2016–17 Akron Zips men's basketball team American college basketball season
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 .
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
Recruiting
Class of 2016
College recruiting information
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
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
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
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)
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:
Class of 2017
College recruiting information
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
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
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
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
0
Jimond Ivey
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
RS So
Glenville HS /Ginn Academy
Cleveland, OH
G
1
Josh Williams
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
So
St. Vincent-St. Mary High School HS
Akron, OH
F
2
Kwan Cheatham
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
Sr
Winton Woods HS
Cincinnati, OH
G/F
3
Daniel Utomi
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
RS Fr
Westside HS
Houston, TX
G/F
5
Craig Eubanks (W)
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
RS Jr
Glenville HS MSU-West Plains
Cleveland, OH
G
10
Aaron Jackson
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
RS Jr
Lincoln HS
Gahanna, OH
G
11
Tavian Dunn-Martin
5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
Fr
Huntington HS
Huntington, WV
G
12
Marquelle McIntyre (W)
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
RS Fr
Greensboro Day School
Greensboro, NC
G
14
Noah Robotham
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
165 lb (75 kg)
Jr
Bishop Gorman HS
Las Vegas, NV
G
20
Mark Noble (W)
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Sr
Manchester HS
Akron, OH
C
21
Michael Hughes
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
265 lb (120 kg)
Fr
Liberty North HS
Liberty, MO
F
22
Emmanuel Olojakpoke
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
RS Fr
Cypress Springs HS
Houston, TX
C
23
Isaiah Johnson
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
290 lb (132 kg)
Sr
Walnut Hills HS
Cincinnati, OH
G
25
Carlitos Anderson (W)
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Sr
Walnut Hills HS
Cincinnati, OH
G
31
Ty Dalton
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Fr
South Kent School
Houston, TX
G
55
Antino Jackson
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
155 lb (70 kg)
Jr
Cypress 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
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
See also
References