2017–18 Akron Zips men's basketball team

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2017–18 Akron Zips men's basketball
Akron Zips logo.svg
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast Division
2017–18 record14–18 (6–12 MAC)
Head coach
Associate head coachDustin Ford
Assistant coaches
  • Rob Fulford
  • Robby Pridgen
Home arenaJames A. Rhodes Arena
Seasons
2017–18 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
Buffalo † 15 – 3   .833 27 – 9   .750
Kent State 9 – 9   .500 17 – 17   .500
Miami (OH) 8 – 10   .444 16 – 18   .471
Bowling Green 7 – 11   .389 16 – 16   .500
Ohio 7 – 11   .389 14 – 17   .452
Akron 6 – 12   .333 14 – 18   .438
West
Toledo 13 – 5   .722 23 – 11   .676
Eastern Michigan 11 – 7   .611 22 – 13   .629
Ball State 10 – 8   .556 19 – 13   .594
Western Michigan 9 – 9   .500 17 – 15   .531
Central Michigan 7 – 11   .389 21 – 15   .583
Northern Illinois 6 – 12   .333 13 – 19   .406
† 2018 MAC Tournament winner

The 2017–18 Akron Zips men's basketball team represented the University of Akron during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Zips, led by first-year head coach John Groce, played their home games at the James A. Rhodes Arena as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 14–18, 6–12 in MAC play to finish in last place in the East Division. In the MAC Tournament, they defeated Western Michigan in the first round before losing to Eastern Michigan in the quarterfinals.

Previous season[]

The Zips finished the 2016–17 season 27–9, 14–4 in MAC play to win the MAC East Division and MAC overall regular season championship. They defeated Eastern Michigan and Ball State to advance to the championship game of the MAC Tournament where they lost to Kent State, losing in the championship game for the second consecutive year. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Houston in the first round before losing to Texas–Arlington.

Following the season, head coach Keith Dambrot left the school to accept the head coaching position at Duquesne.[1] On April 5, 2017, the school hired former Ohio and Illinois head coach John Groce to replace Dambrot.[2]

Offseason[]

Recruiting class of 2017[]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jaden Sayles
PF 		Cincinnati, OH Sycamore High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jul 30, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Eric Parrish
SF 		Houston, TX Sunrise Christian Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Oct 23, 2016 
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:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016.

Roster[]

2017–18 Akron Zips men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 11 Virshon Cotton 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Hillcrest Prep Academy Milwaukee, WI
G 4 Malcolm Duvivier 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) GS St. Michael's College School Toronto, Ontario
G 5 Craig Eubanks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Glenville Cleveland, OH
G 14 Sina Gbadebo 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Spire Institute Windsor, Ontario
G 2 Eric Hester 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS So Oldsmar Christian Clearwater, FL
G 0 Jimond Ivey 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Glenville Cleveland, OH
G 1 Loren Cristian Jackson Current redshirt 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Victory Rock Prep Chicago, IL
C 44 Mark Kostelac 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Notre Dame Cathedral Latin Cleveland, OH
G 12 Marquelle Mcintyre 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Greensboro Day School Greensboro, NC
F 22 Emmanuel Plojakpoke 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Cypress Springs High School Houston, TX
G 20 Eric Parrish 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Cypress Springs Cypress, TX
G 24 Torrey Patton 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Trotwood-Madison Trotwood, OH
C 10 Deng Riak 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So Victory Rock Prep Melbourne, Australia
F 23 Jaden Sayles 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Sycamore Cincinnati, OH
F 3 Daniel Utomi 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS So Westside High School Houston, TX
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 11, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Cleveland State W 67–57  1–0
 James A. Rhodes Arena (4,036)
Akron, OH
Nov 18, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		UT Martin W 76–59  2–0
 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,713)
Akron, OH
Nov 25, 2017*
7:00 pm, FSOH 		at Dayton L 60–73  2–1
 UD Arena (12,872)
Dayton, OH
Nov 28, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Chattanooga W 75–70  3–1
 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,495)
Akron, OH
Dec 2, 2017*
7:00 pm 		at Marshall L 64–86  3–2
 Cam Henderson Center (5,104)
Huntington, WV
Dec 6, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Fort Wayne W 83–79  4–2
 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,340)
Akron, OH
Dec 9, 2017*
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		Appalachian State W 94–89  5–2
 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,219)
Akron, OH
Dec 16, 2017*
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		Mississippi Valley State W 81–63  6–2
 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,155)
Akron, OH
Dec 22, 2017*
7:30 pm, ESPNU 		vs. USC
Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals 		L 53-84  6-3
 Stan Sheriff Center (7,669)
Honolulu, HI
Dec 23, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		vs. Princeton
Diamond Head Classic consolation 2nd round 		L 62-64  6-4
 Stan Sheriff Center (5,811)
Honolulu, HI
Dec 25, 2017*
12:30pm, ESPNU 		vs. Davidson
Diamond Head Classic 7th place game 		L 78–91  6–5
 Stan Sheriff Center (6,698)
Honolulu, HI
Dec 29, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Concord W 86–49  7–5
 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,283)
Akron, OH
MAC regular season
Jan 2, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Western Michigan L 75–87  7–6
(0–1) 		University Arena (2,110)
Kalamazoo, MI
Jan 5, 2018
6:30 pm, CBSSN 		at Toledo L 65–67  7–7
(0–2) 		Savage Arena (4,155)
Toledo, OH
Jan 9, 2018
3:00 pm, ESPN3 		Buffalo L 65–87  7–8
(0–3) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (2,924)
Akron, OH
Jan 13, 2018
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		Bowling Green W 80–78  8–8
(1–3) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (3,204)
Akron, OH
Jan 16, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Eastern Michigan L 49–63  8–9
(1–4) 		Convocation Center (1,254)
Ypsilanti, MI
Jan 20, 2018
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		Northern Illinois W 82–67  9–9
(2–4) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (3,378)
Akron, OH
Jan 23, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Ohio W 71–68  10–9
(3–4) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (2,653)
Akron, OH
Jan 27, 2018
12:00 pm, CBSSN 		at Ball State L 106–111 2OT 10–10
(3–5) 		Worthen Arena (3,867)
Muncie, IN
Jan 30, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Miami (OH) L 64–79  10–11
(3–6) 		Millett Hall (1,808)
Oxford, OH
Feb 3, 2018
12:00 pm, CBSSN 		Toledo L 56–77  10–12
(3–7) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (2,584)
Akron, OH
Feb 6, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Ohio L 75–99  10–13
(3–8) 		Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
Feb 10, 2018
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		Central Michigan W 69–63  11–13
(4–8) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (2,564)
Akron, OH
Feb 13, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Ball State L 77–90  11–14
(4–9) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (2,543)
Akron, OH
Feb 17, 2018
2:00 pm, CBSSN 		at Kent State L 68–78  11–15
(4–10) 		Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (6,055)
Kent, OH
Feb 20, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Bowling Green W 81–79  12–15
(5–10) 		Stroh Center (1,540)
Bowling Green, OH
Feb 24, 2018
2:00 pm, CBSSN 		Miami (OH) L 62–64 OT 12–16
(5–11) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (2,751)
Akron, OH
Feb 27, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Buffalo L 68–80  12–17
(5–12) 		Alumni Arena (3,659)
Amherst, NY
Mar 2, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Kent State W 67–65  13–17
(6–12) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (4,349)
Akron, OH
MAC Tournament
Mar 5, 2018
7:45 pm, ESPN3 		(11) at (6) Western Michigan
First round 		W 79–78  14–17
 University Arena (897)
Kalamazoo, MI
Mar 8, 2018
9:00 pm, ESPN3 		(11) vs. (3) Eastern Michigan
Quarterfinals 		L 58–67  14–18
 Quicken Loans Arena (2,605)
Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

References[]

  1. ^ "Duquesne U. Hires Keith Dambrot As New Basketball Coach". Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  2. ^ "Back in MAC: Akron hires former Ohio, Illinois coach Groce". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
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