Ball State Cardinals vs Akron Zips Prediction, 2/28/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds
Game: Ball State Cardinals vs Akron Zips
Date: Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Location: James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, OH
TV: ESPN+
The Akron Zips (20-9) welcome the Ball State Cardinals (20-9) at James A. Rhodes Arena on Tuesday.
The Ball State Cardinals stepped onto the hardwood against Eastern Michigan and took a loss by a final of 75-68 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Cardinals ended up finishing with 15 while Eastern Michigan accumulated 17 fouls. They converted 6 out of their 16 attempts from 3-point land. Eastern Michigan finished the game shooting 82.6% at the charity stripe by making 19 of their 23 shots. On top of that, Eastern Michigan pulled down 34 rebounds (9 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Eastern Michigan distributed 9 dimes and had 6 steals in this contest. With respect to defending, Ball State let their opponent shoot 43.9% from the field on 25 out of 57 shooting. They also doled out 12 assists in this game while creating 12 turnovers and earning 7 steals. In the matter of hauling in boards, they collected a total of 30 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cardinals converted 16 of 19 tries for a percentage of 84.2%. Ball State wrapped up the contest having earned a 37.7% field goal percentage (23 out of 61) and buried 6 of 21 3-pointers.
Demarius Jacobs is someone who was a contributor for this contest. He ended up finishing with 19 points on 6 out of 11 shooting. He saw the court for 35 minutes and also collected 4 rebounds. He ended up going 54.5% from the field and dished out 5 assists.
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Ball State comes into this game with a mark of 20-9 for the season. They are giving up possession 12.4 times per contest and as a team are committing 16.2 personal fouls per game. As a team, Ball State is collecting 36.4 rebounds per game and has totaled 381 dimes so far this year, which ranks 194th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Cardinals are shooting 37.2% on shots beyond the perimeter (217 of 584) and 68.3% from the charity stripe. They average 76.2 points per outing (70th in the nation) while shooting 46.9% from the field.
On defense, the Cardinals have forced 11.9 turnovers per contest and they draw 20.8 personal fouls. They are ranked 7th in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 270 relinquished so far this year. The Cardinals defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 43.4% (731 of 1,686) and they surrender 32.8 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They are giving up 37.2% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 182nd in college basketball in points per game allowed (69.9).
When they last played, the Akron Zips got the victory with a final of 81-64 when they played Western Michigan. The Zips collected 26 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 for the game. They also coughed up the ball 5 times, while recording 7 steals in this matchup. Western Michigan had 13 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Zips to the free throw line for a total of 15 tries. They were able to knock down 10 of the free throws for a percentage of 66.7%. In the matter of shooting from downtown, Akron buried 13 of their 32 attempts (40.6%). When the game finished, the Zips walked away from this one shooting 29 for 55 from the floor which had them shooting 52.7%. The Zips permitted Western Michigan to knock down 22 of 59 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 37.3% in the game. They finished the game shooting 30.8% from distance by connecting on 12 of 39 and finished the contest at 8 of 10 at the free throw line (80.0%). In relation to rebounds, Akron permitted Western Michigan to collect 24 in total (6 on the offensive side).
Xavier Castaneda ended up being a factor for the Zips for the matchup. He earned 23 points in his 31 mins of playing time and accumulated 5 assists for this game. He made 6 of 15 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 40.0%, and earned 4 rebounds.
Akron has a mark of 20-9 this season. The Zips are committing 15.4 personal fouls every game while shooting 72.0% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 13.4 times per game (161st in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 11.0 times per contest. Akron has accounted for 2,118 points this year (73.0 per contest) and they collect 36.0 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Zips are shooting 43.9% from the floor, which ranks 224th in D-1.
The Zips defensively are ranked 45th in college basketball in points given up per game with 64.9. They have forced 12.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 42.5% from the floor (107th in college basketball). The Akron defense gives up 33.9% on shots from behind the 3-point line (195 of 576) and opponents are connecting on 72.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They give up 11.3 assists and 32.5 boards per contest, which is 81st and 83rd in Division 1.
Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?
Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Akron
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Additional Resources:
Akron Zips - Twitter
Ball State Cardinals - Twitter