# 2019–20 Akron Zips men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Akron Zips men's basketball team represented the University of Akron during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Zips, led by third-year head coach John Groce, play their home games at the James A. Rhodes Arena as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.

## Previous season

The Zips finished the 2018–19 season 17–16, 8–10 in MAC play to finish in fourth place in the East Division. In the MAC tournament, they defeated Miami (OH) in the first round before losing to Buffalo in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jimond Ivey | 0 | G | 6’5” | 200 | RS Senior | Cleveland, OH | Graduated |
| Daniel Utomi | 3 | F | 6’6” | 215 | RS Junior | Houston, TX | Transferred to USC |
| Jeremy Roscoe | 13 | G | 6’2” | 190 | Sophomore | Chicago, IL | Transferred from program |
| Emmanuel Olojakpoke | 22 | F | 6’8” | 190 | Senior | Houston, TX | Transferred to Utah Valley |
| Jake Fischer | 24 | G | 6'4" | 180 | Sophomore | Columbus, OH | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Mark Kostelac | 44 | C | 6’11” | 250 | Sophomore | Cleveland, OH | Left mid-season |
| Khadim Gueye | 50 | C | 7’0” | 245 | Junior | Dakar, Senegal | Suspended mid-season; transferred to University of Tampa |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Maishe Dailey | 3 | F | 6’7” | 195 | Senior | Beachwood, OH | Transferred from Iowa. Under NCAA transfer rules, Williams will have to sit out for the 2019–20 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility. |
| Cameron Reece | 5 | F | 6’7” | | Junior | Oakland, CA | Junior college transferred from Sheridan College |
| Bryan Trimble Jr. | 15 | G | 6’2” | 216 | Junior | Kansas City, MO | Transferred from St. John's. Under NCAA transfer rules, Trimble will have to sit out for the 2019–20 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Greg Tribble SG | Cincinnati, OH | Winton Woods | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Apr 28, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Ali Ali SF | Kendallville, IN | East Noble High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Aug 29, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Mikal Dawson SG | Huntington, WV | Huntington Prep School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Aug 26, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Camron Reece PF | Oakland, CA | Sheridan College | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Sep 30, 2018 |
| 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: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 2, 2018. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 5, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Malone | W 81–64 | 1–0 | James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH |
| Nov 8, 2019* 7:00 pm, ATTSNPT | | at West Virginia | L 84–94 | 1–1 | WVU Coliseum (12,513) Morgantown, WV |
| Nov 15, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Carolina Central Global Sports Shootout | W 57–47 | 2–1 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,103) Akron, OH |
| Nov 18, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | USC Upstate Global Sports Shootout | W 76–45 | 3–1 | James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH |
| Nov 21, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. Youngstown State Global Sports Shootout | W 82–60 | 4–1 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,214) Akron, OH |
| Nov 24, 2019* 6:00 pm, ACCN | | at No. 2 Louisville Global Sports Shootout | L 76–82 | 4–2 | KFC Yum! Center (14,889) Louisville, KY |
| Nov 29, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Merrimack | W 64–47 | 5–2 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,028) Akron, OH |
| Dec 4, 2019* 7:00 pm | | at Marshall | W 85–73 | 6–2 | Cam Henderson Center (5,350) Huntington, WV |
| Dec 8, 2019* 2:00 pm | | Southern | W 72–57 | 7–2 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,036) Akron, OH |
| Dec 15, 2019* 2:00 pm | | Concord | W 100–50 | 8–2 | James A. Rhodes Arena (1,964) Akron, OH |
| Dec 20, 2019* 2:30 pm, FloHoops | | vs. Tulane DC Holiday Hoops Fest | W 62–61 | 9–2 | Entertainment and Sports Arena (707) Washington, D.C. |
| Dec 21, 2019* 3:30 pm, FloHoops | | vs. Liberty DC Holiday Hoops Fest | L 67–80 | 9–3 | Entertainment and Sports Arena (942) Washington, D.C. |
| Dec 30, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Massachusetts | W 85–79 | 10–3 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,375) Akron, OH |
| MAC Regular Season ||||||
| Jan 4, 2020 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan | W 69–45 | 11–3 (1–0) | Convocation Center (1,411) Ypsilanti, MI |
| Jan 7, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Western Michigan | W 84–69 | 12–3 (2–0) | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,522) Akron, OH |
| Jan 10, 2020 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | Ball State | W 75–60 | 13–3 (3–0) | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,706) Akron, OH |
| Jan 14, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Illinois | W 72–49 | 14–3 (4–0) | Convocation Center (884) DeKalb, IL |
| Jan 18, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Toledo | L 89–99 | 14–4 (4–1) | Savage Arena (4,386) Toledo, OH |
| Jan 21, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Miami (OH) | W 81–60 | 15–4 (5–1) | Millett Hall (988) Oxford, OH |
| Jan 25, 2020 3:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Ohio | W 88–86 | 16–4 (6–1) | Convocation Center (5,012) Athens, OH |
| Jan 28, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Buffalo | L 74–77 | 16–5 (6–2) | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,473) Akron, OH |
| Jan 31, 2020 6:30 pm, CBSSN | | at Kent State | L 67–68 | 16–6 (6–3) | MAC Center (6,339) Kent, OH |
| Feb 8, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Eastern Michigan | W 59–58 | 17–6 (7–3) | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,290) Akron, OH |
| Feb 11, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bowling Green | W 74–59 | 18–6 (8–3) | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,128) Akron, OH |
| Feb 15, 2020 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan | W 80–67 | 19–6 (9–3) | McGuirk Arena (1,906) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Feb 18, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Western Michigan | W 71–67 | 20–6 (10–3) | University Arena (1,652) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Feb 22, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Miami (OH) | W 75–65 | 21–6 (11–3) | James A. Rhodes Arena (4,405) Akron, OH |
| Feb 25, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bowling Green | L 60–78 | 21–7 (11–4) | Stroh Center (2,925) Bowling Green, OH |
| Feb 29, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Buffalo | W 86–73 | 22–7 (12–4) | Alumni Arena (5,870) Buffalo, NY |
| Mar 3, 2020 7:30 pm, CBSSN | | Ohio | W 74–67 | 23–7 (13–4) | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,825) Akron, OH |
| Mar 6, 2020 6:30 pm, CBSSN | | Kent State | W 79–76 | 24–7 (14–4) | James A. Rhodes Arena (5,500) Akron, OH |
| MAC tournament ||||||
| March 12, 2020 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (8) Ohio Quarterfinals | MAC Tournament cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | MAC Tournament cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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