Akron Zips vs Creighton Bluejays Prediction, 3/21/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Akron Zips vs Creighton Bluejays

Date: Thursday, March 21, 2024

Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Akron (+12)

PPG Paints Arena is the location where the Creighton Bluejays (23-9) will go up against the Akron Zips (24-10) on Thursday in the NCAA Tournament. Creighton is 12-point favorites. The over/under is 140.

The Akron Zips faced off with Kent State and notched a win by a score of 62-61 in their last game. Akron walked away from the game having earned a 39.6% field goal percentage (21 out of 53) and made 8 of 29 shots from downtown. At the charity stripe, the Zips knocked down 12 of 16 shots for a percentage of 75.0%. With regard to getting rebounds, they collected 31 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 10 dimes in this contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 4 turnovers and earning 2 steals. Regarding defending, Akron allowed the other team to go 37.9% from the floor on 25 of 66 shooting. Kent State distributed 5 dimes and had 5 steals for this contest. Furthermore, Kent State snagged 27 rebounds (7 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Kent State walked away from this one shooting 63.6% when shooting free throws by burying 7 of their 11 shots. They knocked down 4 of 19 shots from 3-point land. Concerning fouls, the Zips ended up finishing with 15 and Kent State finished the game with 16 fouls.

Ali Ali is a guy who was a major contributor for the matchup. He finished the contest at 54.5% from the floor and earned 5 assists. He played 37 minutes and totaled 5 rebounds. He walked away with 18 points on 6 out of 11 shooting.

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Akron will play this contest with a win-loss record of 24-10 on the year. They are giving up possession 11.4 times per game and as a team they commit 16.6 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Akron is snagging 36.8 rebounds per game and has accumulated 447 assists this year, which has them ranked 132nd in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. The Zips are hitting 32.8% on shots from beyond the arc (274 of 835) and 72.8% from the free throw line. They are averaging 74.0 points per contest (164th in college hoops) while shooting 45.6% from the floor.

On defense, the Zips have forced 11.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.3 fouls. They are currently ranked 78th in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 380 conceded for the campaign. The Zips defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 42.7% (827 of 1,939) and they concede 32.2 boards per contest as a group. They surrender 29.7% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 24th in the nation in points per game allowed (65.9).

In their last game, the Creighton Bluejays took a loss by a score of 78-73 when they faced Providence. When discussing cleaning up the glass, Creighton allowed Providence to get 36 in all (7 on the offensive side). They went 26.1% from three-point range by going 6 out of 23 and ended up shooting 14 out of 14 from the free throw line (100.0%). The Bluejays permitted Providence to convert 29 of their 70 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.4% in the game. Overall, the Bluejays ended up shooting 22 for 58 from the field which had them at 37.9%. Regarding shots from beyond the perimeter, Creighton converted 6 out of 26 tries (23.1%). They were able to convert 23 of them for a clip of 88.5%. Providence earned 19 fouls for the contest which took the Bluejays to the charity stripe for a total of 26 shots. They gave up possession 11 times, while getting 3 steals in the game. The Bluejays were able to collect 29 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards for a total of 33 for the game.

Trey Alexander ended up being a major contributor for the Bluejays for the matchup. He had 19 points in his 36 minutes of playing time, but left the arena with no assists. He converted 7 out of 14 for this contest giving him a rate of 50.0%, and had 2 rebounds.

Creighton has a record of 23-9 on the campaign. As an offense, the Bluejays are shooting 48.6% from the field, which ranks 20th in college basketball. Creighton has accounted for 2,577 pts this year (80.5 per game) and they grab 37.9 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 17.1 times per contest (17th in college basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 10.6 times per contest. The Bluejays are responsible for committing 11.3 fouls per contest and they connect on 78.1% from the free throw line.

The Creighton defense concedes 32.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter (185 of 575) and their opponents are knocking down 78.7% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 11.4 assists and 33.5 boards on a nightly basis, which is 61st and 107th in those defensive categories. The Bluejays on the defensive end are ranked 106th in college basketball in points given up per game with 69.7. They are forcing 7.8 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.0% from the field (74th in college basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Akron (+12)

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