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
Seasons
2020–21 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Toledo 15 4   .789 21 9   .700
Buffalo 12 5   .706 16 9   .640
Akron 12 6   .667 15 8   .652
Kent State 12 6   .667 15 8   .652
Ohio 9 5   .643 17 8   .680
Bowling Green 10 8   .556 14 12   .538
Miami (OH) 9 8   .529 12 11   .522
Ball State 8 9   .471 10 13   .435
Western Michigan 4 12   .250 5 16   .238
Eastern Michigan 3 11   .214 6 12   .333
Central Michigan 3 13   .188 7 16   .304
Northern Illinois 2 12   .143 3 16   .158
2021 MAC tournament winner

Previous season

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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

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Tyler Cheese 4 G 6'5" 195 Senior Albany, GA Graduated
Deng Riak 10 C 6'10" 225 Senior Melbourne, Australia Graduated
Channel Banks 11 G 6'4" 186 Senior Las Vegas, NV Graduated
Marquelle McIntyre 12 G 5'10" 175 Senior Greensboro, NC Walk-on; graduated
Xeyrius Williams 20 F 6'9" 205 Senior Huber Heights, OH Graduated
Jaden Sayles 23 F 6'9" 235 Junior Cincinnati, OH Transferred to Stony Brook

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Jermaine Marshall 4 F 6'6" 220 Sophomore Birmingham, AL Transferred from Florida SouthWestern State. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.
Michael Wynn 13 F 6'6" 210 Junior Albany, NY Transferred 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 Currie 33 F 6'8" 225 Sophomore Clarkston, MI Transferred from Wisconsin. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.

2020 recruiting class

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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:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
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

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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:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
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: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/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

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

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

Roster

Schedule and results

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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

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Ranking movements
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
APNot released
Coaches

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

References

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