Sports
Ohio ends Akron’s 14-game winning streak, clinch spot in MAC Tournament
By: Grant Kiefer
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — There’s an argument that no team is hotter in the country than the Akron Zips. The Zips came into Saturday’s game with the longest winning streak in the country and were undefeated in MAC play. That was until Ohio came out with an unfamiliar intensity that led to its most impressive win of the season, taking down Akron 84-67.
These teams’ last meeting was the polar opposite of what happened in Athens–Akron got out to an insurmountable lead that Ohio couldn’t work back from. The Bobcats have had problems gaining early leads this season, but that wasn’t an issue Saturday. Ohio led for over 39 minutes and trailed for just 26 seconds.
“It was key for us to get off to a good start, to get the crowd into it, not let them get any momentum,” head coach Jeff Boals said. “Even for both halves and from the tip on, there they were. The crowd was awesome.”
Saturday’s attendance was a season-high, as the environment proved to be too much to handle for Akron. Akron head coach John Groce has struggled at the Convo during his tenure with the Zips, sporting a 3-5 record.
Jackson Paveletzke came into this season primarily as a ballhandler but has become a scoring threat from all over the floor. Paveletzke has scored over 20 points in back-to-back games for the first time this season and believes he’s playing his best basketball.
“I just feel confident, this is the most comfortable I’ve felt all year,” Paveletzke said. “Just trying to stay that way.”
Akron came into the game in second in the conference in three-point percentage. Ohio held the Zips to just 22% from beyond the arc and only four made threes, a stark difference from Akron.
Ohio has begun to heat up with the MAC Tournament looming and knows it’s important to finish strong and gain momentum toward its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021.
“We want to be playing our best basketball (in March), and to get a win of this magnitude against the team that’s on top is huge,” Boals said. “It’s going to come down to those three games in three days. So now we know we can beat them. Now, it’s a matter of finishing out strong in these four games.”
Ohio will be back in action Tuesday night at Western Michigan, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.