2017–18 Akron Zips men's basketball team

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.

2017–18 Akron Zips men's basketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast Division
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

Previous season

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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

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Recruiting 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:

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

Roster

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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   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

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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

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