Kent State University
Akron
Flashes Face Rival Zips in Regular Season Finale
3/5/2020 2:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio- The Kent State men's basketball team will make the 12-mile trip down the road to take on rival Akron for its final game of the regular season on Friday night. Tip-off from the James A. Rhodes Arena is set for 6:30 p.m. and will air on CBS Sports Network. The winner of the contest will earn a half-point for its school in the Crystal Clinic Wagon Wheel Challenge standings.
Kent State remains the No. 6 seed for the 2020 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament with one game remaining and will host a First Round for the MAC Tournament on Monday, March 9 at 7 p.m. Final seeding and opponent will be determined at the conclusion of all MAC game being played Friday night.
THE GAME
Kent State (19-11, 9-8 MAC) vs. Akron (23-7, 13-4 MAC)
Friday, March 6 | James A. Rhodes Arena | Akron, Ohio | 6:30 PM
BROADCAST
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: Ty Linder (pbp), WHLO 640 AM (flagship), iHeart Radio
AKRON HEAD COACH
John Groce
Record at Akron: 54-41 (3rd season)
KENT STATE HEAD COACH
Record at Kent State: 180-120 (9th season)
SERIES HISTORY
Friday's game marks the 154th meeting in series history between Akron and Kent State.
Kent State leads the all-time series with a 78-75 record.
Kent State is 24-42 against the Zips when playing at the JAR.
Kent State is 9-12 against the Zips under head coach Rob Senderoff.
Akron head coach John Groce is 1-6 versus Kent State in true road games as a head coach (includes career at Ohio).
Earlier this season Kent State came away with a 68-67 win over the rival at home. Senior Philip Whittington's put-back with 20-seconds left and Akron's Channel Banks' desperation 3-pointer sailed wide, giving Kent State an emotional 68-67 win. junior Danny Pippen dominated the floor on both sides with a monster 20 point, 12 rebound performance. Pippen missed both games against the rival Zips last season due to injury.
Last season the two teams split as the Flashes fell at Akron in the first installment of the Wagon Wheel Challenge, 72-53. Kent State closed the regular season with a win over Akron at home, 68-65.
Kent State and Akron have met in the MAC Tournament eight times. Kent State is 3-5 in the MAC Tournament against the Zips. In addition, Kent State and Akron have played for the MAC Tournament championship three times. Kent State leads 2-1 in MAC title games. Flashes won the tournament in 2007-08 (74-55), Akron took the title in 2010-11 with a 66-65 overtime win, and the Flashes most recently won the tournament in 2016-17 (70-65).
The last time Kent State swept all three games (2 regular season games, 1 post season) was in 2008. Akron swept all three games back in 2012.
LAST TIME OUT
The Kent State men's basketball team improved to 19-11 overall and 9-8 in conference play after a 83-69 win over BG on Tuesday. Junior Danny Pippen led the Flashes with 24 points and 10 rebounds, recording his seventh double-double of the season. Williams had 24 points, scoring 16 in the first half. Junior Tervell Beck came off bench and scored 15 and added five rebounds, while Simons scored 10 points with six boards. Kent State took an 11-point lead, 45-34, at the start of the second half on a driving layup by Simons. The Falcons threatened to get back into the game when Turner scored BG's next seven points, closing KSU's lead to 48-41. The closest BG would get to Kent State was within five, 48-43, with 14:28 remaining.
On the season, the Flashes are shooting 45.4 percent (828-1823) from the floor and 254-747 (34.0 percent) from long range. Pippen leads the team in rebounds averaging 7.1 boards a game.
FLASH FACTS
- The Flashes have four players averaging in double-figure scoring with Troy Simons (12.8 ppg), Anthony Roberts (12.5 ppg), Antonio Williams (14.7 ppg), and Danny Pippen (14.1 ppg).
- Kent State ranks 48th in the country and third in the conference in scoring offense (76.0 ppg).
- As a team, Kent State ranks 53rd in the country and second the conference with 4.2 blocked shots per game.
- Danny Pippen leads the team with 45 total blocks, five of which he had against Towson. Kent State ranks 53rd in the nation in total blocked shots (128) and second in the conference. Pippen also ranks 46th in the nation and is second in conference stats averaging 1.75 blocked shots per game.
- Troy Simons ranks 23rd in the nation in 3-point FG per game (2.93) and ranks second in league stats.
-Kent State ranks 45th in 3-point FG per game (8.5) and ranks 3rd in conference stats.
- In conference stats, KSU is first in FG percentage (45.4) and ranks 68th in the country.
-Flashes rank 68th in the country and are second the conference with a +6.5 scoring margin. Kent State ended the non-conference schedule with the highest scoring margin during the non-conference schedule in 20 seasons. (+12.5).
- Defensively, the Flashes have held its opponents to 69.5 points per game on 41.4 percent shooting from the field and 34.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
- Kent State has forced 434 turnovers (14.5 tpg) while collecting 210 steals (7.0 stl/g). On the glass, the Flashes have out re-bounded their opponents 1087-1061 for a +0.9 margin.
SCOUTING AKRON
The Zips, stand 23-7 overall and 13-4 in MAC play under third-year head coach John Groce. Akron is coming off a 74-67 win over Ohio on Tuesday. With the win, Akron clinched at least a share of the MAC Regular season title. Akron rallied from as many as 15 points down to stun the visiting Ohio Bobcats. Senior Xeyrius Williams (Springfield, Ohio) led Akron with 20 points, senior Tyler Cheese (Albany, Ga.) added 17, junior Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) tallied 13 and senior Channel Banks (Las Vegas, Nev.) recorded 10 points for the Zips. In addition, Williams grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
UA has four players averaging in double figures with Cristian Jackson (20.0), Cheese (15.9), Williams (13.6), and Banks (10.7). In conference stats, the Zips are lead in FT % (76.5), scoring margin (9.4), and 3-point FG per game (9.3)
Defensively, Akron has held its opponents to score 66.2 points per game on 40.0 percent shooting from the field and 30.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Zips have 387 turnovers (12.9 tpg) while collecting 154 steals (5.1 stl/g) On the glass, Akron has out-rebounded their opponents 1130-1099 for a +1.0 margin.
FOLLOW ALONG
Flash fans unable to attend the game can watch the game on CBS Sports Network, listen through iHeart Radio and Tune-In and follow along with live stats via sidearm. All the links are located below.
Listen: https://www.iheart.com/live/640-whlo-3520/
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=285497
