Akron Zips vs Ohio Bobcats Prediction, 2/23/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Akron Zips vs Ohio Bobcats

Date: Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Location: Convocation Center in Athens, OH

TV: ESPN3

Odds/Point Spread: Akron (+2)

The Akron Zips (14-4) travel to Convocation Center on Tuesday where they'll take on the Ohio Bobcats (11-6). Akron opens this game as 2-point underdogs. The O/U opens at 151.5.

Akron heads into this game with a win-loss record of 14-4 for the campaign. They average 79.3 points per outing (34th in the nation) while hitting 46.1% from the field. The Zips are shooting 35.1% from downtown (182 of 519) and 75.9% from the charity stripe. As a team, Akron is collecting 38.4 boards per game and has racked up 255 dimes this year, which is 175th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They lose possession via turnover 12.3 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 17.7 personal fouls per game. When they are on the defensive end, the Zips are forcing 12.4 turnovers per game and they draw 18.2 fouls. They are 97th in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 209 conceded on the season. The Zips defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 42.8% (472 of 1,102) and they relinquish 34.2 rebounds per contest as a team. They relinquish 30.5% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 179th in college basketball in opponents PPG (69.9).

The Akron Zips played the Ball State Cardinals and took home the win by a score of 88-79 in their last game. Akron ended the contest with a 51.7% FG percentage (30 out of 58) and buried 9 of their 20 shots from 3-point land. At the charity stripe, the Zips knocked down 19 of their 25 shots for a rate of 76.0%. In reference to pulling down boards, they collected 29 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 16 assists for this game while earning 9 steals and 4 blocks. Regarding defense, Akron allowed the other team to shoot 51.7% from the floor on 30 of 58 shooting. Ball State totaled 16 assists and had 5 steals in the game. In addition, the Cardinals collected 28 rebounds (9 offensive, 19 defensive) and had 4 blocked shots. Ball State walked away from this one shooting 100.0% from the free throw line by converting 9 of their 9 attempts. They buried 8 of their 21 attempts from distance.

Ali Ali is a guy who was a contributor in the matchup. He racked up 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting. He played 30 mins and also totaled 4 rebounds. Ali finished 66.7% from the field but didn't record an assist. Another guy that was a major contributor in this game for the Zips was Bryan Trimble. He snagged 2 boards and also earned 2 assists. He finished the game shooting 54.5% from the field for the contest via 6-of-11 (19 points). At the conclusion of this game, Trimble was on the hardwood for 33 min.

Ohio has a record of 11-6 this year. Ohio has totaled 1,362 pts so far this year (80.1 per game) and they pull down 34.0 boards per game. The Bobcats have committed 16.4 fouls every game and they hit 69.2% from the charity stripe. In terms of offensive execution, the Bobcats are hitting on 48.7% from the floor, which ranks them 33rd in college hoops. They are assisting teammates 17.6 times per contest (11th in college basketball) and they cough up possession 12.0 times per game. The Bobcats are ranked 254th in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 73.4. The Ohio defense allows 35.7% on 3-point shots (140 of 392) and opponents are converting on 76.6% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 14.6 assists and 33.2 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 279th and 95th in the nation. They are forcing 14.8 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.9% from the floor (251st in Division 1).

In their last game, the Ohio Bobcats got the victory with a final of 83-69 against the Central Michigan Chippewas. The Bobcats pulled down 30 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 37 for this game. They also stuffed 3 tries while getting 7 steals in the game. The Chippewas were called for 11 fouls in this contest which got the Bobcats to the charity stripe for 11 attempts. They were able to make 9 of them for a percentage of 81.8%. When talking about shots from beyond the arc, Ohio converted 6 of 25 tries (24.0%). In all, the Bobcats walked away from this one shooting 34 for 60 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 56.7%. The Bobcats allowed the Chippewas to bury 23 of 60 attempts from the field which had them shooting 38.3% in this matchup. They finished 34.6% from 3-point land by going 9 out of 26 and finished the game at 14 of 16 from the free throw line (87.5%). Regarding team rebounding, Ohio permitted Central Michigan to grab 24 overall (4 offensive).

Jason Preston was important for the Bobcats in this contest. He converted 8 out of 16 for this game giving him a rate of 50.0%, which had him sitting at 17 points. Preston pulled down 11 boards in his 38 minutes and earned 6 dimes for this contest. One more player that was important for Ohio was Dwight Wilson. He ended up finishing with 14 points in 30 minutes on the hardwood by going 7 out of 7 shooting for the contest. Wilson ended the game having shot 100.0% from the field as well as earning 2 dimes and 10 total rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Akron (+2)

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