The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Buffalo
Zips Battle Buffalo at the JAR on Tuesday
February 23 | Men's Basketball
HEAD COACHES
Akron: John Groce | Overall Record: 372-225 | At Akron: 190-93
Buffalo:Â George Halcovage III | Overall Record: 29-60 | At Buffalo: Same
ALL-TIME SERIES
Akron Leads: 45-33 | Groce vs Buffalo: 16-12 Overall (11-8 at UA)
First Met: Dec. 4, 1954 At Akron (Akron 84, Buffalo 74)
Last Met: Jan. 20, 2026 At Buffalo (Akron 82, Buffalo 63)
At Akron: 28-8 | Neutral: 3-4 | At Buffalo: 14-21
Current Streak: 10W
INSIDE THE SERIES
Tuesday's game marks the 79th meeting in series history between Akron and Buffalo, and 29th meeting for a Groce coached squad. Akron holds an all-time 45-33 series advantage while Groce is 16-12 overall and 11-8 at Akron. The Zips have won the past 10 meetings.
The Zips and the Bulls have met seven times in postseason play with Buffalo holding a 4-3 edge. Akron went 2-0 against the Bulls in 2024-25 after recording a 90-58 victory at Alumni Arena and an 88-70 victory at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Akron is 1-0 against Buffalo in 2025-26, posting an 82-63 at Alumni Arena on January 20. The Zips swept the 2024 season series with a 76-59 win at James A. Rhodes Arena on January 12Â and a 73-62 victory at Alumni Arena on February 17. Akron swept the regular season series in 2023 as well, defeating the Bulls at Alumni Arena (81-64) and at The JAR (86-66) Akron won the lone regular season meeting in 2021-22 on New Year's Day after trailing by as many as 14 points and won by 12 points (88-76). Akron also defeated Buffalo in the MAC Tournament 101-77.
LAST TIME OUT (AT BALL STATE 2/20/26)
MUNCIE, Ind - Amani Lyles totaled a career-high 26 points and Tavari Johnson added 25 as the Akron men's basketball team knocked off the Ball State Cardinals 78-65 on the road Friday.
The Zips recorded their 12th consecutive conference victory with the win over Ball State.
Lyles and Johnson's stellar scoring performances led the Zips (22-5, 13-1) in the contest. Lyles tacked on eight rebounds and Johnson added six rebounds and six assists. Eric Mahaffey helped out with seven points and six rebounds while Evan Mahaffey recorded six points, five rebounds and five assists.
Johnson moved up to 19th on the all-time scoring list, and now has 1,268 career-points as a Zips. He also moved into a tie for 7th for single season assists with 141 this season.
Akron utilized great ball movement in Friday's game, piling up 17 assists on 29 made field goals. Johnson's six assists paced the Zips and Evan Mahaffey also added five assists of his own.
Akron forced 14 Ball State turnovers in Friday's game. The Zips turned those takeaways into 14 points on the other end of the floor. Sharron Young led the way individually with two steals.
After falling behind 30-28, Akron went on a 7-0 run with 4:17 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Johnson, to take a 35-30 lead. The Zips then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 40-36 advantage. Akron did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 24 of its 40 points close to the basket.
Following the intermission, Akron kept widening that lead, expanding it to 54-48 before going on a 9-0 run to grow the lead to 63-48 with 9:49 to go in the contest. The Cardinals narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Zips still cruised the rest of the way for the 78-65 win. Akron capitalized on seven Ball State turnovers in the period, collecting 10 points off those turnovers.
LAST TIME AGAINST BUFFALO (1/20/26)
BUFFALO, NY - Amani Lyles and Tavari Johnson recorded career highs in rebounds in an 82-63 win over the Buffalo Bulls Tuesday night.
The Zips (15-4, 6-1) had four players score in double figures, led by Amani Lyles, who put together a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Tavari Johnson added 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals, Evan Mahaffey chipped in with 11 points while Eric Mahaffey added 10 points, six rebounds, three steals, two assists and one block.
Akron has recorded wins over Buffalo in 10 straight contests.
Akron utilized great ball movement in Tuesday's game, piling up 21 assists on 27 made field goals. Johnson's six assists led the distribution list for the Zips while Shammah Scott also added five assists of his own. The Zips have recorded 20 or more assists in 10 games this season and hold a 10-0 recorded when hitting that mark.
Akron's defense held Buffalo to only 35.4 percent shooting from the field, including 25 percent from beyond the arc.Â
After jumping out to a 6-2 advantage, Akron went on a 13-0 run with 15:18 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Eric Mahaffey, to increase its lead to 19-2. The Zips then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 43-27 advantage. Akron relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down 10 shots to account for 30 of its 43 points.
Akron kept its lead intact before going on an 11-0 run, finished off by Evan Mahaffey's layup, to grow the lead to 56-30 with 16:27 to go in the contest. The Bulls narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Zips still cruised the rest of the way for the 82-63 win. Akron got out on the break in the period, scoring 11 fast break points.
ZIPS AT A GLANCE
Akron returns to James A. Rhodes Arena to host Buffalo on Tuesday.
The Zips enter Tuesday's contest with a 22-5 overall record and a 13-1 record in the MAC. The Blue and Gold are 13-0 at the JAR this season.
Akron recently defeated Ball State on the road on Saturday. Amani Lyles recorded a career-high 26 points while Tavari Johnson scored 25 in a 78-65 victory in Muncie, Ind.
Johnson leads the Zips in points (20.5) and assists (5.2). Amani Lyles leads the Blue and Gold in rebounds (7.3) while Evan Mahaffey leads the way in steals (1.7) and total blocks (19).
Akron is scoring 89.4 points per game while outscoring its opponents by 15.0 points. The Zips shoot .502 from the field while shooting .372 from beyond the arc and average 10.9 3s per game. The Blue and Gold hold a .771 ft percentage while averaging 38.0 rebounds, 19.0 assists, 10.7 turnovers, 7.5 steals and 3.2 blocks per game.
The Zips rank in the top five in the MAC in scoring offense (2nd - 89.4), scoring defense (4th - 74.5), scoring margin (2nd - +15.0), fg pct (2nd - .502), opp fg pct (1st - .425), 3pt pct (3rd - .372), 3s made per game (1st - 10.9), ft pct (1st - .771), rebounds (2nd - 38.0), opp rebounds (5th - 33.4), off rebounds (4th - 11.6), def rebounds (3rd - 26.4), rebound margin (3rd - +4.6), turnover margin (2nd - +3.04), assist-turnover ratio (1st - +1.78) and assists (1st - 19.04).
Akron ranks 9th in the NCAA in assist-turnover ratio (+1.78), 5th in assists per game (19.0), 40th in bench points per game (29.12), 9th in effective fg pct (.586), 21st in fastbreak points (15.19), 15th in fg pct (.502), 86th in fg defense (.425), 54th in fewest fouls per game (15.8), 28th in ft pct (.771), 61st in rebound margin (+4.5), 64th in def rebounds per game (26.37), 61st in rebounds per game (37.96), 14th in scoring margin (+15.0), 8th in scoring offense (89.4), 35th in 3pt pct (.372), 16th in made 3s per game (10.9), 32nd in turnover margin (+3.1), 52nd in turnovers forced per game (13.78) and 93rd in fewest turnovers per game (10.7).
Individually, Evan Mahaffey ranks 46th in the NCAA in assists-turnover ratio (+2.71), 84th in total steals (47) and 90th in steals per game (1.74). Tavari Johnson ranks 53rd in total assists (141), 49th in assists per game (5.2), 12th in total made fg (205), 31st in ft pct (.892), 26th in total points (554) and 24th in points per game (20.5). Amani Lyles ranks 39th in fg pct (.576) and 91st in def rebounds per game (5.37).
SCOUTING THE BULLS
Buffalo enters Tuesday's contest with a 16-11 overall record and a 6-8 record in the MAC. The Bulls are 8-4 on the road so far this season.
Buffalo recently defeated UMass on the road 86-82 in OT on Saturday. The Bulls climbed back from a 12-point deficit to secure their sixth conference win of the season. All of Buffalo starters finished with at least 10 points as Angelo Brizzi scored a game-high 27 points. Tim Oboh and Noah Batchelor each scored 15, as Oboh snatched a game-high nine rebounds. Derrick Talton Jr. scored 11 points to go with three steals. Ryan Sabol recorded his first career double-double as he finished with 10 points and 10 assists, marking a career high. This was Buffalo's fourth double-double of the season and first since Dec. 20th.
Daniel Freitag serves as the leader in points (20.0) and assists (3.9). Noah Batchelor holds the top mark for rebounds (4.6), Brizzi leads the way in assists while Oboh leads Buffalo in blocks (37).
Buffalo is scoring 78.6 points per game while outscoring its opponents by 3.6 points. The Bulls shoot .476 from the field while shooting .389 from beyond the arc and average 9.7 3s per game. Buffalo holds a .739 ft percentage while averaging 31.8 rebounds, 14.8 assists, 10.9 turnovers, 7.7 steals and 2.7 blocks per game.
Buffalo ranks in the top five in the MAC in fg pct (5th - .476), 3pt pct (2nd - .389), 3s made per game (3rd - 9.7), ft pct (5th - .739), opp rebound (3rd - 33.1), assist-turnover ratio (4th - +1.36) and steals (3rd - 7.67).
The Bulls rank 99th in the NCAA in assist-turnover ratio (+1.36), 27th in effective fg pct (.564), 50th in fg pct (.476), 74th in fewest fouls per game (16.1), 95th in ft attempts per game (22.4), 83rd in made ft per game (16.6), 90th in steals per game (7.7), 12th in 3pt pct (.389) and 49th in 3s made per game (9.7).
Individually, Daniel Freitag ranks 46th in the NCAA in total ft attempts (181), 32nd in total made ft (148) and 32nd in points per game (20.0). Angelo Brizzi ranks 88th in ft pct (.855), 64th in total steals (50) and 71st in steals per game (1.85). Ryan Sabol ranks 29th in minutes played per game (35:55), 99th in points per game (17.9), 57th in 3pt pct (.392), 9th in made 3s per game (3.48) and 10th in total made 3s (94).
AKRON IN THE MAC
Akron is 96-27 since the 2019-20 season in MAC play, owning the highest winning percentage (.780) in the league. The Zips are 81-24 in the MAC under the new conference format without divisions (new in 2020-21). Akron is 116-28 (.805) 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 264-110 overall (.706), including a 158-32 mark in MAC play at home (.832). The Zips' 264 wins are the most in the league during that stretch. The Zips have won 179 of their last 263 MAC games (.678).
STREAKY ZIPS IN CONFERENCE ACTION
The Zips will look for their second straight season recording 13 consecutive wins in conference action. Currently with 12 straight conference wins, a win over Buffalo would tie the program record for the most consecutive conference wins. The 2024-25 and the 2012-13 squads both recorded 13 straight wins.Â
HOME SWEET HOME
The Zips own a 497-136 (.785) all-time record at the James A. Rhodes Arena. In the last 21 seasons, Akron has posted a 293-40 (.880) record at the JAR. Akron is currently on a 29-game winning streak at the JAR dating back to the 2024-25 season, which is currently the second longest in the nation. Duke and Miami (OH) lead the way with 30 straight while Akron has 29 straight home wins.
Under coach Groce, Akron is 119-15 (.888) at home. The Zips were 15-1 at home in 2022-23,13-1 in 2023-24, 16-0 at the JAR in 2024-25 and are 13-0 in 2025-26.
Akron owns a 104-21 (.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 26-8 in MAC openers, and 13-1 at home since joining the league in 1992. Over the last 19 seasons, the Zips are 16-3 in MAC openers and 8-1 at home. Akron has won the last 10-of-11 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.
UNDEFEATED AT HOME
Akron is just one of 14 teams this season to post a perfect record at their home arena. The Zips are joined by MAC foe Miami (OH). Akron is currently 13-0 at James. A. Rhodes Arena this season.
THE ZIPS AND 20 WINS
20 win seasons are nothing new for the Zips. The Blue and Gold have recorded at least 20 wins in 18 of the last 21 seasons, and five consecutive under John Groce, after recording their 20th win of the season against UMass on Friday, February 13.
SINCE 19-20
Since the 2019-20 season, Akron has recorded a 159-59 (.729) overall record and an 96-27 (.780) record in the MAC. The Zips have claimed the MAC Regular Season Title twice ('20,'25) and the MAC Tournament Title three times as well ('22,'24'25). The Zips' 72.9 winning percentage ranks 13th in the country and best in the MAC.Â
THE SENIOR CLASS: A WHOLE LOT OF WINNING
Akron's senior class has seen a great deal of success wearing the Blue and Gold. Since the 2022-23 season, the Zips have gone 96-34 (.739) overall and 56-12 (.823) in the MAC. Akron has also claimed the MAC Regular Season Title (2025) and MAC Tournament Title (2024+25) in that span as well. Akron's 73.9 winning percentage ranks 13th in the country and 1st in the MAC in that span.
CONSISTENTLYÂ WINNING
With their win over UMass on Feb. 13, the Zips have recorded 20 wins in five consecutive seasons. So far this season, there are 17 teams who've recorded 20 wins in five consecutive seasons. Coming into 2025-26, 39 teams had won 20 games in each of the past four seasons.
TOP 10 FOR ASSISTS AND CLIMBING
Tavari Johnson entered the top 10 for career assists with 10 assists against CMU (Jan. 6). Standing with 366 assists, Johnson needs 16 more to pass Loren Cristian Jackson (2018-21) who is 5th all-time with 381 assists.
SINGLE SEASON ASSISTS TOP 10
Tavari Johnson entered the top-10 for the most assists in a single season on Feb. 20 at Ball State when he dished out six assists. Currently with 141 assists in 2025-26, Johnson is tied for 7th for the most assists in a single season. Dru Joyce (06-07) is sixth with 143, Nick Dials (07-08)Â is fifth with 148 and Alex Abreu(11-12) is fourth with 149.
1K SCORING AS A ZIP AND CLIMBING
Tavari Johnson recorded his 1,000th career point wearing the Akron Blue and Gold against Concord on Dec. 29, 2025 with a 28 point performance. He became the 50th player in program history to record 1k points. Johnson, who stands at 1,288 points, currently ranks as the 19th highest scorer in program history.
HIGH OCTANE OFFENSE
One of the nation's top scoring team's, Akron ranks in the top 10 in scoring offense (8th - 89.4). The Zips are 16-2 this season when scoring 85 or more points. The most recent game this season to feature 85 or more points was 90 at Western Michigan on Feb. 17
Akron scored 85 or more points in 19 games in 2024-25, were 19-0 when hitting that mark and finished ranked No.8 in the nation in scoring offense (84.0).
Under John Groce, Akron is 67-5 (.931) when scoring 85 or more points.
DISHING OUT DIMES
Ranking in the top 10 in assists per game in the NCAA (5th - 19.0), the Zips aren't afraid to share the rock. Akron has recorded 20 or more assists in 10 games with a season high 32 coming against PSU Shenango (Nov. 12). The most recent game with 20+ assists was at Buffalo (21) on Jan. 20, 2026.
The Zips are 10-0 this season when recording 20 or more assists and 37-0 with John Groce leading the Blue and Gold.
Akron is also one of the top teams in the country when it comes to assist-turnover ratio, ranking No. 9 (+1.78).
The Zips ranked 4th in the nation in assists per game (17.7) last season. The Blue and Gold recorded 20 or more assists in 15 games with a season high 28 coming against Ohio Wesleyan (11/8/24).Â
RAINING 3S
Ranking in the top 20 for made 3's per game (16th - 10.9), Akron has been one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country the past couple of seasons. The Zips have made 10 or more 3s in 19 games this season, with a season-high 20 falling against Western Michigan. Akron tied the program record for 3s in a game against the Broncos.
Akron is 17-2 this season when hitting 10 or more 3s and went 18-2 in during the 2024-25 season. Under the direction of John Groce, Akron is 105-22 (.827) when making 10 or more 3's.
Akron ranked 8th in the nation for made 3's per game in 2024-25 (10.7). The Blue and Gold hit 10 or more 3's in 20 games, 15 or more in six, while connecting on 19 3's against South Alabama (Feb. 8), which is the second most in program history.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Akron makes the short trip to Kent, Ohio, to battle the Golden Flashes on Friday, February 27, at 8 p.m. The Zips and Flashes will be featured on ESPNU.
