# 2023–24 Akron Zips men's basketball team

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. 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. They were defeated by Creighton in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, bringing their final record to 24–11.

## Previous season

The Zips finished the 2022–23 season 22–11 and 13–5 in MAC play to finish in third place. As the third seed they defeated Buffalo in the first round of the MAC tournament before losing to Kent State.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| 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 |

### Incoming transfers

Transfers :
| 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 |

### Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Darrion Baker F | Chicago, Illinois | Hillcrest | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Zach Halligan G/F | Uniontown, Ohio | Walsh Jesuit High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Marvin Musiime-Kamali G/F | Boston, Massachusetts | Cushing Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 195 lb (88 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: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| 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. |||||||||
Source