The Akron Zips (26-7) play the Buffalo Bulls (19-14) in the fourth round of the MAC tournament at the Quicken Loans Arena. The game gets underway at 7:30 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 12 and will air on ES2 and ES3.
The Zips were victorious over Bowling Green 80-66 in the 3. Isaiah Johnson led all scorers with 23 points on 9-for-11 shooting. The Bulls, meanwhile, are coming off an 88-74 win over Ohio in the 3. Lamonte Bearden played well for Buffalo, posting 15 points, nine assists, and six rebounds.
Reggie McAdams has been playing at a high level as of late for the Zips, averaging 17.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.8 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 4.0 three-pointers over the last five games. On the other side, the Bulls have their own duo that have been on a tear in that span. Willie Conner has averaged 20.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.6 steals, 1.0 block, and 3.2 three-pointers, while Blake Hamilton has put up 18.6 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 2.2 three-pointers.
Points could be at a premium in this matchup between two of the nation’s best defenses. Akron ranks fourth in the nation in defensive efficiency (99.0), while Buffalo is sixth (104.2). Also, the Bulls commit the sixth-fewest errors in the nation (TO% of 18.8%), while the ball-hawking defense of the Zips causes the sixth-most (opponents’ TO% of 16.8%).
The Zips have won both contests against the Bulls this season, including an 80-66 victory in their last matchup. Johnson scored a game-high 23 points.
Notes
Ranked sixth, the Buffalo Bulls have one of the top defenses in the country, giving up just 104.2 points per 100 possessions. The Akron Zips rank 50th in offense, scoring 112.6 points in the same number of possessions.
The Buffalo Bulls average 72.4 possessions per game and 1.076 points per possession. The Akron Zips earn fewer possessions with 68.9, but they score more points with 1.126.
Buffalo has an average effective field goal percentage of 50.1%. Akron is a solid 7-4 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, Akron attempts 30.0 three pointers and Buffalo attempts 21.0. Both teams have winning records when they have 20 or more three point attempts. The Akron Zips sit at 25-7 and the Buffalo Bulls are 16-6.
Akron ranks 45th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.33. Buffalo is ranked lower at 257th with an A/TO of .94.
Akron ranks 180th in offensive rebounds, while Buffalo ranks 74th in defensive rebounds.
The Buffalo Bulls make an average of 6.9 steals per game. When the Akron Zips give up 6 or more steals, they are a winning 11-6.
