# 2020–21 Akron Zips men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Akron Zips men's basketball team represented the University of Akron during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Zips, led by fourth-year head coach John Groce, played their home games at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Zips finished the season 15–8, 12–6 in MAC play to finish in a tie for third place. They defeated Bowling Green in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament before losing to Buffalo in the semifinals.

## Previous season

The Zips finished the 2019–20 season 24–7, 14–4 in MAC play to win the East Division. They were to play Ohio in the conference tournament before the season ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Tyler Cheese | 4 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Senior | Albany, GA | Graduated |
| Deng Riak | 10 | C | 6'10" | 225 | Senior | Melbourne, Australia | Graduated |
| Channel Banks | 11 | G | 6'4" | 186 | Senior | Las Vegas, NV | Graduated |
| Marquelle McIntyre | 12 | G | 5'10" | 175 | Senior | Greensboro, NC | Walk-on; graduated |
| Xeyrius Williams | 20 | F | 6'9" | 205 | Senior | Huber Heights, OH | Graduated |
| Jaden Sayles | 23 | F | 6'9" | 235 | Junior | Cincinnati, OH | Transferred to Stony Brook |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Jermaine Marshall | 4 | F | 6'6" | 220 | Sophomore | Birmingham, AL | Transferred from Florida SouthWestern State. Will have one year of remaining eligibility. |
| Michael Wynn | 13 | F | 6'6" | 210 | Junior | Albany, NY | Transferred from Wake Forest. Under NCAA transfer rules, Wynn will have to sit out for the 2020–21 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Taylor Currie | 33 | F | 6'8" | 225 | Sophomore | Clarkston, MI | Transferred from Wisconsin. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Garvin Clarke #38 CG | Euclid, OH | Euclid | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Oct 15, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| 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: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Nate Johnson #55 SG | Middletown, OH | Lakota East | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Nov 9, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Sekou Sada Kalle PF | Louisville, KY | Aspire Basketball Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Nov 8, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: 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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

Akron had to cancel its games against Middle Tennessee and Miami (OH) due to COVID-19. They have postponed games against Eastern Michigan and Ohio.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* | | Middle Tennessee | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH |
| December 5, 2020* | | Marshall | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH |
| December 12, 2020 2:00 pm | | Cedarville | W 97–49 | 1–0 | 19 – Jackson | 8 – Reece | 9 – Jackson | James A. Rhodes Arena (0) Akron, OH |
| December 15, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. St. Bonaventure | L 74–81 | 1–1 | 22 – Jackson | 9 – Marshall | 7 – Jackson | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (150) Cleveland, OH |
| December 19, 2020 2:00 pm | | Malone | W 93–83 | 2–1 | 34 – Jackson | 21 – Freeman | 10 – Jackson | James A. Rhodes Arena (0) Akron, OH |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| December 22, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Ohio | W 90–70 | 3–1 (1–0) | 22 – Trimble Jr. | 8 – Tied | 8 – Jackson | James A. Rhodes Arena (0) Akron, OH |
| January 1, 2021 7:00 pm | | Kent State | W 66–62 | 4–1 (2–0) | 31 – Jackson | 9 – Freeman | 6 – Jackson | James A. Rhodes Arena (25) Akron, OH |
| January 5, 2021 | | at Eastern Michigan | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Convocation Center Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 9, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan | L 59–71 | 4–2 (2–1) | 10 – Tied | 5 – Wynn | 3 – Ali | Convocation Center (0) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 12, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Illinois | L 65–67 | 4–3 (2–2) | 15 – Ali | 11 – Freeman | 7 – Jackson | Convocation Center (0) DeKalb, IL |
| January 16, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Toledo | W 95–94 $^{OT}$ | 5–3 (3–2) | 34 – Jackson | 6 – Ali | 7 – Jackson | James A. Rhodes Arena (0) Akron, OH |
| January 19, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bowling Green | W 69–57 | 6–3 (4–2) | 18 – Trimble Jr. | 14 – Freeman | 6 – Jackson | Stroh Center (0) Bowling Green, OH |
| January 21, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Central Michigan | W 81–67 | 7–3 (5–2) | 25 – Trimble Jr. | 12 – Freeman | 10 – Jackson | James A. Rhodes Arena (0) Akron, OH |
| January 23, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Western Michigan | W 79–68 | 8–3 (6–2) | 32 – Jackson | 10 – Freeman | 6 – Jackson | University Arena (0) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 26, 2021 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Eastern Michigan | W 86–65 | 9–3 (7–2) | 14 – Dailey | 10 – Reece | 5 – Ali | James A. Rhodes Arena (0) Akron, OH |
| January 30, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Ball State | W 74–42 | 10–3 (8–2) | 16 – Jackson | 8 – Freeman | 6 – Jackson | James A. Rhodes Arena (0) Akron, OH |
| February 2, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Toledo | L 76–91 | 10–4 (8–3) | 32 – Jackson | 11 – Freeman | 4 – Jackson | Savage Arena (0) Toledo, OH |
| February 5, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Kent State | W 72–61 | 11–4 (9–3) | 26 – Trimble Jr. | 11 – Freeman | 8 – Jackson | James A. Rhodes Arena (0) Akron, OH |
| February 9, 2021 | | at Ohio | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Convocation Center Athens, OH |
| February 12, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Miami (OH) | W 83–76 | 12–4 (10–3) | 25 – Jackson | 7 – Freeman | 8 – Dailey | Millett Hall (0) Oxford, OH |
| February 16, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northern Illinois | W 81–76 | 13–4 (11–3) | 22 – Trimble Jr. | 8 – Freeman | 7 – Jackson | James A. Rhodes Arena (0) Akron, OH |
| February 19, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Ball State | W 88–79 | 14–4 (12–3) | – | – | – | Worthen Arena (0) Muncie, IN |
| February 27, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Bowling Green | L 71–83 | 14–6 (12–5) | 29 – Jackson | 9 – Freeman | 4 – Jackson | James A. Rhodes Arena (0) Akron, OH |
| March 2, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Buffalo | L 78–80 | 14–7 (12–6) | 27 – Jackson | 12 – Freeman | 4 – Jackson | Alumni Arena (0) Amherst, NY |
| March 5, 2021 | | Miami (OH) | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH |
| MAC tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (3) | vs. (6) Bowling Green Quarterfinals | W 74–67 | 15–7 | 31 – Jackson | 9 – Freeman | 4 – Jackson | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (0) Cleveland, OH |
| March 12, 2021 7:30 pm, CBSSN | (3) | vs. (2) Buffalo Semifinals | L 74–81 $^{OT}$ | 15–8 | 27 – Jackson | 14 – Freeman | 5 – Jackson | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (0) Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Not released |
| Coaches | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings