2016–17 Akron Zips men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Akron Zips men's basketball team represented the University of Akron during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Zips, led by 13th-year head coach Keith Dambrot, 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 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.

2016–17 Akron Zips men's basketball
Savannah Invitational champions
Sun Bowl Invitational champions
MAC East division champions
MAC regular season champions
NIT, Second Round
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast Division
Record27–9 (14–4 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaJames A. Rhodes Arena
Seasons
2016–17 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
Akron 14 4   .778 27 9   .750
Ohio 11 7   .611 20 11   .645
Buffalo 11 7   .611 17 15   .531
Kent State 10 8   .556 22 14   .611
Bowling Green 7 11   .389 13 19   .406
Miami (OH) 4 14   .222 11 21   .344
West
Ball State 11 7   .611 21 13   .618
Western Michigan 11 7   .611 16 16   .500
Toledo 9 9   .500 17 17   .500
Eastern Michigan 7 11   .389 16 17   .485
Northern Illinois 7 11   .389 15 17   .469
Central Michigan 6 12   .333 16 16   .500
2017 MAC tournament winner

Following the season, head coach Keith Dambrot left the school on March 30, 2017 to accept the head coaching position at Duquesne.[1] On April 5, the school hired former Ohio and Illinois head coach John Groce to replace Dambrot.[2]

Previous season

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The Zips finished the 2015–16 season 26–9, 13–5 record in conference, winning the East Division title as well as the overall regular season MAC championship. The Zips defeated Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green to advanced to the championship of the MAC tournament where they lost to Buffalo. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference title, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost to Ohio State in the first round.

Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Jake Kretzer 15 G/F 6'7" 216 Senior Bainbridge, OH Graduated
Reggie McAdams 21 F 6'7" 208 Senior Elida, OH Graduated
Pat Forsythe 34 C 6'11" 245 RS Senior Brunswick, OH Graduated
Peter Agba 42 F 6'5" 210 Freshman Greensboro, NC Transferred to Rochester College

Recruiting

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Class of 2016

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Isaiah Williams
SF
Dayton, OH Stivers School for the Arts 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Mar 1, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Tavian Dunn-Martin
PG
Huntington, WV Huntington High School 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Aug 4, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Michael Hughes
PF
Liberty, MO Liberty North High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 278 lb (126 kg) Oct 1, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jordan Davis
PF
Canton, OH McKinley High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (110 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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:

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

Class of 2017

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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: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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:

Roster

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2016–17 Akron Zips men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Jimond Ivey 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Glenville HS/Ginn Academy Cleveland, OH
G 1 Josh Williams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So St. Vincent-St. Mary High School HS Akron, OH
F 2 Kwan Cheatham 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Winton Woods HS Cincinnati, OH
G/F 3 Daniel Utomi 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Fr Westside HS Houston, TX
G/F 5 Craig Eubanks (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Glenville HS
MSU-West Plains
Cleveland, OH
G 10 Aaron Jackson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Jr Lincoln HS Gahanna, OH
G 11 Tavian Dunn-Martin 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Huntington HS Huntington, WV
G 12 Marquelle McIntyre (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Fr Greensboro Day School Greensboro, NC
G 14 Noah Robotham 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Bishop Gorman HS Las Vegas, NV
G 20 Mark Noble (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Manchester HS Akron, OH
C 21 Michael Hughes 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Fr Liberty North HS Liberty, MO
F 22 Emmanuel Olojakpoke 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Fr Cypress Springs HS Houston, TX
C 23 Isaiah Johnson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 290 lb (132 kg) Sr Walnut Hills HS Cincinnati, OH
G 25 Carlitos Anderson (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Walnut Hills HS Cincinnati, OH
G 31 Ty Dalton 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr South Kent School Houston, TX
G 55 Antino Jackson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Jr Cypress Springs HS Houston, TX
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
11/12/2016*
7:45 PM, ESPN3
at Youngstown State
Northeast Ohio Coaches vs. Cancer
L 82–90  0–1
Beeghly Center (2,601)
Youngstown, OH
11/17/2016*
7:00 PM
American W 72–62  1–1
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,785)
Akron, OH
11/20/2016*
7:00 PM
Radford
Savannah Invitational
W 88–41  2–1
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,986)
Akron, OH
11/22/2016*
7:00 PM
Georgia Southern
Savannah Invitational
W 75–67  3–1
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,457)
Akron, OH
11/25/2016*
7:30 PM
vs. Air Force
Savannah Invitational semifinals
W 84–75  4–1
Savannah Civic Center (2,263)
Savannah, GA
11/26/2016*
7:30 PM
vs. Mercer
Savannah Invitational finals
W 65–63  5–1
Savannah Civic Center (2,391)
Savannah, GA
11/30/2016*
7:00 PM
Adrian W 95–41  6–1
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,868)
Akron, OH
12/03/2016*
8:00 PM, FS2
at No. 10 Creighton L 70–82  6–2
CenturyLink Center (16,852)
Omaha, NE
12/07/2016*
7:00 PM
Coppin State W 87–63  7–2
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,948)
Akron, OH
12/10/2016*
8:00 PM, ROOT
at No. 8 Gonzaga L 43–61  7–3
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
12/17/2016*
7:30 PM, BCSN
Marshall W 99–88  8–3
James A. Rhodes Arena (3,598)
Akron, OH
12/21/2016*
7:00 PM
vs. UC Irvine
Sun Bowl Invitational semifinals
W 88–80  9–3
Don Haskins Center (5,333)
El Paso, TX
12/22/2016*
9:00 PM
vs. Maryland Eastern Shore
Sun Bowl Invitational championship
W 76–60  10–3
Don Haskins Center (4,633)
El Paso, TX
MAC regular season
01/03/2017
7:00 PM, ESPN3
Bowling Green W 89–84  11–3
(1–0)
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,742)
Akron, OH
01/07/2017
6:30 PM, BCSN
Western Michigan W 66–59  12–3
(2–0)
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,760)
Akron, OH
01/10/2017
7:00 PM
at Central Michigan W 89–85  13–3
(3–0)
McGuirk Arena (2,302)
Mount Pleasant, MI
01/14/2017
3:30 PM, ESPN3
at Miami (OH) W 74–70  14–3
(4–0)
Millett Hall (3,334)
Oxford, OH
01/17/2017
7:00 PM, ASN
Ohio W 83–68  15–3
(5–0)
James A. Rhodes Arena (3,598)
Akron, OH
01/20/2017
6:30 PM, CBSSN
Eastern Michigan W 70–63  16–3
(6–0)
James A. Rhodes Arena (3,625)
Akron, OH
01/24/2017
7:00 PM, ESPN3
at Western Michigan W 90–80  17–3
(7–0)
University Arena (2,079)
Kalamazoo, MI
01/28/2017
7:30 PM, ESPN3
Buffalo W 91–90  18–3
(8–0)
James A. Rhodes Arena (4,884)
Akron, OH
01/31/2017
8:00 PM, ESPN3
at Northern Illinois W 76–73  19–3
(9–0)
Convocation Center (1,042)
DeKalb, IL
02/04/2017
12:00 PM, CBSSN
at Ohio L 70–85  19–4
(9–1)
Convocation Center (10,101)
Athens, OH
02/07/2017
6:00 PM, ASN
Ball State W 65–63  20–4
(10–1)
James A. Rhodes Arena (3,105)
Akron, OH
02/10/2017
7:00 PM, ESPNU
at Eastern Michigan W 87–76  21–4
(11–1)
Convocation Center (1,397)
Ypsilanti, MI
02/14/2017
7:00 PM, BCSN
Toledo W 71–65  22–4
(12–1)
James A. Rhodes Arena (3,365)
Akron, OH
02/17/2017
7:00 PM, ESPNU
Kent State L 67–70  22–5
(12–2)
James A. Rhodes Arena (5,500)
Akron, OH
02/21/2017
8:00 PM, BCSN
at Bowling Green L 65–66  22–6
(12–3)
Stroh Center (1,611)
Bowling Green, OH
02/25/2017
3:30 PM, ESPN3
at Buffalo W 89–83  23–6
(13–3)
Alumni Arena (6,598)
Amherst, NY
02/28/2017
7:00 PM, ESPN3
Miami (OH) L 75–79  23–7
(13–4)
James A. Rhodes Arena (3,646)
Akron, OH
03/03/2017
9:00 PM, ESPN2
at Kent State W 66–56  24–7
(14–4)
MAC Center (6,327)
Kent, OH
MAC tournament
03/09/2017
12:00 PM, BCSN/ESPN3
(1) vs. (8) Eastern Michigan
Quarterfinals
W 79–62  25–7
Quicken Loans Arena (2,245)
Cleveland, OH
03/10/2017
5:30 PM, CBSSN
(1) vs. (4) Ball State
Semifinals
W 74–70  26–7
Quicken Loans Arena (6,065)
Cleveland, OH
03/11/2017
7:30 PM, ESPN2
(1) vs. (6) Kent State
Championship
L 65–70  26–8
Quicken Loans Arena (10,376)
Cleveland, OH
NIT
03/15/2017*
7:30 PM, ESPNU
(7) at (2) Houston
First Round – California Bracket
W 78–75  27–8
Health and Physical Education Arena (1,928)
Houston, TX
03/20/2017*
8:00 PM, ESPNU
(7) at (6) UT Arlington
Second Round – California Bracket
L 69–85  27–9
College Park Center (5,390)
Arlington, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time Source[3][4][5].

See also

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References

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