2019–20 Akron Zips men's basketball team

2019–20 Akron Zips men's basketball
MAC Regular Season Champions
MAC East Division Champions
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast Division
Record24–7 (14–4 MAC)
Head coach
Associate head coachDustin Ford
Assistant coaches
  • Rob Fulford
  • Robby Pridgen
Home arenaJames A. Rhodes Arena
Seasons
2019–20 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
Akron 14 – 4   .778 24 – 7   .774
Bowling Green 12 – 6   .667 21 – 10   .677
Buffalo 11 – 7   .611 20 – 12   .625
Kent State 9 – 9   .500 20 – 12   .625
Ohio 8 – 10   .444 17 – 15   .531
Miami (OH) 5 – 13   .278 13 – 19   .406
West
Ball State 11 – 7   .611 18 – 13   .581
Northern Illinois 11 – 7   .611 18 – 13   .581
Toledo 8 – 10   .444 17 – 15   .531
Central Michigan 7 – 11   .389 14 – 18   .438
Western Michigan 6 – 12   .333 13 – 19   .406
Eastern Michigan 6 – 12   .333 16 – 16   .500
Note: The 2020 MAC tournament was canceled prior to the quarterfinals due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2019–20 Akron Zips men's basketball team represented the University of Akron during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Zips, led by third-year head coach John Groce, play their home games at the James A. Rhodes Arena as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.

Previous season

The Zips finished the 2018–19 season 17–16, 8–10 in MAC play to finish in fourth place in the East Division. In the MAC tournament, they defeated Miami (OH) in the first round before losing to Buffalo in the quarterfinals.

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Jimond Ivey 0 G 6’5” 200 RS Senior Cleveland, OH Graduated
Daniel Utomi 3 F 6’6” 215 RS Junior Houston, TX Transferred to USC
Jeremy Roscoe 13 G 6’2” 190 Sophomore Chicago, IL Transferred from program
Emmanuel Olojakpoke 22 F 6’8” 190 Senior Houston, TX Transferred to Utah Valley
Jake Fischer 24 G 6'4" 180 Sophomore Columbus, OH Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons
Mark Kostelac 44 C 6’11” 250 Sophomore Cleveland, OH Left mid-season[1]
Khadim Gueye 50 C 7’0” 245 Junior Dakar, Senegal Suspended mid-season; transferred to University of Tampa

Incoming Transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Maishe Dailey 3 F 6’7” 195 Senior Beachwood, OH Transferred from Iowa. Under NCAA transfer rules, Williams will have to sit out for the 2019–20 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.
Cameron Reece 5 F 6’7” Junior Oakland, CA Junior college transferred from Sheridan College
Bryan Trimble Jr. 15 G 6’2” 216 Junior Kansas City, MO Transferred from St. John's. Under NCAA transfer rules, Trimble will have to sit out for the 2019–20 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.

2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Greg Tribble
SG 		Cincinnati, OH Winton Woods 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Apr 28, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: NR
Ali Ali
SF 		Kendallville, IN East Noble High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Aug 29, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:2/5 stars    ESPN grade: NR
Mikal Dawson
SG 		Huntington, WV Huntington Prep School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Aug 26, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Camron Reece
PF 		Oakland, CA Sheridan College 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sep 30, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 2, 2018.

Roster

2019–20 Akron Zips men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Tre Edwards 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Fr Hamilton Heights Christian Academy/Link Year Prep Hamilton, ON
G 1 Loren Cristian Jackson 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 160 lb (73 kg) RS Jr Victory Rock Prep
Long Beach State 		Chicago, IL
G 2 Greg Tribble Jr. 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Fr Huntington Prep Cincinnati, OH
F 3 Maishe Dailey Current redshirt 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Beachwood
Iowa 		Beachwood, OH
G 4 Tyler Cheese 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Albany
Florida Southwestern State 		Albany, GA
F 5 Camron Reece 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 228 lb (103 kg) Jr Oakland Tech
Sheridan College 		Oakland, CA
C 10 Deng Riak 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Victory Rock Prep
East Carolina 		Melbourne, Australia
G 11 Channel Banks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 186 lb (84 kg) Sr Hillcrest Prep
Sheridan College 		Las Vegas, NV
G 12 Marquelle Mcintyre (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Greensboro Day School Greensboro, NC
G 14 Scott Walter (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So St. Vincent-St. Mary Akron, OH
G 15 Bryan Trimble Jr. Current redshirt 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 216 lb (98 kg) Jr Sunrise Christian Academy
St. John’s 		Beachwood, OH
F 20 Xeyrius Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Wayne
Dayton 		Huber Heights, OH
F 21 Enrique Freeman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Fr St. Martin De Porres High School Cleveland, OH
F 23 Jaden Sayles 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Sycamore Cincinnati, OH
F 24 Ali Ali 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Fr East Noble High School Kendallville, IN
G 25 LePear Toles 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Canton McKinley
State Fair CC 		Canton, OH
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 5, 2019*
7:00 pm 		Malone W 81–64[2]  1–0
 James A. Rhodes Arena 
Akron, OH
Nov 8, 2019*
7:00 pm, ATTSNPT 		at West Virginia L 84–94  1–1
 WVU Coliseum (12,513)
Morgantown, WV
Nov 15, 2019*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		North Carolina Central
Global Sports Shootout 		W 57–47  2–1
 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,103)
Akron, OH
Nov 18, 2019*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		USC Upstate
Global Sports Shootout 		W 76–45  3–1
 James A. Rhodes Arena 
Akron, OH
Nov 21, 2019*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		vs. Youngstown State
Global Sports Shootout 		W 82–60  4–1
 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,214)
Akron, OH
Nov 24, 2019*
6:00 pm, ACCN 		at No. 2 Louisville
Global Sports Shootout 		L 76–82  4–2
 KFC Yum! Center (14,889)
Louisville, KY
Nov 29, 2019*
7:00 pm 		Merrimack W 64–47  5–2
 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,028)
Akron, OH
Dec 4, 2019*
7:00 pm 		at Marshall W 85–73  6–2
 Cam Henderson Center (5,350)
Huntington, WV
Dec 8, 2019*
2:00 pm 		Southern W 72–57  7–2
 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,036)
Akron, OH
Dec 15, 2019*
2:00 pm 		Concord W 100–50  8–2
 James A. Rhodes Arena (1,964)
Akron, OH
Dec 20, 2019*
2:30 pm, FloHoops 		vs. Tulane
DC Holiday Hoops Fest 		W 62–61  9–2
 Entertainment and Sports Arena (707)
Washington, D.C.
Dec 21, 2019*
3:30 pm, FloHoops 		vs. Liberty
DC Holiday Hoops Fest 		L 67–80  9–3
 Entertainment and Sports Arena (942)
Washington, D.C.
Dec 30, 2019*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Massachusetts W 85–79  10–3
 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,375)
Akron, OH
MAC Regular Season
Jan 4, 2020
12:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Eastern Michigan W 69–45  11–3
(1–0) 		Convocation Center (1,411)
Ypsilanti, MI
Jan 7, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Western Michigan W 84–69  12–3
(2–0) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (2,522)
Akron, OH
Jan 10, 2020
9:00 pm, CBSSN 		Ball State W 75–60  13–3
(3–0) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (2,706)
Akron, OH
Jan 14, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Northern Illinois W 72–49  14–3
(4–0) 		Convocation Center (884)
DeKalb, IL
Jan 18, 2020
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		Toledo L 89–99  14–4
(4–1) 		Savage Arena (4,386)
Toledo, OH
Jan 21, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Miami (OH) W 81–60  15–4
(5–1) 		Millett Hall (988)
Oxford, OH
Jan 25, 2020
3:30 pm, ESPN3 		at Ohio W 88–86  16–4
(6–1) 		Convocation Center (5,012)
Athens, OH
Jan 28, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Buffalo L 74–77  16–5
(6–2) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (3,473)
Akron, OH
Jan 31, 2020
6:30 pm, CBSSN 		at Kent State L 67–68  16–6
(6–3) 		MAC Center (6,339)
Kent, OH
Feb 8, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Eastern Michigan W 59–58  17–6
(7–3) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (3,290)
Akron, OH
Feb 11, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Bowling Green W 74–59  18–6
(8–3) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (3,128)
Akron, OH
Feb 15, 2020
4:30 pm, ESPN3 		at Central Michigan W 80–67  19–6
(9–3) 		McGuirk Arena (1,906)
Mount Pleasant, MI
Feb 18, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Western Michigan W 71–67  20–6
(10–3) 		University Arena (1,652)
Kalamazoo, MI
Feb 22, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Miami (OH) W 75–65  21–6
(11–3) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (4,405)
Akron, OH
Feb 25, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Bowling Green L 60–78  21–7
(11–4) 		Stroh Center (2,925)
Bowling Green, OH
Feb 29, 2020
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Buffalo W 86–73  22–7
(12–4) 		Alumni Arena (5,870)
Buffalo, NY
Mar 3, 2020
7:30 pm, CBSSN 		Ohio W 74–67  23–7
(13–4) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (3,825)
Akron, OH
Mar 6, 2020
6:30 pm, CBSSN 		Kent State W 79–76  24–7
(14–4) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (5,500)
Akron, OH
MAC tournament
March 12, 2020
12:00 pm, ESPN+ 		(1) vs. (8) Ohio
Quarterfinals 		MAC Tournament cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 
Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Source[3]

References

  1. ^ "Akron basketball player Khadim Gueye charged in assault of teammate at practice". Cincinnati.com.
  2. ^ "Men's Basketball vs Malone University on 11/5/2019 - Box Score". University of Akron Athletics.
  3. ^ "2019-20 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Akron Athletics.