners in the last 23-of-24 home opening games. Akron is 21-8 in MAC openers, and 12-1 at home since joining the league in 1992. Over the last 18 seasons, the Zips are 15-3 in MAC openers and 7-1 at home. Akron has won the last 9-of-10 MAC openers.
Akron went 12-4 at Rhodes Arena in Groce's first year as head coach and followed with a 14-3 effort. The Zips went 15-2 at home in 2019-20 en route to the regular season MAC Championship. The Zips set the all-time longest home winning streak record at Rhodes Arena with 30 consecutive wins during the 2015-17 seasons, replacing the 26-game run the Zips made during the 1985-87 seasons under head coach Bob Huggins. The streak ranked No. 2 in the NCAA.
A CAREER NIGHT AGAINST THE DUKES
Amani Lyles set a career-high in scoring against James Madison on November 3 in the season opener. Lyles scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half to leads the Zips to a 85-71 come from behind victory over the Dukes. He also had a team-high nine rebounds and four blocks.
FOUR OR MORE
The Zips have had four or more players score in double-figure scoring in one game this season.
Akron had four or more players record double-figure scoring in 21 games in the 2024-25 season. The season high was seven players scoring 10 or more points against SUNY Brockport (Dec. 7) and Eastern Michigan (Jan. 11).
LAST TIME OUT (vs James Madison 11/3/25)
AKRON, Ohio - Amani Lyles dropped a career-high 22 points, with 16 coming in the second half, as the Akron men's basketball team rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat James Madison 85-71 at James A. Rhodes Arena.
The Zips (1-0) had four players score in double figures, led by Lyles, who had 22 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Shammah Scott added 17 points and Tavari Johnson chipped in with 14 points and two steals.
Led by Evan Mahaffey's four offensive rebounds, Akron did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 15 boards that resulted in 19 second chance points.
The Akron defense caused its share of mistakes in Monday's game, forcing 19 James Madison turnovers while committing eight. Those takeaways turned into 28 points on the offensive end of the floor. Mahaffey's four steals led the way individually for the Zips.
After falling behind 5-0, Akron went on a 13-0 run with 18:52 left in the first half to take a 13-5 lead. The Zips then surrendered that lead and entered halftime down 39-30.
After intermission, Akron managed to gain control and had a 76-71 lead before going on a 9-0 run, finished off by Scott's three, to grow the lead to 85-71 with 18 seconds to go in the contest, The Zips held onto that lead for the rest of the game for the 85-71 win. Akron capitalized on nine James Madison turnovers in the period, collecting 14 points off those turnovers.
LAST TIME AGAINST PRINCETON (12/30/24)
PRINCETON, NJ - The Akron men's basketball team fell to the Princeton Tigers 76-75 on the road Monday on a 3-point basket with under two seconds to go.
The Zips (7-5) had three players score in double figures, led by Nate Johnson, who had 17 points and two blocks. James Okonkwo added a double-double off of the bench with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Isaiah Gray chipped in as well with 15 points and two steals.
Led by Okonkwo's five offensive rebounds, Akron did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 10 boards that resulted in 11 second chance points.
After jumping out to a 21-18 advantage, Akron went on a 7-0 run with 8:07 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Sharron Young, to increase its lead to 28-18. The Zips then added one point to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 41-30 advantage. Akron got a great contribution from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 19 of its 41 total points.
Akron kept its lead intact before going on a 5-0 run to grow the lead to 66-53 with 8:05 to go in the contest. Princeton then asserted control, outscoring the Zips 23-9 the rest of the way to hand Akron the 76-75 loss. Akron got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 14 of its 34 total points.
WE'LL TAKE YOUR BEST
The Zips will take on three teams picked to finish in their respective preseason polls. Purdue, who was tabbed the No. 1 team in the preseason AP-Top 25 and Coaches Poll, was picked to finish first in the Big 10, James Madison was picked to finish first in the Sun Belt while Milwaukee was picked to finish 1st in the Horizon League.
Other teams the Zips will face in non-conference action this season picked to finish in the top-three are Tulane (3rd - American Conference) and Murray State (3rd - MVC).
NON-CONFERENCE PRESEASON RANKINGS (DIV. 1 OPPONENTS)
James Madison (SBC) - 1st
Princeton (Ivy) - 4th
Purdue (B1G) - 1st
Iona (MAAC) - 6th
Milwaukee (HL) - 1st
Bucknell (PL) - 5th
Tulane (AC) - 3rd
Murray State (MVC) - 3rd
PRESEASON HONORS
Coming off a Mid-American Conference Regular Season and Tournament title, the Akron men's basketball team was predicted to finish first in the MAC Preseason Coaches' Poll while three Zips were named to the Preseason All-MAC team, the conference office announced Tuesday, October 21.
Akron was tabbed to finish first with 11 first-place votes and 143 points. Miami was picked to finish second with the final two first-place votes and 133 points, while Kent State was picked to finish third after receiving 122 points.
Tavari Johnson, a 2025 All-MAC First Team selection, was named to the Preseason All-MAC First Team. Johnson was also named to the 2025 All-MAC Tournament Team, was named a finalist for the Nolan Richardson Award and was named to the NABC East District Second Team. He appeared and started all 35 games while averaging 24.7 minutes per game. Johnson also averaged 13.0 points per game, scored 20+ points in seven games, scored in double figures in 24 games and led the Zips in assists in 17 games.
Shammah Scott, the 2025 MAC Sixth Man of the Year, and newcomer Evan Mahaffey were named to the Preseason All-MAC Second Team. Scott appeared in 34 games, starting one while averaging 24.4 minutes per game. He averaged 9.4 points, scored in double figures in 19 games and compiled a season-high 18 points at Ball State (2/25/25).
Mahaffey, the older brother of current Zip Eric Mahaffey, is a 6'6'' perimeter player from Cincinnati, Ohio, who played at Archbishop Moeller High School prior to stints with Penn State and Ohio State. At Ohio State, he played in 68 games while starting 38 and averaged 20 minutes per game over the last two seasons. He shot over 67 percent from the field last season, tallying 114 points, 98 rebounds, 28 blocks and 27 assists. As a true freshman, Mahaffey made 34 appearances for the Nittany Lions, including both NCAA Tournament games against Texas A&M and Texas.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2024-25
- Won the Mid-American Conference Regular Season and Tournament title (First time since 2012-13 to win both).
- Set the program record for most regular season wins in a single season (25).
- Became just the fourth team in Akron history to go undefeated at James A. Rhodes Arena.
- Was one of six teams in Div. 1 to go undefeated at home.
- Set the program record for the most wins in a single season (28).
- Took home the MAC Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man and Coach of the Year.
- First time in program history to win PotY in back-to-back seasons. (Enrique Freeman, 2024 | Nate Johnson, 2025)
- Nate Johnson became the first player since Chris Kaman (CMU, 2003) to be named the Player and Defensive Player of the Year in the same year.
- John Groce was named the Hugh Durham National Mid-Major Coach of the Year.
- Went on a 14-game winning streak to hold the nation's longest active winning streak before losing to Ohio on Feb. 22.
- First time in the Div. 1 Era to make back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Akron stays at the JAR as it hosts Penn State Shenango on Wednesday, November 12 for a 7 p.m. start.
