Akron Zips vs Eastern Michigan Eagles Prediction, 1/9/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Akron Zips vs Eastern Michigan Eagles

Date: Saturday, January 9, 2021

Location: Convocation Center (MI) in Ypsilanti, MI

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Akron (-6)

Convocation Center (MI) is the site where and the Eastern Michigan Eagles (2-3) will play the Akron Zips (4-1) on Saturday. The odds on this matchup have Akron as 6-point favorites. The O/U has been set at 142.

Akron heads into this matchup with a mark of 4-1 this year. The Zips are connecting on 33.3% on shots from 3-point land (51 of 153) and 81.1% from the free throw line. They are averaging 84.0 points per contest (26th in Division 1) while connecting on 47.1% from the field. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.8 times per game and as a group are committing 17.6 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Akron is snagging 42.4 boards per game and has earned 77 assists on the year, which is 288th in the country in terms of passing the ball. On defense, the Zips are forcing 11.8 turnovers per game and they draw 17.0 personal fouls. The Zips defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 42.5% (135 of 318) and they relinquish 34.0 boards per game as a group. They are currently ranked 27th in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 56 relinquished for the campaign. They concede 23.6% from beyond the arc and they are 163rd in college basketball in opponents points per game (69.0).

The Akron Zips faced the Kent State Golden Flashes and notched a win by a score of 66-62 in their last contest. Akron wrapped up the game with a 32.2% FG percentage (19 of 59) and knocked down 11 out of their 34 3-point shots. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Zips made 17 of 22 attempts for a percentage of 77.3%. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they earned 36 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 13 dimes in the game while earning 4 steals and 3 blocked shots. Regarding the defense, Akron allowed the other team to shoot 32.2% from the floor on 19 of 59 shooting. Kent State earned 9 assists and had 7 steals in this matchup. In addition, the Golden Flashes pulled down 39 rebounds (12 offensive, 27 defensive) and had 3 blocked shots. Kent State finished shooting 52.9% at the charity stripe by making 9 of their 17 tries. They made 5 of 23 attempts from 3-point range.

Loren Cristian Jackson is someone who had an impact for the game. He was able to score 31 points on 9 out of 23 shooting. He saw the court for 39 minutes and grabbed 2 rebounds. Jackson ended up going 39.1% from the field and recorded 6 dimes. An additional guy that was a major factor in this contest for the Zips was Enrique Freeman. He snagged 9 rebounds and earned 2 assists. He went 50.0% from the floor for the contest by going 2-of-4 (10 points). When the game finished, Freeman played for 20 minutes.

Eastern Michigan has a record of 2-3 for the campaign. In terms of offensive execution, the Eagles are hitting on 42.7% from the floor, which is ranked 250th in college basketball. Eastern Michigan has accounted for 390 points so far this season (78.0 per game) and they collect 36.8 rebounds per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 12.6 times per contest (232nd in college basketball) and they turn it over 13.2 times per contest. The Eagles are responsible for committing 16.4 fouls every game and they hit 73.7% from the free throw line. The Eagles defensively are ranked 230th in the nation in points per game surrendered with 72.2. They are forcing their opponents into 20.6 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 47.7% from the floor (319th in D-1). The Eastern Michigan defense surrenders 35.2% on 3-pointers (45 of 128) and their opposition knocks down 65.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 16.4 dimes and 34.4 total boards per game, which is ranked 322nd and 143rd in college hoops.

When they last played, the Eastern Michigan Eagles took a defeat with a final score of 87-60 when they played the Central Michigan Chippewas. The Eagles pulled down 19 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 27 for the matchup. They blocked 2 attempts while getting 8 steals in this matchup. The Chippewas were called for 15 fouls in the game which got the Eagles to the free throw line for a total of 13 attempts. They were able to convert 9 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 69.2%. Concerning shooting from downtown, Eastern Michigan made 9 out of 28 attempts (32.1%). At the conclusion of this game, the Eagles shot 21 out of 55 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 38.2%. The Eagles allowed the Chippewas to make 32 out of their 55 tries from the floor which left them shooting 58.2% in the matchup. They finished 40.9% from 3-point land by connecting on 9 of 22 and finished the game at 14 out of 26 from the charity stripe (53.8%). In relation to cleaning up the glass, Eastern Michigan permitted Central Michigan to grab 33 overall (7 on the offensive side).

Bryce McBride ended up being a factor for the Eagles for the contest. He converted 4 of 14 for this game giving him a rate of 28.6%, which had him sitting at 15 points. McBride pulled down 2 rebounds in his 39 minutes and accumulated 3 assists in this game. One more player that ended up playing a role for Eastern Michigan was Ty Groce. He ended up walking away with 15 points in his 32 minutes played by way of 7 out of 10 shooting in this contest. Groce walked away from this one going 70.0% from the field and also earning 2 assists and 13 rebounds.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Eastern Michigan (+6)

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