The Ohio Bobcats (13-7) and the Mid-American’s third-ranked offense welcome the Akron Zips (17-4) and the 11th-ranked defense in the conference. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Feb. 2 and can be seen on EFC and ES3.
The Bobcats enter this game hoping for similar success after topping Kent State 72-61 on Friday. Antonio Campbell was the game’s leading scorer with 28 points on 11-for-19 shooting. The Zips, meanwhile, are coming off a 73-64 win against Ball State on Saturday. Reggie McAdams led the team in scoring by accounting for 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting.
Akron is a slim two-point favorite over Ohio. The matchup has an estimated Over/Under (O/U) of 150 points. The Bobcats have gone 13-7 Straight Up (SU) and 10-6 Against The Spread (ATS). The Bobcats are one of the best in Division I in terms of free throw percentage, shooting an impressive .763 from the free throw line.
Over on the other bench, the Zips have records of 9-6 ATS and 17-4 SU. The Zips rely heavily on three-pointers on offense, ranking sixth in the nation with 235 made (11.0 per game). The Akron defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only 5.0 field goals from three-point range per game.
This game marks the season’s first head-to-head clash between these conference foes. Their previous game was a Zips victory, bumping their SU record over their most recent meetings to 6-4. Furthermore, Akron holds the advantage ATS with a record of 7-3. Akron held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers three times in the last five matchups. On the other side of the court, Ohio never accomplished this feat in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – Akron, ATS Winner – Akron, O/U – Over
Notes
Ohio is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games.
Ohio is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games at home.
Ohio is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Akron.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Ohio’s last 5 games when playing at home against Akron.
The Ohio Bobcats average 77.5 points per game, ranking 92nd in the nation. The Akron Zips rank 57th in points allowed with 66.2.
Ranked 68th, the Akron Zips have an offensive rating of 111.3. The Ohio Bobcats rank 232nd with a defensive rating of just 105.4.
Akron has an average field goal percentage of 43.1%. Ohio is an underachieving 3-6 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Ohio Bobcats and the Akron Zips both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Ohio is 56th and 38th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Akron is 229th and 67th in these categories.
Akron ranks 91st in assists, recording 15.0 per game. Ohio performs worse at 182nd with 13.3 assists per game.
Ohio ranks 99th in blocks per game with 4.2 and Akron ranks 90th with 4.2 blocks per game.
Ohio ranks 305th in offensive rebounds, while Akron ranks 67th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Ohio makes 4.7 steals per game. Akron has a solid 11-4 record when it gives up at least 4 steals.
