Northern Illinois Huskies vs Akron Zips Prediction, 1/1/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northern Illinois Huskies vs Akron Zips

Date: Saturday, January 1, 2022

Location: James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, OH

TV: ESPN3

The Northern Illinois Huskies (3-7) are en route to James A. Rhodes Arena on Saturday where they will attempt to defeat the Akron Zips (7-3).

The Northern Illinois Huskies played UIC and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 61-60 in their last game. Northern Illinois finished the game with a 45.3% field goal percentage (24 out of 53) and converted 3 of their 9 3-point attempts. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Huskies buried 9 of 13 shots for a rate of 69.2%. In reference to pulling down boards, they earned 18 with 3 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 14 assists in the matchup as well as creating 14 turnovers and earning 9 steals. In reference to defending, Northern Illinois allowed 41.1% from the field on 23 of 56 shooting. UIC doled out 17 dimes and had 4 steals in this game. Additionally, UIC pulled down 37 boards (11 offensive, 26 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. UIC finished shooting 69.2% at the charity stripe by converting 9 of 13 attempts. They converted 6 of their 29 attempts from distance. In regard to fouls, the Huskies left the arena with 16 while UIC finished the game with 16 fouls.

Keshawn Williams is one player who was important in this matchup. He ended up going 52.4% from the floor and also recorded 4 assists. He played 35 mins and also grabbed 2 rebounds. He racked up 25 points on 11 out of 21 shooting.

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Northern Illinois will play this game with a record of 3-7 on the campaign. They are turning it over 15.8 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 20.3 fouls every game. As a team, Northern Illinois is snagging 31.9 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 95 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 353rd in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Huskies are hitting 33.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (60 of 180) and 64.3% from the free throw line. They average 56.7 points per contest (356th in college basketball) while hitting 37.4% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Huskies have forced 15.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.6 fouls. They are 135th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 138 relinquished this year. The Huskies are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 42.2% (230 of 545) and they concede 37.9 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They give up 29.0% on shots from downtown and they rank 153rd in the nation in opponents PPG (67.0).

In their last game, the Akron Zips walked away with a victory by a final of 66-48 when they faced Wright State. The Zips pulled down 27 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 34 for the matchup. They turned the ball over 12 times, while recording 6 steals for this contest. Wright State committed 10 fouls in the game which took the Zips to the free throw line for 10 attempts. They were able to bury 7 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 70.0%. With regard to shooting from distance, Akron buried 9 out of their 23 tries (39.1%). When this game wrapped up, the Zips finished 25 out of 54 from the field which had them shooting 46.3%. The Zips allowed Wright State to convert 19 out of 51 tries from the floor which had them at 37.3% in this matchup. They finished 20.0% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 3 of 15 and ended up going 7 of 12 from the free throw line (58.3%). In reference to how they cleaned up the glass, Akron allowed Wright State to collect 24 in all (6 on the offensive glass).

Ali Ali was important for the Zips in the game. He knocked down 7 of 12 for this contest for a rate of 58.3%, but couldn't coral a rebound. He racked up 19 points in his 31 mins on the court and tallied 1 assist for the game.

Akron has a record of 7-3 this season. The Zips commit 16.9 fouls per contest and they go 63.8% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 12.2 times per contest (262nd in college basketball) and they turn it over 12.4 times per contest. Akron has earned 730 points on the year (73.0 per contest) and they pull in 38.6 rebounds per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Zips are hitting on 45.7% from the floor, which ranks 115th in college basketball.

The Zips defensively are ranked 20th in Division 1 in points allowed per game with 59.3. They are forcing their opponents into 12.8 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 39.0% from the floor (43rd in D-1). The Akron defense concedes 30.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (56 of 181) and their opponents are connecting on 69.1% of their free throw attempts. They concede 7.8 assists and 31.0 boards per game, which ranks them 1st and 35th in the country.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Akron

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