2016–17 Akron Zips men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Akron Zips men's basketball team represented the University of Akron during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Zips, led by 13th-year head coach Keith Dambrot, 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 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.

2016–17 Akron Zips men's basketball
Savannah Invitational champions
Sun Bowl Invitational champions
MAC East division champions
MAC regular season champions
NIT, Second round
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast Division
2016–17 record27–9 (14–4 MAC)
Head coachKeith Dambrot (13th season)
Assistant coaches
Home arenaJames A. Rhodes Arena
2016–17 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
East
Akron14–4 .778  27–9  .750
Ohio11–7 .611  20–11  .645
Buffalo11–7 .611  17–15  .531
Kent State †10–8 .556  22–14  .611
Bowling Green7–11 .389  13–19  .406
Miami (OH)4–14 .222  11–21  .344
West
Ball State11–7 .611  21–13  .618
Western Michigan11–7 .611  16–16  .500
Toledo9–9 .500  17–17  .500
Eastern Michigan7–11 .389  16–17  .485
Northern Illinois7–11 .389  15–17  .469
Central Michigan6–12 .333  16–16  .500
† 2017 MAC Tournament winner

Following the season, head coach Keith Dambrot left the school on March 30, 2017 to accept the head coaching position at Duquesne.[1] On April 5, the school hired former Ohio and Illinois head coach John Groce to replace Dambrot.[2]

Previous season

The Zips finished the 2015–16 season 26–9, 13–5 record in conference, winning the East Division title as well as the overall regular season MAC championship. The Zips defeated Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green to advanced to the championship of the MAC Tournament where they lost to Buffalo. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference title, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost to Ohio State in the first round.

Departures
NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Jake Kretzer15G/F6'7"216SeniorBainbridge, OHGraduated
Reggie McAdams21F6'7"208SeniorElida, OHGraduated
Pat Forsythe34C6'11"245RS SeniorBrunswick, OHGraduated
Peter Agba42F6'5"210FreshmanGreensboro, NCTransferred to Rochester College

Recruiting

Class of 2016
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Isaiah Williams
SF		 Dayton, OH Stivers School for the Arts 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Mar 1, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Tavian Dunn-Martin
PG		 Huntington, WV Huntington High School 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Aug 4, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Michael Hughes
PF		 Liberty, MO Liberty North High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 278 lb (126 kg) Oct 1, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jordan Davis
PF		 Canton, OH McKinley High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (110 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/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:

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

    Class of 2017
    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: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/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: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/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:

      Roster
      2016–17 Akron Zips men's basketball team
      PlayersCoaches
      Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
      G 0 Jimond Ivey 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) RS SoGlenville HS/Ginn Academy Cleveland, OH
      G 1 Josh Williams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoSt. Vincent-St. Mary High School HS Akron, OH
      F 2 Kwan Cheatham, Jr. 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)235 lb (107 kg) SrWinton Woods HS Cincinnati, OH
      G/F 3 Daniel Utomi 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS FrWestside HS Houston, TX
      G/F 5 Craig Eubanks (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg) RS JrGlenville HS
      MSU-West Plains      		 Cleveland, OH
      G 10 Aaron Jackson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS JrLincoln HS Gahanna, OH
      G 11 Tavian Dunn-Martin 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)160 lb (73 kg) FrHuntington HS Huntington, WV
      G 12 Marquelle McIntyre (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)175 lb (79 kg) RS FrGreensboro Day School Greensboro, NC
      G 14 Noah Robotham 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)165 lb (75 kg) JrBishop Gorman HS Las Vegas, NV
      G 20 Mark Noble (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) SrManchester HS Akron, OH
      C 21 Michael Hughes 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)265 lb (120 kg) FrLiberty North HS Liberty, MO
      F 22 Emmanuel Olojakpoke 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)205 lb (93 kg) RS FrCypress Springs HS Houston, TX
      C 23 Isaiah Johnson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)290 lb (132 kg) SrWalnut Hills HS Cincinnati, OH
      G 25 Carlitos Anderson (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrWalnut Hills HS Cincinnati, OH
      G 31 Ty Dalton 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg) FrSouth Kent School Houston, TX
      G 55 Antino Jackson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)155 lb (70 kg) JrCypress Springs HS Houston, TX
      Head coach
      Assistant coach(es)
      Legend
      • (C) Team captain
      • (S) Suspended
      • (I) Ineligible
      • (W) Walk-on

      Roster

      Schedule and results
      Date
      time, TV      		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
      city, state
      Non-conference regular season
      11/12/2016*
      7:45 PM, ESPN3      		 at Youngstown State
      Northeast Ohio Coaches vs. Cancer      		 L 82–90  0–1
      		 Beeghly Center (2,601)
      Youngstown, OH
      11/17/2016*
      7:00 PM      		 American W 72–62  1–1
      		 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,785)
      Akron, OH
      11/20/2016*
      7:00 PM      		 Radford
      Savannah Invitational      		 W 88–41  2–1
      		 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,986)
      Akron, OH
      11/22/2016*
      7:00 PM      		 Georgia Southern
      Savannah Invitational      		 W 75–67  3–1
      		 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,457)
      Akron, OH
      11/25/2016*
      7:30 PM      		 vs. Air Force
      Savannah Invitational semifinals      		 W 84–75  4–1
      		 Savannah Civic Center (2,263)
      Savannah, GA
      11/26/2016*
      7:30 PM      		 vs. Mercer
      Savannah Invitational finals      		 W 65–63  5–1
      		 Savannah Civic Center (2,391)
      Savannah, GA
      11/30/2016*
      7:00 PM      		 Adrian W 95–41  6–1
      		 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,868)
      Akron, OH
      12/03/2016*
      8:00 PM, FS2      		 at No. 10 Creighton L 70–82  6–2
      		 CenturyLink Center (16,852)
      Omaha, NE
      12/07/2016*
      7:00 PM      		 Coppin State W 87–63  7–2
      		 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,948)
      Akron, OH
      12/10/2016*
      8:00 PM, ROOT      		 at No. 8 Gonzaga L 43–61  7–3
      		 McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
      Spokane, WA
      12/17/2016*
      7:30 PM, BCSN      		 Marshall W 99–88  8–3
      		 James A. Rhodes Arena (3,598)
      Akron, OH
      12/21/2016*
      7:00 PM      		 vs. UC Irvine
      Sun Bowl Invitational semifinals      		 W 88–80  9–3
      		 Don Haskins Center (5,333)
      El Paso, TX
      12/22/2016*
      9:00 PM      		 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore
      Sun Bowl Invitational championship      		 W 76–60  10–3
      		 Don Haskins Center (4,633)
      El Paso, TX
      MAC regular season
      01/03/2017
      7:00 PM, ESPN3      		 Bowling Green W 89–84  11–3
      (1–0)      		 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,742)
      Akron, OH
      01/07/2017
      6:30 PM, BCSN      		 Western Michigan W 66–59  12–3
      (2–0)      		 James A. Rhodes Arena (2,760)
      Akron, OH
      01/10/2017
      7:00 PM      		 at Central Michigan W 89–85  13–3
      (3–0)      		 McGuirk Arena (2,302)
      Mount Pleasant, MI
      01/14/2017
      3:30 PM, ESPN3      		 at Miami (OH) W 74–70  14–3
      (4–0)      		 Millett Hall (3,334)
      Oxford, OH
      01/17/2017
      7:00 PM, ASN      		 Ohio W 83–68  15–3
      (5–0)      		 James A. Rhodes Arena (3,598)
      Akron, OH
      01/20/2017
      6:30 PM, CBSSN      		 Eastern Michigan W 70–63  16–3
      (6–0)      		 James A. Rhodes Arena (3,625)
      Akron, OH
      01/24/2017
      7:00 PM, ESPN3      		 at Western Michigan W 90–80  17–3
      (7–0)      		 University Arena (2,079)
      Kalamazoo, MI
      01/28/2017
      7:30 PM, ESPN3      		 Buffalo W 91–90  18–3
      (8–0)      		 James A. Rhodes Arena (4,884)
      Akron, OH
      01/31/2017
      8:00 PM, ESPN3      		 at Northern Illinois W 76–73  19–3
      (9–0)      		 Convocation Center (1,042)
      DeKalb, IL
      02/04/2017
      12:00 PM, CBSSN      		 at Ohio L 70–85  19–4
      (9–1)      		 Convocation Center (10,101)
      Athens, OH
      02/07/2017
      6:00 PM, ASN      		 Ball State W 65–63  20–4
      (10–1)      		 James A. Rhodes Arena (3,105)
      Akron, OH
      02/10/2017
      7:00 PM, ESPNU      		 at Eastern Michigan W 87–76  21–4
      (11–1)      		 Convocation Center (1,397)
      Ypsilanti, MI
      02/14/2017
      7:00 PM, BCSN      		 Toledo W 71–65  22–4
      (12–1)      		 James A. Rhodes Arena (3,365)
      Akron, OH
      02/17/2017
      7:00 PM, ESPNU      		 Kent State L 67–70  22–5
      (12–2)      		 James A. Rhodes Arena (5,500)
      Akron, OH
      02/21/2017
      8:00 PM, BCSN      		 at Bowling Green L 65–66  22–6
      (12–3)      		 Stroh Center (1,611)
      Bowling Green, OH
      02/25/2017
      3:30 PM, ESPN3      		 at Buffalo W 89–83  23–6
      (13–3)      		 Alumni Arena (6,598)
      Amherst, NY
      02/28/2017
      7:00 PM, ESPN3      		 Miami (OH) L 75–79  23–7
      (13–4)      		 James A. Rhodes Arena (3,646)
      Akron, OH
      03/03/2017
      9:00 PM, ESPN2      		 at Kent State W 66–56  24–7
      (14–4)      		 MAC Center (6,327)
      Kent, OH
      MAC Tournament
      03/09/2017
      12:00 PM, BCSN/ESPN3      		 (1) vs. (8) Eastern Michigan
      Quarterfinals      		 W 79–62  25–7
      		 Quicken Loans Arena (2,245)
      Cleveland, OH
      03/10/2017
      5:30 PM, CBSSN      		 (1) vs. (4) Ball State
      Semifinals      		 W 74–70  26–7
      		 Quicken Loans Arena (6,065)
      Cleveland, OH
      03/11/2017
      7:30 PM, ESPN2      		 (1) vs. (6) Kent State
      Championship game      		 L 65–70  26–8
      		 Quicken Loans Arena (10,376)
      Cleveland, OH
      NIT
      03/15/2017*
      7:30 PM, ESPNU      		 (7) at (2) Houston
      First Round – California Bracket      		 W 78–75  27–8
      		 Health and Physical Education Arena (1,928)
      Houston, TX
      03/20/2017*
      8:00 PM, ESPNU      		 (7) at (6) UT Arlington
      Second Round – California Bracket      		 L 69–85  27–9
      		 College Park Center (5,390)
      Arlington, TX

      *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
      All times are in Eastern Time

      Source[3][4][5].

      See also

      References
      1. "Duquesne U. Hires Keith Dambrot As New Basketball Coach". Retrieved 2017-04-11.
      2. "Back in MAC: Akron hires former Ohio, Illinois coach Groce". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
      3. http://gozips.com/sports/mbkb/2016-17/schedule
      4. http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/schedule/_/id/2006
      5. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/akron/2017-schedule.html
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