Zips Men's Basketball Weekly Update: February 9

The three-game home stand starts 2-0

Thank you for reading Akron Zipped Up! Subscribe for free to receive posts like this one directly to your inbox. All of my content is free, but I do accept donations.

Tuesday, February 4: Akron 81, Ball State 73

Well, they can’t all be pretty. Mike Lewis’ Ball State Cardinals executed their game plan very well, keeping it close all the way through. The 66 possessions in this game tied the Central Michigan game for the slowest paced game of the entire season played by this Akron team. In this one, though, the three-point shots weren’t falling so it was a slug fest for pretty much the full 40 minutes. Ball State came out aggressive on defense and didn’t allow the Zips too many of their typical open perimeter shots. And when they did get open, they weren’t falling with any regularity.

Akron was able to hold Payton Sparks to just 6 points in the first half before he finished the day with 15. Jermahri Hill was as advertised, finishing with regularity inside, but he ended the day just 6-11 at the free throw line which certainly impacted the game, too. When Akron was in need of a spark, Sharron Young provided it. He finished the day with a career high and team high 18 points, hitting 3 of 5 from three and a perfect 4-of-4 on twos. He also added 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and a pair of steals with no turnovers. He was absolutely tremendous each time Akron needed him, and they would not have won this game without him. The same can be said for Shammah Scott, Marvin Musiime-Kamali, and Amani Lyles who were all massive off the bench. The “bench mob” hit all of Akron’s threes in the game, shooting 7-16 as a group (starters were 0-12). The bench also combined to go 13-14 on twos. They stepped up on defense to make things harder for Sparks, ultimately leading to Akrons little runs that helped them stretch the lead to as much as 11 with a couple minutes to go.

Akron didn’t shoot the ball well from three, but they had one of their best games in program history inside the arc. The Zips finished the night 28-37 on twos with nobody on the entire team shooting under 50% on twos. Even without the threes dropping, Akron racked up 21 assists on 35 field goals. It may not have felt like it, but that Akron offense was absolutely humming. A better night shooting the ball from distance and we could have seen them score in the mid-to-upper 90s again. Once Akron began to push the pace a bit more in the second half, they gave themselves an advantage that would carry them to the finish line.

The Zips do return to Muncie to take on the Cardinals again on Tuesday, February 25. Since Mike Lewis took over, all four games between these squads have been close. Ball State won the first matchup back in 2023 by a 70-63 final (Castaneda did not play), Akron won the return game that year behind huge efforts from Castaneda and Sammy Hunter, and Akron eeked out a tight one with Greg Tribble’s perimeter shooting in Muncie last year. I’d expect the next matchup to be no different from the first four.

Saturday, February 8: Akron 80, South Alabama 65

The matchup of a zone defense that allows a lot of threes (most in the country) against an offense that takes and makes a lot of threes went about as you may expect. The Zips shot much better than they did Tuesday en route to a surprisingly comfortable win in the second round of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. Tavari Johnson hit a bunch of timely threes, especially early in the second half, to stretch out the lead above 10 points. The Jaguars would get it within 10 a couple more times, but Akron pulled away later, pushing their lead all the way to 80-58 with just over three minutes to go. Akron didn’t score in the final three minutes, though, allowing USA to get it much closer than John Groce would like.

Tavari and Seth Wilson got the scoring going early for Akron from three. That was crucial as South Alabama’s 1-3-1 zone defense helps them control the pace of games. They play one of the slowest paces in the country, mostly because of their defense. Akron struggled early on to get the ball inside the three-point arc, but they wound up hitting their shots. The Jags also threw in a nice full court press that even forced a 10-second violation at one point. However, Akron’s shot-making was just good enough that it didn’t affect too much. This was a particularly big game for Bowen Hardman. After struggling to get on the floor against Ball State, he was a big piece of this win. In 19 minutes, he put up 10 threes and hit 4, all 10 of them being good looks, too. He hadn’t found the scorebook since the NIU game last Tuesday, so that was great to see. Isaiah Gray also had a nice bounce-back game, hitting a pair of big second half threes. Nate Johnson led the Zips with 30 minutes played but he only took 5 shots. However, he dished out 10 assists (career high). Akron struggled to guard Barry Dunning for USA, as he led all scorers with 22 points and also with 12 boards. This is the first time all season that USA has lost a game by more than 11 points.

After the bench stepped up to win the game against Ball State on Tuesday, the starters carried the team here. Tavari added another excellent performance to his All-MAC campaign, as he put the team on his back in the second half. Not to mention, his breakaway slam in the first half may be one of the highlights of the entire season so far. He only had 4 assists, but only turned it over twice and also nabbed 3 steals. He is an elite point guard, and Zips Nation is proud of him.

Sharing the Love

In all of the depth, great shooting, and long win streaks, some of the small things can go un-noticed or under-appreciated. John Groce does mention it on most of the post-game shows, though. What am I talking about? Akron’s assist rate! The ball movement of this team’s offense is unbelievable at times. Early on in the year, it almost seemed as if guys were afraid to shoot or too unselfish. But, they have turned into one of the best teams in the country at sharing the ball. Akron is now 22nd in the country (364 teams) in assist rate on the season at 61%. Yup, that means Akron records an assist on 61% of its made baskets. They lead the MAC in that statistic as well, at 60.9% in MAC play. Against South Alabama, Akron recorded an astonishing 24 assists on 28 made field goals.

A few different things factor into that number. Of course, the elite ball movement is paramount. Groce built this team of totally unselfish guys and he preaches that it’s “our shot” on each possession. The first open three is the best shot to take, and that is often on the catch. Another big factor has been point guard play. As I’ve mentioned, Tavari Johnson has become nothing short of an elite point guard as the season has developed. He’s up to 4.3 assists per game, more than three times his previous career high. Nate Johnson loves to whip the ball around, too. He averages 3.2 assists to just 1.8 turnovers. Obviously, to record assists, you’ve got to make shots. Akron is now up to 59th in the country in three-point percentage at 36.5% on the season. That goes along with their 21st in the country ranking in three-point shooting rate. Another little tidbit that helps with getting assists and threes is offensive rebounding. Akron is not nearly as good at defensive rebounding as last season, but the three-point rate on offense brings some long rebounds. Akron is 104th in the country and 4th in MAC play in offensive rebounding percentage, bringing a lot of kick-outs for threes. Akron’s ball movement makes this offense a joy to watch. The Zips have now scored at least 80 points in 10 straight games.

Up Next for the Zips

Tuesday, February 11: vs. Western Michigan (7:00pm EST) ESPN+

The Zips complete their three-game home stand with a matchup against the Broncos of Western Michigan. After a brutal first couple of months, third year head coach Dwayne Stephens has WMU playing much better. After an 0-3 start to MAC play, they went to Kent and won and picked up a few more along the way to give themselves a better shot of getting to Cleveland. Perhaps the biggest thing has been their ability to beat “bubble teams” to rack up the tie breaker advantages heading into the final push.

JaVaughn Hannah started off strong as a freshman a couple of years ago and has put together a nice career with the Broncos. He and Chansey Willis lead a well-balanced scoring attack. Own Lobsinger returns as well, leading WMU in rebounding while stretching the floor with a decent three-point shot. Last year at WMU, the Zips closed their regular season with one of their worst halves of the season, giving up 59 points in the second half in a 90-84 loss. The Broncos dropped an ugly one in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge by an 83-57 final to Georgia Southern. WMU is the last team Akron has not yet played in the MAC.

KenPom predicts an 86-67 Akron win.

Saturday, February 15: at Central Michigan (7:00pm EST) ESPN+

I am so jealous that Central Michigan plays their Saturday MAC home games in prime time. Mt. Pleasant has been a tough place for MAC teams to win over the past couple seasons. Akron won the first round against CMU back on January 7 by an 87-71 final. Seth Wilson had his initial breakout game, hitting 6-12 from three. Despite the final score, it wasn’t an easy win by any means. Akron’s defense played rather poorly most of the night and a hobbled Chippewas team was neck and neck with the Zips for the first 30 minutes of game time, or so.

After an 0-3 start to MAC play of their own, Tony Barbee has the Chips right in the mix for Cleveland once again. Perhaps the best “do more with less” coach in the league, Barbee has brought a gritty and competitive culture to CMU basketball, and winning a road game at CMU is no small task. Kyler VanderJagt went off for 20 against Akron the first time around, and has maintained his pace as one of the better shooters in the league at well over 40% from three. He dropped in 25 in a win over Bowling Green a couple of weeks ago. Jakobi Heady still leads the team in scoring as he has most of the season. Ugnius Jarusevicius joins those two in averaging double figure scoring and the team leader Anthony Pritchard rounds out that group. The Chips play the slowest pace in MAC play and are third in defensive efficiency. This will be one of Akron’s biggest challenges of the entire season.

KenPom predicts a 78-73 Akron win.

Around the MAC

Tuesday, February 4

Kent State 70, Eastern Michigan 49 (H)

Miami 76, Central Michigan 70 (H)

Toledo 87 (H), Buffalo 74

Ohio 94 (H), Western Michigan 69

Bowling Green 84 (H), Northern Illinois 77

Saturday, February 8

Miami 69 (H), Troy 62

Georgia Southern 83, Western Michigan 57 (H)

Ball State 77 (H), Southern Mississippi 76

Eastern Michigan 76 (H), Old Dominion 70

Louisiana 66, Northern Illinois 64 (H)

Toledo 72 (H), James Madison 69

Georgia State 80, Buffalo 75 (H)

Bowling Green 67 (H), Coastal Carolina 53

Kent State 76 (H), Arkansas State 75

Central Michigan 85 (H), Texas State 70

Standings courtesy of ESPN.com