# 2017–18 Akron Zips men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Akron Zips men's basketball team represented the University of Akron during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Zips, led by first-year head coach John Groce, 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 14–18, 6–12 in MAC play to finish in last place in the East Division. In the MAC tournament, they defeated Western Michigan in the first round before losing to Eastern Michigan in the quarterfinals.

## Previous season

The Zips finished the 2016–17 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 to accept the head coaching position at Duquesne. On April 5, 2017, the school hired former Ohio and Illinois head coach John Groce to replace Dambrot.

## Offseason
### Recruiting 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: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 11, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Cleveland State | W 67–57 | 1–0 | James A. Rhodes Arena (4,036) Akron, OH |
| Nov 18, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UT Martin | W 76–59 | 2–0 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,713) Akron, OH |
| Nov 25, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSOH | | at Dayton | L 60–73 | 2–1 | UD Arena (12,872) Dayton, OH |
| Nov 28, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Chattanooga | W 75–70 | 3–1 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,495) Akron, OH |
| Dec 2, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Marshall | L 64–86 | 3–2 | Cam Henderson Center (5,104) Huntington, WV |
| Dec 6, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Fort Wayne | W 83–79 | 4–2 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,340) Akron, OH |
| Dec 9, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Appalachian State | W 94–89 | 5–2 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,219) Akron, OH |
| Dec 16, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Mississippi Valley State | W 81–63 | 6–2 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,155) Akron, OH |
| Dec 22, 2017* 7:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. USC Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals | L 53-84 | 6-3 | Stan Sheriff Center (7,669) Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 23, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Princeton Diamond Head Classic consolation 2nd round | L 62-64 | 6-4 | Stan Sheriff Center (5,811) Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 25, 2017* 12:30pm, ESPNU | | vs. Davidson Diamond Head Classic 7th place game | L 78–91 | 6–5 | Stan Sheriff Center (6,698) Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 29, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Concord | W 86–49 | 7–5 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,283) Akron, OH |
| MAC regular season ||||||
| Jan 2, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Western Michigan | L 75–87 | 7–6 (0–1) | University Arena (2,110) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Jan 5, 2018 6:30 pm, CBSSN | | at Toledo | L 65–67 | 7–7 (0–2) | Savage Arena (4,155) Toledo, OH |
| Jan 9, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Buffalo | L 65–87 | 7–8 (0–3) | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,924) Akron, OH |
| Jan 13, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Bowling Green | W 80–78 | 8–8 (1–3) | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,204) Akron, OH |
| Jan 16, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Eastern Michigan | L 49–63 | 8–9 (1–4) | Convocation Center (1,254) Ypsilanti, MI |
| Jan 20, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northern Illinois | W 82–67 | 9–9 (2–4) | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,378) Akron, OH |
| Jan 23, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Ohio | W 71–68 | 10–9 (3–4) | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,653) Akron, OH |
| Jan 27, 2018 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Ball State | L 106–111 $^{2OT}$ | 10–10 (3–5) | Worthen Arena (3,867) Muncie, IN |
| Jan 30, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Miami (OH) | L 64–79 | 10–11 (3–6) | Millett Hall (1,808) Oxford, OH |
| Feb 3, 2018 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | Toledo | L 56–77 | 10–12 (3–7) | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,584) Akron, OH |
| Feb 6, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Ohio | L 75–99 | 10–13 (3–8) | Convocation Center Athens, OH |
| Feb 10, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Central Michigan | W 69–63 | 11–13 (4–8) | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,564) Akron, OH |
| Feb 13, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Ball State | L 77–90 | 11–14 (4–9) | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,543) Akron, OH |
| Feb 17, 2018 2:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Kent State | L 68–78 | 11–15 (4–10) | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (6,055) Kent, OH |
| Feb 20, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Bowling Green | W 81–79 | 12–15 (5–10) | Stroh Center (1,540) Bowling Green, OH |
| Feb 24, 2018 2:00 pm, CBSSN | | Miami (OH) | L 62–64 $^{OT}$ | 12–16 (5–11) | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,751) Akron, OH |
| Feb 27, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Buffalo | L 68–80 | 12–17 (5–12) | Alumni Arena (3,659) Amherst, NY |
| Mar 2, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Kent State | W 67–65 | 13–17 (6–12) | James A. Rhodes Arena (4,349) Akron, OH |
| MAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 2018 7:45 pm, ESPN3 | (11) | at (6) Western Michigan First round | W 79–78 | 14–17 | University Arena (897) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Mar 8, 2018 9:00 pm, ESPN3 | (11) | vs. (3) Eastern Michigan Quarterfinals | L 58–67 | 14–18 | Quicken Loans Arena (2,605) Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||