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Akron men's basketball vs. Eastern Michigan, what to know in MAC opener
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- Akron men's basketball vs. Eastern Michigan, what to know in MAC opener
Scoring points continues to be no problem for the University of Akron men's basketball team .
Defense ... well, that has been an issue, at times, one the Zips hope to clean up as Mid-American Conference play begins.
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After trips to New Orleans and suburban Las Vegas the past two weeks, Akron returns home to play Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19. in its MAC opener.
Here are five things to know about Akron (8-3) ahead of its game against Eastern Michigan (6-5).
Akron Zips tune up for MAC play with lots of travel
Akron comes into its MAC opener after losing 115-100 to Murray State in the Jack Jones Classic in Henderson, Nevada on Dec. 13. That followed an 88-71 win at Tulane on Dec. 6.
Those results came after the Zips played in the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands four weeks ago . They defeated Iona and Evansville before a loss to Yale in the championship game. They scored at least 94 points in all three games, part of a streak of five straight games of 90-plus points before scoring 88 in the win at Tulane.
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Akron basketball coach John Groce offers insight ahead of Mid-American Conference opener
John Groce continues to be happy with Akron's offense.
"I like our guys and I think offensively, we have been elite," Groce said. "We need to continue to build on that, but defensively we just haven't been good enough. We have got to be way better on that end of the floor. The guys know it. Everybody knows it in our program. We gotta get it to where we are more impactful on that end.
"Offensively, we have been really good. We have gotta get our defense better."
Akron Zips guard Tavari Johnson goes to the basket ahead of Toledo guard Sonny Wilson in the first half of a Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinal, Friday, March 14, 2025, in Cleveland.
Tavari Johnson leads Akron in loss to Murray State
Tavari Johnson scored 28 points and Sharron Young contributed 20 points in Akron's loss to Murray State.
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Akron's Amani Lyles totaled 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. Halil "Chabi" Barre contributed 10 points, three rebounds and two blocks.
Murray State separated from Akron with its 3-point shooting. The Racers made 18 of 32 shots from beyond the arc and the Zips made 7 of 18. Layne Taylor made 6 of 9 3s for Murray State in scoring 23 points, one of seven Racers scoring double-figures.
"There are obviously some things we are working on," Groce said of defending 3-point shooters. "A lot of it starts, honestly, with multiple efforts on that end of the floor. I think our guys obviously are very confident in what we bring to the table offensively, but you can't rely on that just to outscore people. We have got to be more impactful on that end of the floor, whether its 3s or other areas that we have got to be better at defensively."
Akron guard Sharron Young pressures Princeton guard Jackson Hicke in the first half, Nov. 8, 2025.
Akron men's basketball record in MAC openers
Akron enters Friday with a 24-9 record in MAC openers since joining the conference ahead of the 1992-1993 season.
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Groce is 7-1 in MAC openers as Akron's coach with wins in each of the past seven seasons.
"This team is different where we are at a different stage," Groce said. "We have got this elite offense. Our focus necessarily hasn't been on an opponent. It is regardless of who we play, for us to do what we want to do, our defense has got to be a lot better. That has been the total focus at this point. It is unique, obviously, that we play a league game on Dec. 19. That is the first time in my career that we have played a league game this early at any of the three places I have been at [as a head coach]."
Former Akron coaches Coleman Crawford (2-1), Dan Hipsher (5-4) and Keith Dambrot (10-3) also compiled winning records in MAC openers.
Akron coach John Groce talks about Zips' matchup vs. Eastern Michigan
Groce is hopeful that Akron's defense will be "more consistent" against an EMU team that features coach Stan Heath and 6-foot-9 redshirt freshman forward Mohammad Habhab.
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"Anytime you are going to play Stan's teams, you gotta be ready to go offensively because they are gritty defensively," Groce said. "He has been be able to have some success here early with some big wins, including one at Cincinnati. They have played both zone and man [defensively] and been successful during stretches with both.
"I think they have got great depth. More depth probably than they have had previously [in recent seasons]. They are really good rebounding the ball. Habhab is maybe as big a surpise as anyone in our league to this point. He leads the league in double-doubles [with five]. He averages [14.9] points and gets [8.1] rebounds a night, and is a plus passer [with 3.2 assists per game]. ... He is a load down there [in the paint]."
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron vs Eastern Michigan men's basketball, 5 things to know
