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2024–25 Akron Zips men's basketball
2024–25 Akron Zips men's basketball
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	6–3 (0–0 MAC)
Head coach	John Groce (8th season);
Associate head coach	Dustin Ford (8th season)
Assistant coaches	Robby Pridgen (8th season); Mike Allen (1st season); Jon Ekey (1st season); Devan Morrow (1st season);
Home arena	James A. Rhodes Arena
	Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

2024–25 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Kent State	0	–	0	–	8	–	2	.800
Akron	0	–	0	–	6	–	3	.667
Miami (OH)	0	–	0	–	6	–	4	.600
Toledo	0	–	0	–	6	–	5	.545
Buffalo	0	–	0	–	5	–	5	.500
Central Michigan	0	–	0	–	5	–	5	.500
Eastern Michigan	0	–	0	–	5	–	5	.500
Ohio	0	–	0	–	5	–	6	.455
Ball State	0	–	0	–	4	–	6	.400
Bowling Green	0	–	0	–	4	–	6	.400
Western Michigan	0	–	0	–	3	–	7	.300
Northern Illinois	0	–	0	–	3	–	8	.273

† 2025 MAC tournament winner As of December 18, 2024

The 2024–25 Akron Zips men's basketball team represents the University of Akron during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Zips, led by eighth-year head coach John Groce, play their home games at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio as members of the Mid-American Conference.

Previous season

The Zips finished the 2023–24 season 21–10, 13–5 in MAC play to finish in a tie for second place.^[1] They defeated Miami (OH),^[2] Ohio,^[3] and Kent State to win the MAC tournament championship for the second time in three years and earn the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.^[4] In the NCAA tournament, they received the #14 seed in the Midwest Region,^[5] where they would fall to #3 region seed Creighton in the First Round.^[6]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Greg Tribble	2	G	6'3"	195	Senior	Cincinnati, Ohio	Graduated
Kaleb Thornton	3	G	6'0"	175	Senior	Bolingbrook, Illinois	Graduated
Darrion Baker	4	F	6'8"	225	Freshman	Chicago, Illinois	Transferred to SIU Edwardsville
Ryan Prather Jr.	10	G	6'5"	205	RS Freshman	Clarksburg, Maryland	Transferred to Robert Morris
Sammy Hunter	11	W	6'9"	225	Senior	Nassau, Bahamas	Graduated
Mikal Dawson	22	W	6'5"	222	Senior	Huntington, West Virginia	Transferred to Marshall
Ali Ali	24	G	6'8"	205	Senior	Kendallville, Indiana	Graduated
Enrique Freeman	25	F	6'7"	206	Senior	Cleveland, Ohio	Graduated; Drafted 50th overall by the Indiana Pacers in the 2024 NBA draft

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Isaiah Gray	13	G	6'3"	220	Senior	Brooklyn, New York	Cornell
Seth Wilson	14	G	6'2"	220	Senior	Lorain, Ohio	West Virginia
Bowen Hardman	15	G	6'3"	220	Junior	Cincinnati, Ohio	Ohio State
Josiah Harris	22	W	6'7"	210	Junior	Canton, Ohio	West Virginia
James Okonkwo	32	F	6'8"	240	Senior	Maidenhead, England	North Carolina

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight
Rich Brisco F	Brooklyn, New York	Hillcrest Prep	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (100 kg)
Rich Brisco F	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A
Sharron Young G	Morgantown, West Virginia	Morgantown High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	160 lb (73 kg)
Sharron Young G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A
Eric Mahaffey G	Cincinnati, Ohio	Archbishop Moeller High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)
Eric Mahaffey G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A
Conner Groce G	Richfield, Ohio	Revere High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)
Conner Groce G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/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: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Preseason

On October 22, 2024 the MAC released the preseason coaches poll. Akron was picked to finish second in the MAC regular season and received 1 of the 12 first place votes.^[7]

Preseason rankings

MAC preseason poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Ohio	121 (11)
2	Akron	106 (1)
3	Kent State	99
4	Toledo	95
5	Bowling Green	73
6	Miami (OH)	72
7	Ball State	67
8	Central Michigan	55
9	Eastern Michigan	36
10	Western Michigan	33
11	Northern Illinois	24
12	Buffalo	11

MAC Tournament Champions: Ohio (8), Kent State (3), Toledo (1)

Source^[7]

Preseason All-MAC

Preseason All-MAC teams
Team	Player	Position	Year
Second	Isaiah Gray	Guard	Senior

Source^[7]

Roster

2024–25 Akron Zips men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	0	Amani Lyles	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jr	Beechcroft High School	Columbus, Ohio
G	1	Shammah Scott	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Wichita State	Cleveland, Ohio
F	2	Rich Brisco	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Fr	Hillcrest Prep	Brooklyn, New York
G	3	Sharron Young	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Fr	Morgantown High School	Morgantown, West Virginia
G	4	Eric Mahaffey	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Archbishop Moeller High School	Cincinnati, Ohio
G	5	Tavari Johnson	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Jr	Lyons High School	Chicago, Illinois
G	11	Conner Groce	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Fr	Revere High School	Richfield, Ohio
G	13	Isaiah Gray	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Sr	Cornell	Brooklyn, New York
G	14	Seth Wilson	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Sr	West Virginia	Lorain, Ohio
G	15	Bowen Hardman	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	Ohio State	Cincinnati, Ohio
G	20	Evan Wilson	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Noblesville High School	Noblesville, Indiana
G/F	21	Zach Halligan	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	So	Walsh Jesuit High School	Uniontown, Ohio
G/F	22	Josiah Harris	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	West Virginia	Canton, Ohio
G/F	23	Marvin Musiime-Kamali	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS Fr	Cushing Academy	Brockton, Massachusetts
F	32	James Okonkwo	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Sr	North Carolina	Maidenhead, England
G	34	Nate Johnson	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	RS Jr	Lakota East High School	Liberty Township, Ohio

Head coach

John Groce (Taylor)

Assistant coach(es)

Dustin Ford (Ohio)
Robby Pridgen (Roanoke)
Mike Allen (Ohio)
Jon Ekey (Illinois State)
Devan Morrow (Ohio State)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 17, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2024* 8:00 pm, ESPN+	at Arkansas State MAC-SBC Challenge	L 75–80 ^OT	0–1	15 – Young	12 – Okonkwo	7 – Gray	First National Bank Arena (4,610) Jonesboro, AR
November 8, 2024* 7:00 pm	Ohio Wesleyan	W 88–57	1–1	15 – Hardman	8 – Lyles	7 – Tied	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,154) Akron, OH
November 12, 2024* 10:00 pm, ESPN+	at Saint Mary's	L 68–87	1–2	16 – Harris	9 – Okonkwo	4 – Tied	University Credit Union Pavilion (3,316) Moraga, CA
November 22, 2024* 6:00 pm, ESPN+	Lamar Akron Basketball Classic	W 79–72	2–2	17 – T. Johnson	11 – Lyles	4 – T. Johnson	James A. Rhodes Arena (1,775) Akron, OH
November 23, 2024* 4:00 pm, ESPN+	Omaha Akron Basketball Classic	W 92–84	3–2	18 – Johnson	6 – Lyles	9 – T. Johnson	James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH
November 24, 2024* 3:00 pm, ESPN+	Alabama State Akron Basketball Classic	W 97–78	4–2	25 – N. Johnson	10 – Tied	4 – Tied	James A. Rhodes Arena (1,589) Akron, OH
December 3, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Northern Kentucky	W 86–73	5–2	27 – T. Johnson	7 – Harris	5 – T. Johnson	James A. Rhodes Arena (1,578) Akron, OH
December 7, 2024* 3:00 pm	SUNY Brockport	W 101–48	6–2	20 – Hardman	16 – Okonkwo	5 – Young	James A. Rhodes Arena (1,560) Akron, OH
December 15, 2024* 1:00 pm, ESPN+	vs. Milwaukee MKE Tip-Off	L 81–100	6–3	22 – T. Johnson	6 – N. Johnson	4 – N. Johnson	Fiserv Forum Milwaukee, WI
December 20, 2024* 7:00 pm, YouTube	vs. Yale Sun Bowl Invitational semifinals						Don Haskins Center El Paso, TX
December 21, 2024* 7:00/9:00 pm, YouTube	vs. Jackson State/ at UTEP Sun Bowl Invitational						Don Haskins Center El Paso, TX
December 30, 2024* 1:00 pm, ESPN+	at Princeton						Jadwin Gymnasium Princeton, NJ
MAC regular season
January 3, 2025 6:00 pm, CBSSN	at Bowling Green						Stroh Center Bowling Green, OH
January 7, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Central Michigan						James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH
January 11, 2025 ESPN+	at Eastern Michigan						George Gervin GameAbove Center Ypsilanti, MI
January 14, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Toledo						James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH
January 17, 2025 6:00 pm, CBSSN	Ohio						James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH
January 21, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Buffalo						Alumni Arena Amherst, NY
January 25, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Miami (OH)						James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH
January 28, 2025 8:00 pm, ESPN+	at Northern Illinois						Convocation Center DeKalb, IL
January 31, 2025 7:00 pm, CBSSN	at Kent State						MAC Center Kent, OH
February 4, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Ball State						James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH
February 11, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Western Michigan						James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH
February 15, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Central Michigan						McGuirk Arena Mount Pleasant, MI
February 18, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Northern Illinois						James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH
February 22, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+	at Ohio						Convocation Center Athens, OH
February 25, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Ball State						Worthen Arena Muncie, IN
March 1, 2025 ESPN+	Kent State						James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH
March 4, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Toledo						Savage Arena Toledo, OH
March 7, 2025 ESPN+	Buffalo						James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH
MAC tournament
March 13–15, 2025 ESPN+/CBSSN/ESPN2	vs.						Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[8]^[9]

References

^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Standings". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
^ "Enrique Freeman leads Akron men's basketball to MAC Tournament quarterfinal win over Miami". AOL. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
^ "Akron snaps out of slump to beat Ohio, advances to MAC tourney championship vs. Kent State". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
^ "Late mistake by Kent State allows Akron to pull out 62-61 win for MAC title, NCAA Tournament bid". AP News. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
^ "Latest bracket, schedule and scores for 2024 NCAA men's tournament". NCAA.com. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
^ "Creighton outmuscles Akron for 77-60 win in NCAA Tournament opener". Spectrum News Columbus. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "MAC Announces 2024-25 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll & Teams". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Akron Athletics. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
^ "Akron Zips 2024-25 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 17, 2024.

[1] "2023-24 Men's Basketball Standings". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved November 17, 2024.

[2] "Enrique Freeman leads Akron men's basketball to MAC Tournament quarterfinal win over Miami". AOL. Retrieved November 17, 2024.

[3] "Akron snaps out of slump to beat Ohio, advances to MAC tourney championship vs. Kent State". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved November 17, 2024.

[4] "Late mistake by Kent State allows Akron to pull out 62-61 win for MAC title, NCAA Tournament bid". AP News. Retrieved November 17, 2024.

[5] "Latest bracket, schedule and scores for 2024 NCAA men's tournament". NCAA.com. Retrieved November 17, 2024.

[6] "Creighton outmuscles Akron for 77-60 win in NCAA Tournament opener". Spectrum News Columbus. Retrieved November 17, 2024.

[poll-7] "MAC Announces 2024-25 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll & Teams". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved November 17, 2024.

[8] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Akron Athletics. Retrieved November 17, 2024.

[9] "Akron Zips 2024-25 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 17, 2024.

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