Toledo Rockets vs Akron Zips Prediction, 1/16/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Toledo Rockets vs Akron Zips

Date: Saturday, January 16, 2021

Location: James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, OH

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Toledo (-4)

James A. Rhodes Arena is the venue where and the Akron Zips (4-3) will take on the Toledo Rockets (11-3) on Saturday. The spread on this matchup has Toledo as 4-point favorites. The total opens at 147.

Toledo steps onto the court with a mark of 11-3 so far this year. They average 78.4 points per outing (72nd in D-1) while going 44.1% from the field. The Rockets are shooting 39.7% on three-point attempts (154 of 388) and 76.9% from the charity stripe. As a team, Toledo is pulling in 38.0 rebounds per contest and has tallied 234 dimes this year, which is 6th in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. They are giving up possession 11.8 times per game and as a unit are committing 15.8 fouls on a nightly basis. Defensively, the Rockets are forcing their opponents into 13.1 turnovers per game and they draw 17.7 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 306th in college basketball in giving up assists with 179 relinquished on the year. The Rockets are giving up a FG percentage of 42.4% (356 of 840) and they concede 35.1 rebounds per game as a unit. They are conceding 28.8% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 135th in college basketball in opponents PPG (68.1).

The Toledo Rockets played the Eastern Michigan Eagles and went home with a win by a final score of 96-63 in their last game. Toledo ended with a 55.1% field goal percentage (38 of 69) and buried 17 of their 32 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Rockets buried 3 of their 6 shots for a percentage of 50.0%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they earned 37 with 13 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 26 assists in this matchup while getting 4 steals and 3 blocks. Pertaining to defending, Toledo allowed 55.1% from the field on 38 out of 69 shooting. Eastern Michigan recorded 14 assists and had 6 steals for the contest. Moreover, the Eagles grabbed 23 boards (7 offensive, 16 defensive) and added 3 blocks. Eastern Michigan finished the game at 66.7% when shooting free throws by converting 10 of 15 tries. They also converted 7 out of their 19 attempts from 3-point land.

Keshaun Saunders is one guy who had an impact for this game. He was able to score 20 points on 7 of 9 shooting. He saw the court for 22 mins and also pulled down 5 rebounds. Saunders finished the contest at 77.8% from the floor and recorded 4 dimes. One more player that was a factor in this matchup for the Rockets was Spencer Littleson. He collected 6 rebounds and accumulated 3 dimes. He finished the game shooting 50.0% from the field in the game by hitting 6-of-12 (19 points). When the final whistle was blown, Littleson played 34 min.

Akron has a win-loss mark of 4-3 on the year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Zips are shooting 45.8% from the floor, which ranks 121st in D-1. Akron has accumulated 544 pts on the year (77.7 per contest) and they pull down 40.0 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 15.1 times per game (87th in the nation) and they are turning it over 13.1 times per game. The Zips have committed 17.9 personal fouls per game and they connect on 76.7% from the charity stripe. The Zips are ranked 154th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 69.0. They are able to force 11.7 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 43.6% from the field (206th in college hoops). The Akron defense gives up 26.5% on three-point shots (39 of 147) and their opposition knocks down 63.2% of their foul shots. They have conceded 12.0 assists and 34.6 boards per contest, which is 122nd and 144th in those categories.

In their last game, the Akron Zips walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 67-65 when they played the Northern Illinois Huskies. The Zips earned 20 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds totaling 25 for the game. They also blocked 2 attempts while recording 3 steals in the game. The Huskies had 17 fouls for the contest which took the Zips to the free throw line for a total of 13 tries. They were able to make 6 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 46.2%. When it comes to three-point attempts, Akron made 9 of their 29 attempts (31.0%). When this game wrapped up, the Zips went 25 out of 60 from the floor which had them sitting at 41.7%. The Zips permitted the Huskies to bury 25 of their 54 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 46.3% for the game. They finished the game shooting 50.0% from behind the 3-point line by going 7 out of 14 and finished the game at 10 of 14 at the free throw line (71.4%). In relation to cleaning the glass, Akron permitted Northern Illinois to get 41 in total (10 on the offensive glass).

Ali Ali was important for the Zips in this matchup. He buried 5 of 10 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, which gave him 15 points. Ali grabbed 5 boards in his 30 minutes played and accumulated 4 assists in this contest. One more player who came through for Akron was Bryan Trimble Jr.. He racked up 12 points in 30 minutes played by going 4 out of 12 from the floor in this matchup. Jr. ended the game having shot 33.3% from the floor while totaling 2 assists and 2 total rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Toledo (-4)

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