Northern Illinois Huskies vs Akron Zips Prediction, 3/2/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northern Illinois Huskies vs Akron Zips

Date: Saturday, March 2, 2024

Location: James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, OH

TV: ESPN+

James A. Rhodes Arena is the site where the Akron Zips (20-8) will take on the Northern Illinois Huskies (10-18) on Saturday.

The Northern Illinois Huskies faced off with Toledo and went home with a win by a final score of 75-72 in their last contest. Northern Illinois ended the game having earned a 50.9% FG percentage (29 of 57) and converted 10 of 23 three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Huskies converted 7 of 11 tries for a rate of 63.6%. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they earned 36 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 14 assists for this game as well as forcing the other team into 6 turnovers and getting 3 steals. When discussing defense, Northern Illinois allowed the other team to shoot 49.2% from the floor on 30 of 61 shooting. Toledo dished out 22 assists and had 3 steals in this matchup. Moreover, Toledo grabbed 27 rebounds (8 offensive, 19 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Toledo went 50.0% at the free throw line by making 6 of 12 attempts. They also knocked down 6 of 20 attempts from long range. In regard to fouls, the Huskies ended up finishing with 12 and Toledo finished the game with 16 fouls.

David Coit is a player who came through for the game. He accounted for 27 points on 10 out of 25 shooting. He played for 40 mins played and also collected 1 rebound. He went 40.0% from the field and recorded 5 dimes.

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Northern Illinois will play this game with a win-loss mark of 10-18 for the campaign. They lose possession via turnover 12.8 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 17.2 fouls every game. As a unit, Northern Illinois is collecting 35.4 boards per game and has accounted for 283 assists on the season, which has them ranked 351st in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Huskies are connecting on 32.8% on shots from downtown (203 of 619) and 67.9% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 73.4 points per outing (191st in the nation) while hitting 44.5% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Huskies have forced 11.0 turnovers per game and they draw 18.7 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 305th in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 410 conceded so far this season. The Huskies are allowing a shooting percentage of 45.3% (782 of 1,725) and they relinquish 37.0 boards per game as a squad. They give up 36.4% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 324th in college basketball in PPG allowed (77.9).

In their last game, the Akron Zips took a loss by a score of 74-67 when they faced Ohio. With respect to cleaning the glass, Akron permitted Ohio to pull down 29 overall (4 offensive). They finished shooting 25.9% from 3-point land by shooting 7 out of 27 and finished the contest at 17 of 20 from the free throw line (85.0%). The Zips permitted Ohio to convert 25 out of 55 tries from the floor which had them at 45.5% for this game. When this game wrapped up, the Zips ended up shooting 26 for 55 from the floor which gave them a rate of 47.3%. When discussing shots from distance, Akron converted 6 of 17 tries (35.3%). They were able to make 9 of the free throw tries for a rate of 60.0%. Ohio had 19 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Zips to the free throw line for a total of 15 attempts. They turned it over 11 times, while getting 3 steals in this matchup. The Zips were able to corral 24 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 in this matchup.

Ali Ali was important for the Zips in the matchup. He tallied 16 points in his 28 mins of playing time and had 1 assist in this matchup. He buried 6 out of 8 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 75.0%, and added 2 rebounds.

Akron has a record of 20-8 on the campaign. The Zips are committing 16.3 fouls per game and they connect on 72.5% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 13.3 times per contest (167th in the country) and they turn it over 11.2 times per game. Akron has scored 2,091 points for the season (74.7 per contest) and they grab 36.9 boards per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Zips are shooting 45.8% from the field, which has them ranked 116th in college basketball.

The Akron defense allows 30.3% from downtown (179 of 590) and their opposition makes 68.5% of their foul shots. They concede 11.9 assists and 31.9 boards every game, ranking them 97th and 36th in Division 1. The Zips on the defensive end are ranked 25th in the nation in points allowed per game with 65.3. They are forcing 11.9 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.7% from the field (128th in Division 1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Akron

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