Akron Zips vs Northern Illinois Huskies Prediction, 1/28/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Akron Zips vs Northern Illinois Huskies

Date: Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Location: NIU Convocation Center in Dekalb, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Akron Zips (14-5) are hitting the road to NIU Convocation Center on Tuesday where they will take on the Northern Illinois Huskies (5-14).

The Akron Zips faced off with Miami and took home the win by a score of 102-75 in their last contest. When talking about fouls, the Zips walked away with 20 and Miami recorded 19 fouls. They also converted 8 of their 25 tries from 3-point land. Miami finished the contest at 73.3% at the free throw line by making 11 of their 15 shots. On top of that, Miami totaled 20 rebounds (6 offensive, 14 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Miami dished out 15 assists and had 8 steals in this contest. Regarding defending, Akron allowed their opponent to shoot 46.7% from the floor on 28 of 60 shooting. They also recorded 21 assists in this matchup in addition to creating 15 turnovers and having 8 steals. In the matter of hauling in boards, they earned a total of 35 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Zips buried 15 of their 19 tries for a percentage of 78.9%. Akron walked away from the contest having earned a 55.4% field goal percentage (36 of 65) and made 15 out of their 34 3-pointers.

Tavari Johnson is one guy who was a factor for this contest. He recorded 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 23 mins played and totaled 1 rebound. He ended up shooting 55.6% from the field and totaled 6 assists.

Get all of our NCAA Best Bets Picks

Akron steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss record of 14-5 on the season. They cough up possession 12.5 times per game and as a squad are committing 18.2 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Akron is collecting 40.8 rebounds per game and has totaled 353 dimes for the campaign, which ranks 14th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Zips are connecting on 36.5% on three-point attempts (220 of 603) and 75.8% from the charity stripe. They average 84.2 points per outing (15th in D-1) while going 45.8% from the floor.

On defense, the Zips are forcing their opponents into 13.7 turnovers per game while drawing 15.7 fouls. They are giving up 31.8% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 234th in the nation in opponents PPG (73.2). The Zips are giving up a shooting percentage of 41.9% (494 of 1,179) and they surrender 36.5 rebounds per contest as a group. They are 67th in college in allowing assists with 232 conceded this year.

When they last played, the Northern Illinois Huskies went home victorious with a score of 76-66 when they played Ball State. The Huskies were able to snag 30 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 for the contest. They coughed it up 7 times, while recording 3 steals for the matchup. Ball State earned 20 personal fouls for this contest which took the Huskies to the free throw line for 26 tries. They were able to make 15 of those for a clip of 57.7%. When discussing shots from beyond the perimeter, Northern Illinois converted 13 of 27 tries (48.1%). When all was said and done, the Huskies ended up going 24 for 55 from the field which had them sitting at 43.6%. The Huskies permitted Ball State to bury 22 out of 57 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 38.6% for the game. They finished 36.0% from three-point range by shooting 9 out of 25 and finished the game at 13 of 28 at the free throw line (46.4%). With respect to rebounding, Northern Illinois permitted Ball State to grab 28 in all (4 offensive).

Nasir Muhammad ended up being a factor for the Huskies in this game. He had 19 points in his 37 minutes of playing time and totaled 4 dimes for the contest. He converted 6 out of 11 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 54.5%, and added 6 rebounds.

Northern Illinois has a record of 5-14 this season. On the offensive side of the court, the Huskies are shooting 40.9% from the floor, which is 342nd in college hoops. Northern Illinois has earned 1,345 points on the season (70.8 per contest) and they collect 33.2 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 12.8 times per game (258th in college) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.3 times per game. The Huskies have committed 19.3 personal fouls every game and they shoot 69.7% from the charity stripe.

The Northern Illinois defense allows 36.8% on 3-pointers (154 of 418) and their opponents are converting on 70.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 14.1 assists and 41.2 boards per contest, which is 263rd and 361st in college hoops. The Huskies on defense are ranked 290th in the country in PPG allowed with 75.6. They are forcing their opponents into 13.8 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 44.7% from the floor (266th in college).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Northern Illinois

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here