Akron Zips vs Northern Illinois Huskies Prediction, 1/12/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Akron Zips vs Northern Illinois Huskies

Date: Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Location: NIU Convocation Center in Dekalb, IL

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Akron (-8.5)

NIU Convocation Center is the site where and the Northern Illinois Huskies (1-9) will take on the Akron Zips (4-2) on Tuesday. Northern Illinois opens this matchup as 8.5-point underdogs. The O/U opens at 133.

Akron heads into this game with a win-loss mark of 4-2 on the year. The Zips are shooting 32.0% on shots from beyond the arc (58 of 181) and 80.6% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 79.8 points per outing (56th in the nation) while hitting 46.4% from the field. They turn it over 13.5 times per contest and as a unit they commit 18.3 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Akron is pulling in 41.2 rebounds per game and has earned 90 assists on the season, which has them ranked 286th in D-1 in terms of passing. On defense, the Zips are forcing 11.2 turnovers per game and they draw 16.7 personal fouls. They are conceding 24.1% from 3-point land while they are 167th in the nation in points per game allowed (69.3). The Zips defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 43.2% (161 of 373) and they relinquish 33.5 rebounds per contest as a group. They currently rank 27th in college hoops in giving up assists with 66 surrendered on the year.

The Akron Zips faced the Eastern Michigan Eagles and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 71-59 in their last contest. Akron finished having earned a 42.0% field goal percentage (21 out of 50) and made 7 out of their 28 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the free throw line, the Zips converted 10 of their 13 tries for a rate of 76.9%. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned 30 with 4 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 13 assists in this matchup while having 4 steals and 2 blocks. With regard to defense, Akron allowed their opponent to shoot 42.0% from the floor on 21 of 50 shooting. Eastern Michigan totaled 10 assists and had 6 steals in this matchup. Additionally, the Eagles snagged 28 boards (7 offensive, 21 defensive) and earned 2 blocks. Eastern Michigan ended up going 61.9% at the charity stripe by converting 13 of 21 attempts. They knocked down 6 of 23 tries from 3-point land.

Loren Cristian Jackson is one player who was a major contributor for the contest. He ended up scoring 10 points on 3 of 9 shooting. He played for 33 minutes and grabbed 2 rebounds. Jackson shot 33.3% from the field and also dished out 2 assists. An additional guy that was a factor in this game for the Zips was Maishe Dailey. He totaled 4 boards and had 2 assists. He finished the contest at 57.1% from the floor for the matchup by shooting 4-of-7 (10 points). In all, Dailey played for 26 min.

Northern Illinois has a record of 1-9 on the season. The Huskies have committed 17.5 fouls every game while shooting 60.9% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 9.5 times per contest (338th in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 15.2 times per game. Northern Illinois has scored 588 points on the campaign (58.8 per game) and they collect 35.6 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Huskies are hitting on 39.7% from the floor, which has them ranked 324th in the country. The Huskies on the defensive end are ranked 286th in college basketball in points allowed per game with 75.8. The Northern Illinois defense surrenders 39.0% on shots from distance (99 of 254) and opponents are knocking down 66.1% of their free throw attempts. They allow 17.7 assists and 34.7 total rebounds per game, which is 335th and 152nd in college basketball. They are able to force 11.1 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 47.9% from the field (328th in the nation).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Northern Illinois Huskies took a loss by a score of 70-58 against the Miami RedHawks. The Huskies were able to pull down 18 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 25 for this contest. They also stuffed 6 shots while earning 6 steals in this matchup. The RedHawks earned 19 fouls in the matchup which got the Huskies to the charity stripe for 19 shots. They were able to convert 10 of them for a rate of 52.6%. Pertaining to shooting from downtown, Northern Illinois knocked down 6 of their 17 attempts (35.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Huskies finished the game shooting 21 out of 44 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 47.7%. The Huskies allowed the RedHawks to knock down 25 out of 47 tries from the floor which had them shooting 53.2% for the contest. They went 55.6% from three-point range by connecting on 10 out of 18 and finished the game at 10 out of 15 from the charity stripe (66.7%). When it comes to attacking the glass, Northern Illinois allowed Miami to snag 24 in total (3 offensive).

Trendon Hankerson was important for the Huskies in this contest. He buried 6 out of 11 in the game giving him a rate of 54.5%, which had him sitting at 16 points. Hankerson collected 3 rebounds in his 38 mins played and added 2 assists for this contest. Another guy that ended up playing a role for Northern Illinois was Chinedu Kingsley Okanu. He left the arena with 12 points in 28 minutes played by way of 5 out of 7 from the floor in this game. Okanu ended up shooting 71.4% from the floor and also collecting 2 assists and 2 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Akron (-8.5)

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