The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 190 is Akron basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Akron basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 0
- Bids: 8
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 14.5
- Bids per season: 0.11
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 4
- Conference Players of the Year: 8
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 10
- Conference tournament titles: 8
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Akron basketball
We’ve been having a lot of programs lately where the good years came decades ago, but lately, they haven’t had much to show for. The opposite is true of Akron basketball. Four of the Zips’ eight tourney bids have come in the last five years, and seven of them since 2009.
Interestingly enough, the odd one out was in 1986 under an up-and-coming head coach in Bob Huggins. “Huggy Bear” would go 97-46 in five seasons with the Zips, moving on to Cincinnati, and eventually Kansas State and West Virginia. About 11% of Huggins’ 863 career wins came at Akron.
After Huggins left, Akron went through some so-so rough patches. But Keith Dambrot took over in 2004 and had instant success. In 13 seasons, he never had a losing record and got Akron 20+ wins every year but his first season, when they went 19-10. Unfortunately, his teams never won an NCAA Tournament game in three tries, but they did win six MAC regular season titles. Dambrot went an outstanding 305-139 in his time there.
When Dambrot left for Duquesne, Akron didn’t slow down. John Groce came in, and in nine seasons, he has arguably outperformed Dambrot. Groce’s got a 197-94 record, with a pair of MAC regular season titles, but four NCAA Tournament bids. However, like Dambrot, he’s yet to win a game in March Madness, despite good opportunities.
During this run, Akron basketball has dominated the MAC awards leaderboard. Dambrot won Coach of the Year in 2013, 2016, and 2017. Groce won it in 2020 and 2025.
Meanwhile, Zips to win MAC POY include Romeo Travis (2007), Isaiah Johnson (2017), Loren Christian Jackson (2020), Enrique Freeman (2024), and Nate Johnson (2025).
If there is one program that has absolutely dominated the MAC in the 21st century, Akron would be my vote. But dominance in the conference has led to zero runs in March Madness, and unfortunately, that’s a pretty important part that they are still missing.