2023–24 Akron Zips men's basketball team

2023–24 Akron Zips men's basketball
2023–24 Akron Zips men's basketball
MAC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	24–11 (13–5 MAC)
Head coach	John Groce (7th season);
Associate head coach	Dustin Ford (7th season)
Assistant coaches	Rob Fulford (7th season); Robby Pridgen (7th season);
Home arena	James A. Rhodes Arena
	Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

The 2023–24 Akron Zips men's basketball team represented the University of Akron during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Zips, led by seventh-year head coach John Groce, played their home games at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio as members of the Mid-American Conference.^[1]^[2]^[3] They finished the regular season 21–10, 13–5 in MAC play to finish tied for 2nd place. They defeated Miami, Ohio, and Kent State to win the MAC tournament, earning them a bid to the NCAA Tournament as a 14-seed in the Midwest region.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] They were defeated by Creighton in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, bringing their final record to 24–11.^[8]

ConferenceMid-American Conference

Record24–11 (13–5 MAC)

Headcoach

John Groce (7th season)

Associate headcoachDustin Ford (7th season)

Quick facts Akron Zips men's basketball, MAC tournament champions ...

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2023–24 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Toledo	14	–	4	.778	20	–	12	.625
Akron †	13	–	5	.722	24	–	11	.686
Ohio	13	–	5	.722	20	–	13	.606
Central Michigan	12	–	6	.667	18	–	14	.563
Bowling Green	10	–	8	.556	20	–	14	.588
Western Michigan	9	–	9	.500	12	–	20	.375
Miami (OH)	9	–	9	.500	15	–	17	.469
Kent State	8	–	10	.444	17	–	17	.500
Ball State	7	–	11	.389	15	–	16	.484
Eastern Michigan	6	–	12	.333	13	–	18	.419
Northern Illinois	5	–	13	.278	11	–	20	.355
Buffalo	2	–	16	.111	4	–	27	.129

† 2024 MAC tournament winner

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Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Garvin Clarke	G	6'0"	184	Sophomore	Euclid, Ohio	Transferred to Indiana (PA)
Kobe Mitchell	G	6'2"	190	Sophomore	Cadiz, Ohio	Transferred to Walsh
Trendon Hankerson	G	6'2"	185	Grad. Student	Euclid, Ohio	Exhausted Eligibility
Xavier Castaneda	G	6'1"	188	Senior	Chicago, Illinois	Exhausted Eligibility
Prince Mosengo	F	6'8"	205	Freshman	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Transferred to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Shammah Scott	G	6'2	180	Junior	Cleveland, Ohio	Transferred from Wichita State
Kaleb Thornton	G	6'0	175	Senior	Cadiz, Ohio	Transferred from Northern Illinois
Ali Ali	G	6'8	205	Senior	Kendallville, Indiana	Transferred from Butler

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight
Darrion Baker F	Chicago, Illinois	Hillcrest	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)
Darrion Baker F	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: (NR)
Zach Halligan G/F	Uniontown, Ohio	Walsh Jesuit High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)
Zach Halligan G/F	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: (NR)
Marvin Musiime-Kamali G/F	Boston, Massachusetts	Cushing Academy	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)
Marvin Musiime-Kamali G/F	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: (NR)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023* 9:15 p.m., SLN		at South Dakota State	W 81–75	1–0	19 – Dawson	14 – Freeman	5 – Freeman	Frost Arena (2,617) Brookings, SD
November 10, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Southern Miss MAC-SBC Challenge	W 72–54	2–0	17 – N. Johnson	8 – Freeman	2 – Tied	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,432) Akron, OH
November 14, 2023* 7:30 p.m., −		Heidelberg	W 114–56	3–0	25 – Dawson	17 – Freeman	9 – Thornton	James A. Rhodes Arena (1,782) Akron, OH
November 19, 2023* 7:30 p.m., FloSports		vs. FIU Cayman Islands Classic quarterfinals	W 77–71	4–0	27 – Freeman	14 – Freeman	3 – Dawson	John Gray Gymnasium (−) George Town, Cayman Islands
November 20, 2023* 7:30 p.m., FloSports		vs. Utah State Cayman Islands Classic semifinals	L 62–65	4–1	25 – Freeman	13 – Freeman	3 – Tribble	John Gray Gymnasium (−) George Town, Cayman Islands
November 21, 2023* 5:00 p.m., FloSports		vs. Drake Cayman Islands Classic 3rd place game	L 59–79	4–2	11 – Tied	5 – Scott	4 – T. Johnson	John Gray Gymnasium (−) George Town, Cayman Islands
November 28, 2023* 10:00 p.m., MWN		at UNLV	L 70–72	4–3	22 – Freeman	13 – Freeman	6 – Johnson	Thomas & Mack Center (4,702) Paradise, NV
December 5, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Bradley	W 67–52	5–3	21 – Freeman	18 – Freeman	3 – Tied	James A. Rhodes Arena (3,100) Akron, OH
December 9, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Northern Kentucky	W 77–76	6–3	21 – Freeman	10 – Freeman	5 – Tied	Truist Arena (4,163) Highland Heights, KY
December 17, 2023* 2:00 p.m., −		Miami-Hamilton	W 88–45	7–3	15 – Tied	17 – Freeman	5 – Thornton	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,605) Akron, OH
December 21, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Gardner–Webb	W 94–90 ^OT	8–3	29 – Ali	20 – Freeman	5 – N. Johnson	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,756) Akron, OH
December 30, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		vs. St. Bonaventure Legends of Basketball Showcase	L 61–62	8–4	20 – Ali	13 – Freeman	3 – Tied	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (−) Cleveland, OH
MAC regular season
January 2, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Northern Illinois	W 73–51	9–4 (1–0)	21 – Freeman	10 – Freeman	5 – Thornton	Convocation Center (917) DeKalb, IL
January 5, 2024 9:00 p.m., CBSSN		Bowling Green	W 83–67	10–4 (2–0)	24 – Freeman	11 – Freeman	5 – Thornton	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,394) Akron, OH
January 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Ball State	W 80–76	11–4 (3–0)	17 – Ali	13 – Freeman	3 – Ali	Worthen Arena (3,715) Muncie, IN
January 12, 2024 7:00 p.m., CBSSN		Buffalo	W 76–59	12–4 (4–0)	21 – Freeman	15 – Freeman	4 – Tribble	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,535) Akron, OH
January 16, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Western Michigan	W 77–66	13–4 (5–0)	20 – Freeman	14 – Freeman	6 – Thornton	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,061) Akron, OH
January 19, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Kent State	W 77–71	14–4 (6–0)	23 – Tied	9 – Scott	4 – Hunter	MAC Center (6,330) Kent, OH
January 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Ohio	W 67–58	15–4 (7–0)	19 – Freeman	14 – Freeman	2 – Tied	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,604) Akron, OH
January 27, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Miami (OH)	L 68–70	15–5 (7–1)	23 – Ali	12 – Freeman	3 – Tied	Millett Hall (1,408) Oxford, OH
January 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Eastern Michigan	W 77–46	16–5 (8–1)	17 – Freeman	11 – Freeman	3 – Ali	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,733) Ypsilanti, MI
February 3, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Toledo	W 77–70	17–5 (9–1)	26 – Ali	14 – Freeman	4 – Freeman	James A. Rhodes Arena (3,151) Akron, OH
February 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Central Michigan	W 68–47	18–5 (10–1)	17 – Tied	15 – Freeman	3 – Thornton	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,268) Akron, OH
February 10, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN2		at James Madison MAC-SBC Challenge	L 59–73	18–6	20 – Tribble	10 – Freeman	2 – Freeman	Atlantic Union Bank Center (6,454) Harrisonburg, VA
February 17, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Buffalo	W 73–62	19–6 (11–1)	16 – Freeman	15 – Freeman	4 – Tied	Alumni Arena (2,721) Buffalo, NY
February 20, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Toledo	L 64–72	19–7 (11–2)	19 – Tribble	15 – Freeman	2 – Tied	Savage Arena (5,547) Toledo, OH
February 23, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Kent State	W 83–70	20–7 (12–2)	24 – Freeman	12 – Freeman	4 – Ali	James A. Rhodes Arena (5,160) Akron, OH
February 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Ohio	L 67–74	20–8 (12–3)	16 – Ali	7 – Freeman	3 – N. Johnson	Convocation Center (5,753) Athens, OH
March 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Northern Illinois	W 80–73	21–8 (13–3)	22 – Freeman	11 – Freeman	4 – Ali	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,331) Akron, OH
March 5, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Eastern Michigan	L 60–61	21–9 (13–4)	15 – Freeman	13 – Freeman	3 – Tied	James A. Rhodes Arena (1,923) Akron, OH
March 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Western Michigan	L 84–90	21–10 (13–5)	18 – Tribble	11 – Freeman	5 – Tribble	University Arena (1,636) Kalamazoo, MI
MAC tournament
March 14, 2024 4:30 p.m., ESPN+	(2)	vs. (7) Miami (OH) Quarterfinals	W 75–63	22–10	30 – Freeman	12 – Freeman	5 – Ali	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (7,854) Cleveland, OH
March 15, 2024 7:30 p.m., CBSSN	(2)	vs. (3) Ohio Semifinals	W 65–62	23–10	24 – Freeman	21 – Freeman	3 – Tied	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (7,802) Cleveland, OH
March 16, 2024 7:30 p.m., ESPN2	(2)	vs. (8) Kent State Championship	W 63–62	24–10	18 – Ali	9 – Freeman	5 – Ali	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (7,955) Cleveland, OH
NCAA tournament
March 21, 2024 1:30 p.m., TNT	(14 MW)	vs. (3 MW) No. 11 Creighton First Round	L 60–77	24–11	21 – Freeman	14 – Freeman	2 – Ali	PPG Paints Arena Pittsburgh, PA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time.

2023–24 Akron Zips men's basketball team

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