2018–19 Akron Zips men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Akron Zips men's basketball team represented the University of Akron during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Zips, led by second-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 17–16, 8–10 in MAC play to finish in fourth place in the East Division. They defeated Miami (OH) in the first round of the MAC tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Buffalo.

2018–19 Akron Zips men's basketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast Division
Record17–16 (8–10 MAC)
Head coach
Associate head coachDustin Ford
Assistant coaches
  • Rob Fulford
  • Robby Pridgen
Home arenaJames A. Rhodes Arena
Seasons
2018–19 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
No. 15 Buffalo 16 2   .889 32 4   .889
Bowling Green 12 6   .667 22 12   .647
Kent State 11 7   .611 22 11   .667
Akron 8 10   .444 17 16   .515
Miami (OH) 7 11   .389 15 17   .469
Ohio 6 12   .333 14 17   .452
West
Toledo 13 5   .722 25 8   .758
Central Michigan 10 8   .556 23 12   .657
Eastern Michigan 9 9   .500 15 17   .469
Northern Illinois 8 10   .444 17 17   .500
Ball State 6 12   .333 16 17   .485
Western Michigan 2 16   .111 8 24   .250
2019 MAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

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The Zips finished the 2017–18 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.

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Malcon Duvivier 4 G 6'2" 210 RS Senior Toronto, ON Graduated
Craig Eurbanks 5 G 6'4" 200 Senior Cleveland, OH Walk-on; graduated
Virshon Cotton 11 G 6'1" 165 Freshman Milwaukee, WI Transferred to LIU Brooklyn
Sina Gbadebo 14 G 6'1" 190 Freshman Windsor, ON Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons
Eric Parrish 20 G 6'6" 195 Freshman Cypress, TX Transferred to Bossier Parish CC
Torrey Patton 24 G 6'4" 195 Freshman Trotwood, OH Transferred to Indian Hills CC

Incoming Transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Tyler Cheese 4 G 6'4" 190 Junior Albany, GA Junior college transferred to Florida SouthWestern State College
LePear Toles 5 G 6'6" Sophomore Canton, OH Junior college transferred from State Fair Community College
Channel Banks 11 G 6'4" 185 Sophomore Las Vegas, NV Junior college transferred from Sheridan College
Jeremy Roscoe 13 G 6'3" RS Sophomore Chicago, IL Junior college transferred from Chipola College
Xeryius Williams 20 F 6'9" 205 Senior Huber Heights, OH Transferred from Dayton. Under NCAA transfer rules, Williams will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.
Khadim Gueye 50 F 7'0" 248 Junior Dakar, Senegal Transferred from South Carolina. Under NCAA transfer rules, Gueye will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.

Recruiting class of 2018

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There was no recruiting class for Akron in 2018.

Recruiting class of 2019

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US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
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: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    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: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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: 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:

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

Roster

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2018–19 Akron Zips men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Jimond Ivey 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Glenville Cleveland, OH
G 1 Loren Cristian Jackson 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 160 lb (73 kg) RS So Victory Rock Prep
Long Beach State
Chicago, IL
F 3 Daniel Utomi 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Westside Houston, TX
G 4 Tyler Cheese 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Albany
Florida Southwestern State
Albany, GA
G 5 LePear Toles 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Canton McKinley
State Fair CC
Canton, OH
C 10 Deng Riak 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Jr Victory Rock Prep
East Carolina
Melbourne, Australia
G 11 Channel Banks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 186 lb (84 kg) Jr Hillcrest Prep
Sheridan College
Las Vegas, NV
G 12 Marquelle Mcintyre (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Greensboro Day School Greensboro, NC
G 13 Jeremy Roscoe 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Uplift
Panola College
Chicago, IL
G 14 Scott Walter (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr St. Vincent-St. Mary Akron, OH
F 20 Xeyrius Williams   6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Wayne
Dayton
Huber Heights, OH
F 22 Emmanuel Plojakpoke 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Cypress Springs Houston, TX
F 23 Jaden Sayles 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Sycamore Cincinnati, OH
G 24 Jake Fischer (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Bishop Harley Columbus, OH
G 25 Lucas Smith (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Bellevue East
Iowa Lakes CC
Omaha, NE
C 44 Mark Kostelac 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) So Notre Dame Cathedral Latin Cleveland, OH
F 50 Khadim Gueye   7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr Victory Rock Prep
South Carolina
Dakar, Senegal
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
Nov 6, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Cedarville W 70–50  1–0
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,261)
Akron, OH
Nov 10, 2018*
4:30 pm, ESPN3
vs. Youngstown State
Northeast Ohio Coaches vs. Cancer
W 98–69  2–0
Quicken Loans Arena 
Cleveland, OH
Nov 16, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Chicago State
Cayman Islands Classic on-campus game
W 87–46  3–0
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,285)
Akron, OH
Nov 19, 2018*
11:00 am, Stadium
vs. No. 16 Clemson
Cayman Islands Classic Quarterfinals
L 69–72  3–1
John Gray Gymnasium (1,050)
George Town, Cayman Islands
Nov 20, 2018*
12:00 pm, Stadium
vs. Illinois State
Cayman Islands Classic consolation semi finals
L 68–73  3–2
John Gray Gymnasium (667)
George Town, Cayman Islands
Nov 21, 2018*
10:00 am, Stadium
vs. St. Bonaventure
Cayman Islands Classic 7th place game
W 61–49  4–2
John Gray Gymnasium (566)
George Town, Cayman Islands
Nov 28, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Alabama State W 86–54  5–2
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,294)
Akron, OH
Dec 1, 2018*
5:00 pm, ESPN3
Detroit Mercy W 71–59  6–2
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,364)
Akron, OH
Dec 5, 2018*
7:00 pm
at Purdue Fort Wayne L 65–68  6–3
Memorial Coliseum (1,274)
Fort Wayne, IN
Dec 15, 2018*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Marshall L 74–75  6–4
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,748)
Akron, OH
Dec 18, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Tennessee State W 82–60  7–4
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,151)
Akron, OH
Dec 22, 2018*
4:00 pm, ESPN3
at No. 6 Nevada L 62–68  7–5
Lawlor Events Center (10,825)
Reno, NV
Dec 30, 2018*
2:00 pm, ESPN3
Carnegie Mellon W 82–55  8–5
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,446)
Akron, OH
MAC regular season
Jan 5, 2019
2:00 pm, ESPN3
Western Michigan W 56–48  9–5
(1–0)
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,276)
Akron, OH
Jan 8, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Central Michigan L 86–88 OT 9–6
(1–1)
McGuirk Arena (2,126)
Mount Pleasant, MI
Jan 12, 2019
3:30 pm, ESPN+
at Northern Illinois L 56–73  9–7
(1–2)
Convocation Center (906)
DeKalb, IL
Jan 15, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Eastern Michigan W 51–49  10–7
(2–2)
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,334)
Akron, OH
Jan 19, 2019
3:30 pm, ESPN3
at Miami (OH) L 61–68  10–8
(2–3)
Millett Hall (1,202)
Oxford, OH
Jan 22, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Central Michigan W 70–67  11–8
(3–3)
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,254)
Akron, OH
Jan 26, 2019
5:00 pm, ESPN+
Northern Illinois W 67–65  12–8
(4–3)
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,996)
Akron, OH
Feb 2, 2019
3:30 pm, ESPN3
at Ohio W 65–53  13–8
(5–3)
Convocation Center (7,887)
Athens, OH
Feb 5, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Toledo L 52–63  13–9
(5–4)
Savage Arena (3,895)
Toledo, OH
Feb 8, 2019
9:00 pm, ESPNU
Kent State W 72–53  14–9
(6–4)
James A. Rhodes Arena (4,289)
Akron, OH
Feb 12, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
No. 25 Buffalo L 70–76  14–10
(6–5)
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,646)
Akron, OH
Feb 16, 2019
2:00 p.m., ESPN3
at Ball State L 56–57  14–11
(6–6)
Worthen Arena (4,577)
Muncie, IN
Feb 19, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Bowling Green L 69–73  14–12
(6–7)
Stroh Center (1,954)
Bowling Green, OH
Feb 23, 2019
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Miami (OH) W 70–58  15–12
(7–7)
James A. Rhodes Arena (3,026)
Akron, OH
Feb 26, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at No. 21 Buffalo L 64–77  15–13
(7–8)
Alumni Arena (5,789)
Amherst, NY
Mar 2, 2019
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Ohio L 49–73  15–14
(7–9)
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,714)
Akron, OH
Mar 5, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Bowling Green W 91–67  16–14
(8–9)
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,902)
Akron, OH
Mar 8, 2019
6:30 pm, ESPN+
at Kent State L 65-68  16–15
(8–10)
MAC Center (6,168)
Kent, OH
MAC tournament
Mar 11, 2019
8:00 pm, ESPN+
(8) (9) Miami (OH)
First round
W 80–51  17–15
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,376)
Akron, OH
Mar 14, 2019
12:00 pm, ESPN+
(8) vs. (1) No. 18 Buffalo
Quarterfinals
L 46–82  17–16
Quicken Loans Arena (2,499)
Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[1]

References

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