The Akron and Kent State men’s basketball teams meet for another Wagon Wheel rivalry game at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30, at Rhodes Arena.
The Zips are 17-4 overall and 8-1 in the Mid-American Conference. The Golden Flashes are 16-5 and 7-2.
Akron is the reigning MAC regular-season and MAC Tournament champs, and reached the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year in 2025. Kent State represented the MAC in the NCAA Tournament in 2023.
Return throughout the night for live updates from Rhodes Arena.
Akron tops Kent State 69-52 in NCAA men’s basketball game
Akron tops Kent State 69-52 in NCAA men’s basketball game.
Akron coach John Groce took to a microphone and yelled to the crowd: “Thanks everyone for coming. It was electric in here. Go Zips.”
Tavari Johnson led Akron with 16 points and Bowen Hardman scored 15 points.
Delrecco Gillespie had 17 points and Morgan Safford finished with 10 points.
Akron made 25 of 60 shots from the field, including 11 of 34 shots from beyond the 3-point arc, and 8 of 12 free throws.
Kent State made 19 of 67 shots from the field, including 1 of 23 shots from beyond the 3-point arc, and 13 of 21 free throws. The Flashes were 0 of 13 on 3s in the second half.
Tavari Johnson makes third 3-pointer, Akron leads Kent State 64-41 in second half of NCAA men’s basketball game
Tavari Johnson makes his third 3-pointer of the game to give Akron a 64-41 lead over Kent State with 4:58 remaining in the second half.
Johnson is 3 of 5 from beyond the 3-point arc and has 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Akron extends lead to 61-41 over Kent State in second half of NCAA men’s basketball game
Eric Mahaffey makes a 3-pointer with 6:37 remaining in the second half and Shammah Scott makes a jumper at 5:49 to give Akron a 61-41 lead over Kent State.
KSU calls a timeout with 5:48 to go in the second half.
Akron’s Bowen Hardman and Kent’s Delrecco Gillespie each have 15 points.
Akron leads Kent State 56-40 in second half of NCAA men’s basketball game
Akron leads Kent State 56-40 with 7:31 to go in the second half. Eric Mahaffey gave Akron a 56-38 lead with a shot in the paint with 8:38 on the clock and Jahari Williamson answered with a field goal for Kent.
Chabi Barre is playing tonight for Akron after missing the past 10 games due to injury. Barre has three points, three rebounds, one assist and one block in nine minutes.
Bowen Hardman makes fifth 3-pointer, Akron leads Kent State 50-33 in second half of NCAA men’s basketball game
Bowen Hardman makes his fifth 3-pointer of the game to give Akron a 50-33 lead over Kent State with 12:23 remaining in the second half.
Hardman is 5 of 8 from beyond the 3-point arc and has 15 points.
Kent State calls timeout with 12:22 to go.
Bowen Hardman makes another 3-pointer, Akron leads Kent State 47-33 in second half of NCAA men’s basketball game
Bowen Hardman makes his fourth 3-pointer of the game to give Akron a 47-33 lead over Kent State with 15:40 remaining in the second half.
Hardman has 12 points.
Akron extends lead to 44-33 over Kent State in second half of NCAA men’s basketball game
Tavari Johnson and Shammah Scott each convert a 3-point play (layup and free throw) to give Akron a 44-33 lead with 16:28 to go in the second half.
Johnson has a game-high 13 points for Akron and Delrecco Gillespie has 10 points for Kent State.
Akron leads Kent State 38-29 halftime
The Zips lead from start to finish in the first half. Their biggest advantage was 11.
Tavari Johnson has a game-high 10 points for Akron. Delrecco Gillespie leads Kent State with eight points.
Akron made 14 of 28 shots from the field, including 6 of 17 shots from beyond the 3-point arc, and 4 of 6 free throws.
Kent State made 10 of 33 shots from the field, including 1 of 10 shots from beyond the 3-point arc, and 8 of 13 free throws.
Game delayed while floor is cleaned
We have an extended delay with 5:17 left in the first quarter. Akron athletic officials spent several minutes wiping up the floor.
The Zips lead 28-17.
Kent State offense picking it up, but Akron still leads
Kent State’s offense is gaining some traction, but Akron still leads 22-14 with 7:23 left in the first half.
Delrecco Gillespite has eight points for the Flashes. Amani Lyles, Eric Mahaffey and Tavari Johnson have five points apiece for the Zips.
Kent State finally breaks field goal drought
Morgan Safford’s layup with 12:35 left ends Kent State’s field goal drought. The Flashes missed their first nine shots.
Akron leads 13-4.
Akron zips out to 10-2 lead on Bowen Hardman 3-pointer
A Bowen Hardman 3-pointer gives Akron a 10-2 lead with 13:36 left in the first half and forces a Kent State 30-second timeout.
The Flashes are 0 of 7 from the field. Their only points have come on two Delrecco Gillespie free throws.
Emotions boil over after opening tip
Well, we have a scrum six seconds after the opening tip-off. It got so intense that Zips head coach John Groce and Flashes head coach Rob Senderoff raced off the bench to help settle things.
After cooler heads prevailed, we are underway.
Akron men’s basketball projected starters
Kent State men’s basketball projected starters
Kent State’s Rob Whaley Jr. to miss second straight game
Kent State forward-center Rob Whaley jr. is in street clothes again tonight and will miss his second straight game with an undisclosed injury.
Coach Rob Senderoff was hopeful of Whaley returning tonight. He does not anticipate his injury being long term.
Akron basketball stat leaders
Tavari Johnson is Akron’s leading scorer at 20.5 points per game and is also averaging 5.6 assists and 2.5 rebounds.
Akron’s other top players are Amani Lyles (15.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists), Shammah Scott (13.3 points, 2.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds), Evan Mahaffey (9.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists), Eric Mahaffey (8.2 points, 5.9 rebounds), Sharron Young (7.6 points) and Bowen Hardman (7.2 points).
Kent State basketball stat leaders
Delrecco Gillespie is the No. 1 player in NCAA Division I men’s basketball in double-doubles with 16 in 20 games and rebounds per game with an average of 12.3. He is also KSU’s leading scorer at 19.1 points.
KSU also features Morgan Safford (13.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg), Rob Whaley Jr. (12.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg), Cian Medley (10.8 ppg, 6.9 apg) and Jahari Williamson (10 ppg).
Kent State basketball injury update on Rob Whaley Jr.
Whether Rob Whaley Jr., a starting forward/center, will play is a significant factor for Kent State tonight is to be determined. Whaley sat out during Kent State’s 72-57 win over Ohio on Jan. 27 at the M.A.C. Center because of an undisclosed injury. Dezmon Briscoe started in his place. Whaley is Kent State’s third-leading scorer.
KSU coach Rob Senderoff said Whaley’s setback is “not a long-term injury,” but Senderoff spoke as if Whaley’s status for the Akron game is up in the air. “I think it’s a possibility [he’ll play], but not sure,” Senderoff said.
Where are Akron and Kent State in the MAC basketball standings?
Entering Friday, Jan. 30, Miami (21-0, 9-0) remains atop the MAC standings.
Akron (17-4, 8-1) is second in the MAC and Kent State (16-5, 7-2) is third.
With a 91-81 victory over Toledo on Jan. 27, Akron extended its winning streak at Rhodes Arena to 27 games. The Zips have also won their last seven games.
Akron Zips basketball vs. Kent State Golden Flashes series history
The Akron-Kent State men’s basketball series began during the 1915-16 season.
Akron leads the all-time series 85-82 and has won the past five meetings on Jan. 19, 2024 (77-71 at KSU), Feb. 23, 2024 (83-70 at UA), March 16, 2024 (62-61 in MAC Tournament final in Cleveland), Jan. 31, 2025 (85-71 at KSU) and Feb. 28, 2025 (77-72 at UA).
The last time KSU beat UA was March 10, 2023, when the Flashes prevailed 79-73 in a MAC Tournament semifinal in Cleveland.
Akron’s home record is 47-25 all-time against Kent.
Akron men’s basketball coach John Groce at a glance
Akron head coach John Groce has a 367-224 overall record with a 185-92 mark at Akron. This is his ninth season as the Zips coach after five seasons as the coach at Illinois and four seasons as the coach at Ohio.
Groce is 12-7 as Akron’s coach against Kent State, and 16-12 overall versus KSU, including his time at Ohio.
Kent State men’s basketball coach Rob Senderoff at a glance
Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff has a overall record of 304-181, all with the Golden Flashes. This is his 15th season as KSU’s coach.
How to watch Akron vs. Kent State game
The Akron vs. Kent State men’s basketball game will be televised by CBS Sports Network, and it can be heard on local radio via WHLO 640-AM and Fox Sports 1350-AM.
Akron Beacon Journal sports writer Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.
Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com
On X: @mpopovichREP | On Instagram: mike_popovich | On Snapchat: popovich_mike | On TikTok: mikepopovich
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron men’s basketball score, recap vs. Kent State. Zips roll to win
Reporting by Michael Beaven and Mike Popovich, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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