Akron Zips men's basketball team must stay on the defensive for continued success

The University of Akron men’s basketball team owes its 14-6 record mostly to one aspect of its game — defense.

That's what coach John Groce preaches and it’s certainly what he makes his team practice. Given how the Mid-American Conference is shaking out, it’s also what’s going to have to remain the Zips' calling card.

Toledo, with the MAC's highest scoring offense, is just below the second-place Zips in the standings, while the first-place team, rival Kent State, ranks fifth in scoring.

However, coach Rob Senderoff’s Golden Flashes possess balance on both ends of the court. They also rank second in the conference in scoring defense, which accounts for their impressive 16-4, 6-1 start to the season.

In all, it should make for an interesting run through the rest of the conference schedule for the Zips, who rank 10th in scoring offense and can’t afford many more nights like Tuesday’s game against Miami in which they forgot who they are.

Groce said his team was fortunate to win that game.

“It was one of our worst defensive performances of the year,” he said. “Our offense bailed us out.”

Akron Zips win ugly over Miami RedHawks

The Zips, 6-1 in the MAC, eked out a 73-68 win in ugly fashion, which included foul trouble for two key players — forward Enrique Freeman and guard Greg Tribble.

UA allowed the RedHawks to connect on 52% of their shots, including better than 66% shooting in the second half. Were it not for guard Xavier Castaneda’s second consecutive game of 32 points — and they needed nearly all of them — the Zips would have fallen to a team that walked into Rhodes Arena with a 7-12 record.

The Zips’ margin of error, unless they find more consistency on offense, is a slim one if they want to contend for the regular-season conference title and optimize their seeding for the MAC Tournament.

Here’s a little perspective: in the Zips' two most recent too-close-for-comfort games — wins over Bowling Green and Miami — they allowed the opposing team to shoot 49% and 52%, respectively.

In its three previous games, UA didn't allowed a team to shoot better than 40%. And that’s the type of steadiness the Zips will have to strive for on that end of the court.

Akron still looking for balance on both ends of the court

Right now, the balance needed — the balance Kent State has shown — is missing from the Zips, and it’s pretty clear they cannot suffer through too many games in which that continues. After dealing with a relatively soft portion of their conference schedule, it’s a murderers' row the next four games as they face Ohio (Saturday), Buffalo (Tuesday), Kent State (Friday on national TV) and Toledo (Feb. 7). Those teams all rank in the top five in scoring offense in the MAC.

What will the Zips need to do?

Go back to Tuesday’s game, which the Zips led by only two points with under three minutes left. There were more than a few incidences when the mental errors on defense were egregious.

Groce noted the team played like it had practiced earlier in the week. But he said he saw a difference in Thursday’s practice.

“They're so focused on practice today needing to be better than it was the day before the Miami game because it was awful,” he said.

Akron Zips need to get back their defensive mojo

Beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday at home against Ohio, the Zips need to have effort and execution. Groce — like any coach — won’t allow his team to get ahead of itself. He wants the emphasis on the Bobcats, his former team.

As much as fans likely appreciate the fact that Castaneda has scored 32 points in consecutive games, his shoulders are only so broad and he can only carry so much. The Zips need Freeman, who has been in foul trouble and scored in single digits in two of the past three games, to return to his double-double form.

And, yes, they need a consistent third scorer. But they also know their bread and butter is defense. They cannot afford to lapse in that area.

“We're focused on trying to play a little bit better defensively on Saturday,” Groce said.

Reach George M. Thomas at gthomas@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron men's basketball team needs to keep clamping down on defense