2020–21 Akron Zips men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Akron Zips men's basketball team represented the University of Akron during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Zips, led by fourth-year head coach John Groce, played their home games at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Zips finished the season 15–8, 12–6 in MAC play to finish in a tie for third place. They defeated Bowling Green in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament before losing to Buffalo in the semifinals.

2020–21 Akron Zips men's basketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast Division
Record15–8 (12–6 MAC)
Head coach
Associate head coachDustin Ford (4th season)
Assistant coaches
  • Rob Fulford (4th season)
  • Robby Pridgen (4th season)
Home arenaJames A. Rhodes Arena
2020–21 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Toledo154 .789219  .700
Buffalo125 .706169  .640
Akron126 .667158  .652
Kent State126 .667158  .652
Ohio95 .643178  .680
Bowling Green108 .5561412  .538
Miami (OH)98 .5291211  .522
Ball State89 .4711013  .435
Western Michigan412 .250516  .238
Eastern Michigan311 .214612  .333
Central Michigan313 .188716  .304
Northern Illinois212 .143316  .158
2021 MAC tournament winner

Previous season

The Zips finished the 2019–20 season 24–7, 14–4 in MAC play to win the East Division. They were to play Ohio in the conference tournament before the season ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Offseason

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Tyler Cheese4G6'5"195SeniorAlbany, GAGraduated
Deng Riak10C6'10"225SeniorMelbourne, AustraliaGraduated
Channel Banks11G6'4"186SeniorLas Vegas, NVGraduated
Marquelle McIntyre12G5'10"175SeniorGreensboro, NCWalk-on; graduated
Xeyrius Williams20F6'9"205SeniorHuber Heights, OHGraduated
Jaden Sayles23F6'9"235JuniorCincinnati, OHTransferred to Stony Brook

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Jermaine Marshall4F6'6"220SophomoreBirmingham, ALTransferred from Florida SouthWestern State. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.
Michael Wynn13F6'6"210JuniorAlbany, NYTransferred from Wake Forest. Under NCAA transfer rules, Wynn will have to sit out for the 2020–21 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Taylor Currie33F6'8"225SophomoreClarkston, MITransferred from Wisconsin. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Garvin Clarke
#38 CG
Euclid, OH Euclid 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Oct 15, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars
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:

  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Nate Johnson
#55 SG
Middletown, OH Lakota East 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Nov 9, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars
Sekou Sada Kalle
PF
Louisville, KY Aspire Basketball Academy 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Nov 8, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A
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

2020–21 Akron Zips men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Tre Edwards 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)188 lb (85 kg) RS FrHamilton 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 SrVictory Rock Prep
Long Beach State
Chicago, IL
G 2 Greg Tribble Jr. 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)192 lb (87 kg) SoHuntington Prep Cincinnati, OH
F 3 Maishe Dailey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)195 lb (88 kg) RS SrBeachwood
Iowa
Beachwood, OH
F 4 Jermaine Marshall 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)220 lb (100 kg) SoHueytown
Florida SouthWestern State
Birmingham, AL
F 5 Camron Reece 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)228 lb (103 kg) SrOakland Tech
Sheridan College
Oakland, CA
G 11 Garvin Clarke 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrEuclid Euclid, OH
G 12 Bryan Trimble Jr. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)216 lb (98 kg) RS JrSunrise Christian Academy
St. John’s
Beachwood, OH
F 13 Michael Wynn 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) JrLiberty Heights
Iowa
Albany, NY
G 14 Scott Walter (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)170 lb (77 kg) RS SoSt. Vincent-St. Mary Akron, OH
C 21 Aziz Bandaogo 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)225 lb (102 kg) FrNBA Academy Africa Louisville, KY
F 22 Mikal Dawson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)220 lb (100 kg) SoHuntington Huntington, WV
F 24 Ali Ali 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)206 lb (93 kg) SoEast Noble High School Kendallville, IN
F 25 Enrique Freeman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)205 lb (93 kg) RS FrSt. Martin De Porres High School Cleveland, OH
G 25 LePear Toles 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)195 lb (88 kg) RS JrCanton McKinley
State Fair CC
Canton, OH
F 33 Taylor Currie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)225 lb (102 kg) RS SoClarkston
Wisconsin
Clarkston, MI
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule and results

Akron had to cancel its games against Middle Tennessee and Miami (OH) due to COVID-19. They have postponed games against Eastern Michigan and Ohio.

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 25, 2020*
Middle Tennessee Canceled James A. Rhodes Arena 
Akron, OH
December 5, 2020*
Marshall Canceled James A. Rhodes Arena 
Akron, OH
December 12, 2020
2:00 pm
Cedarville W 97–49  1–0
 19  Jackson  8  Reece  9  Jackson  James A. Rhodes Arena (0)
Akron, OH
December 15, 2020
1:00 pm, ESPN3
vs. St. Bonaventure L 74–81  1–1
 22  Jackson  9  Marshall  7  Jackson  Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (150)
Cleveland, OH
December 19, 2020
2:00 pm
Malone W 93–83  2–1
 34  Jackson  21  Freeman  10  Jackson  James A. Rhodes Arena (0)
Akron, OH
MAC regular season
December 22, 2020
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Ohio W 90–70  3–1
(1–0)
 22  Trimble Jr.  8  Tied  8  Jackson  James A. Rhodes Arena (0)
Akron, OH
January 1, 2021
7:00 pm
Kent State W 66–62  4–1
(2–0)
 31  Jackson  9  Freeman  6  Jackson  James A. Rhodes Arena (25)
Akron, OH
January 5, 2021
at Eastern Michigan Postponed Convocation Center 
Ypsilanti, MI
January 9, 2021
12:00 pm, ESPN+
at Eastern Michigan L 59–71  4–2
(2–1)
 10  Tied  5  Wynn  3  Ali  Convocation Center (0)
Ypsilanti, MI
January 12, 2021
3:00 pm, ESPN+
at Northern Illinois L 65–67  4–3
(2–2)
 15  Ali  11  Freeman  7  Jackson  Convocation Center (0)
DeKalb, IL
January 16, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Toledo W 95–94 OT 5–3
(3–2)
 34  Jackson  6  Ali  7  Jackson  James A. Rhodes Arena (0)
Akron, OH
January 19, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Bowling Green W 69–57  6–3
(4–2)
 18  Trimble Jr.  14  Freeman  6  Jackson  Stroh Center (0)
Bowling Green, OH
January 21, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Central Michigan W 81–67  7–3
(5–2)
 25  Trimble Jr.  12  Freeman  10  Jackson  James A. Rhodes Arena (0)
Akron, OH
January 23, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN+
at Western Michigan W 79–68  8–3
(6–2)
 32  Jackson  10  Freeman  6  Jackson  University Arena (0)
Kalamazoo, MI
January 26, 2021
7:30 pm, ESPN3
Eastern Michigan W 86–65  9–3
(7–2)
 14  Dailey  10  Reece  5  Ali  James A. Rhodes Arena (0)
Akron, OH
January 30, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN3
Ball State W 74–42  10–3
(8–2)
 16  Jackson  8  Freeman  6  Jackson  James A. Rhodes Arena (0)
Akron, OH
February 2, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Toledo L 76–91  10–4
(8–3)
 32  Jackson  11  Freeman  4  Jackson  Savage Arena (0)
Toledo, OH
February 5, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPNU
Kent State W 72–61  11–4
(9–3)
 26  Trimble Jr.  11  Freeman  8  Jackson  James A. Rhodes Arena (0)
Akron, OH
February 9, 2021
at Ohio Postponed Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
February 12, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPNU
at Miami (OH) W 83–76  12–4
(10–3)
 25  Jackson  7  Freeman  8  Dailey  Millett Hall (0)
Oxford, OH
February 16, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN3
Northern Illinois W 81–76  13–4
(11–3)
 22  Trimble Jr.  8  Freeman  7  Jackson  James A. Rhodes Arena (0)
Akron, OH
February 19, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at Ball State W 88–79  14–4
(12–3)
                Worthen Arena (0)
Muncie, IN
February 27, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN3
Bowling Green L 71–83  14–6
(12–5)
 29  Jackson  9  Freeman  4  Jackson  James A. Rhodes Arena (0)
Akron, OH
March 2, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN3
at Buffalo L 78–80  14–7
(12–6)
 27  Jackson  12  Freeman  4  Jackson  Alumni Arena (0)
Amherst, NY
March 5, 2021
Miami (OH) Canceled James A. Rhodes Arena 
Akron, OH
MAC tournament
March 11, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
(3) vs. (6) Bowling Green
Quarterfinals
W 74–67  15–7
 31  Jackson  9  Freeman  4  Jackson  Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (0)
Cleveland, OH
March 12, 2021
7:30 pm, CBSSN
(3) vs. (2) Buffalo
Semifinals
L 74–81 OT 15–8
 27  Jackson  14  Freeman  5  Jackson  Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (0)
Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[1]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
APNot released
Coaches

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

References

  1. "2020–21 Akron Zips Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
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