Akron Zips vs Buffalo Bulls Prediction, 3/2/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Akron Zips vs Buffalo Bulls

Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Location: Alumni Arena in Buffalo, NY

TV: ESPN3

Odds/Point Spread: Akron (+5.5)

The Buffalo Bulls (12-7) play the Akron Zips (14-6) at Alumni Arena on Tuesday. Akron opens this matchup as 5.5-point dogs. The O/U has been set at 154.5.

Akron will enter this contest with a win-loss mark of 14-6 this season. The Zips are shooting 34.1% on 3-pointers (197 of 578) and 75.1% from the charity stripe. They average 78.6 pts per game (41st in college hoops) while going 45.1% from the field. They turn it over 12.2 times per game and as a squad they commit 18.0 fouls every game. As a unit, Akron is pulling down 38.7 boards per game and has totaled 274 dimes for the campaign, which is 187th in the country in terms of passing the ball. When they are on the defensive end, the Zips are able to force 12.1 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.6 personal fouls. They are giving up 31.5% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 221st in college hoops in points per game allowed (71.6). The Zips defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 43.3% (533 of 1,230) and they concede 34.9 boards per game as a basketball team. They rank 115th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 239 surrendered for the season.

The Akron Zips took the court against the Bowling Green Falcons and took a loss by a final of 83-71 in their last contest. Akron walked away from the contest having earned a 34.4% field goal percentage (21 out of 61) and knocked down 7 out of their 27 3-pointers. At the free throw line, the Zips knocked down 22 of their 31 tries for a rate of 71.0%. Regarding hauling in boards, they collected a total of 38 with 14 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 7 assists in the game while creating 10 turnovers and having 4 steals. Concerning defending, Akron allowed the other team to shoot 46.3% from the floor on 31 of 67 shooting. Bowling Green doled out 13 dimes and had 6 steals in the matchup. On top of that, Bowling Green totaled 34 rebounds (11 offensive, 23 defensive) and added 2 rejections. Bowling Green finished the game shooting 73.7% from the free throw line by converting 14 of 19 shots. They also made 7 out of their 23 tries from 3-point land.

Loren Cristian Jackson is a player who came through for the matchup. He totaled 29 points on 7 out of 20 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 33 mins played and totaled 4 boards. Jackson finished the contest at 35.0% from the floor and also earned 4 dimes. One more player that came through in the matchup for the Zips was Enrique Freeman. He collected 9 rebounds in 24 minutes played. He ended up shooting 80.0% from the field in this matchup by shooting 4-of-5 (8 points). At the conclusion of this game, Freeman had no assists.

Buffalo has a win-loss mark of 12-7 on the season. On the offensive side of the court, the Bulls are hitting on 46.7% from the field, which is ranked 63rd in college hoops. Buffalo has scored 1,576 pts for the season (82.9 per game) and they pull in 43.8 boards per game. They are getting an assist 16.3 times per game (34th in the country) and they are turning it over 13.5 times per contest. The Bulls commit 18.6 fouls per game and they shoot 67.0% from the free throw line. The Bulls on the defensive end are ranked 242nd in college basketball in PPG given up with 72.7. They concede 12.9 assists and 35.5 rebounds per contest, which is 174th and 208th in Division 1. The Buffalo defense gives up 28.2% on shots from beyond the arc (111 of 393) and their opponents are converting on 74.7% of their foul shots. They are forcing 13.8 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 41.4% from the field (77th in college basketball).

When they last stepped on the court, the Buffalo Bulls walked away with a victory by a final of 86-66 when they played the Ohio Bobcats. The Bulls were able to snag 31 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 38 in the game. They also coughed it up 12 times, while earning 11 steals for the game. The Bobcats committed 11 fouls for the matchup which took the Bulls to the charity stripe for a total of 13 tries. They were able to knock down 8 of the free throw tries for a clip of 61.5%. With respect to 3-point attempts, Buffalo made 6 of their 15 attempts (40.0%). When this game wrapped up, the Bulls ended up going 36 out of 67 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 53.7%. The Bulls permitted the Bobcats to knock down 25 of 67 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 37.3% in this matchup. They went 16.7% from three-point range by going 4 of 24 and walked away from this one shooting 12 of 13 at the free throw line (92.3%). In regard to attacking the glass, Buffalo permitted Ohio to grab 32 in total (9 on the offensive glass).

Josh Mballa ended up being a major contributor for the Bulls in this matchup. He converted 9 of 14 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 64.3%, and totaled 9 rebounds. Mballa had 23 points in his 27 mins of playing time, but wasn't able to earn an assist. An additional guy that ended being a contributor for Buffalo was Jayvon Graves. He wrapped the game up with 7 assists in 28 mins played, and he converted 5 of 10 from the floor. Graves ended up shooting 50.0% from the field as well as notching 12 points and 5 total rebounds.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Akron (+5.5)

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