Iona Gaels vs Akron Zips Prediction, 11/21/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Iona Gaels vs Akron Zips

Date: Friday, November 21, 2025

Location: UVI Sports & Fitness Center in Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands

TV: ESPN+

UVI Sports & Fitness Center is the location where the Akron Zips (3-1) will try to defeat the Iona Gaels (4-0) on Friday.

The Iona Gaels played Princeton and took home the win by a score of 89-69 in their last contest. Iona wrapped up the game having earned a 50.0% FG percentage (29 of 58) and made 10 of their 29 shots from distance. At the charity stripe, the Gaels converted 21 of 27 attempts for a percentage of 77.8%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they earned 36 with 6 of them being offensive. They also recorded 17 assists in the game while creating 12 turnovers and having 12 steals. In terms of the defense, Iona allowed the other team to go 37.3% from the field on 25 of 67 shooting. Princeton earned 14 assists and had 7 steals for the contest. On top of that, Princeton had 32 boards (10 offensive, 22 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Princeton went 65.2% from the free throw line by knocking down 15 of their 23 tries. They made 4 out of their 24 shots from three-point range. Regarding fouls, the Gaels ended up finishing with 19 and Princeton finished the game with 17 fouls.

Denver Anglin is someone who was a major contributor for the game. He ended up going 50.0% from the floor and totaled 3 assists. He played 25 mins played and pulled down 1 board. He was able to score 13 points on 4 of 8 shooting.

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Iona heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 4-0 for the season. They average 87.8 points per contest (74th in the country) while hitting 50.6% from the field. The Gaels are shooting 40.2% on shots from distance (41 of 102) and 67.4% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Iona is snagging 35.3 rebounds per game and has tallied 68 assists on the year, which ranks 193rd in the country in terms of passing. They turn it over 13.0 times per game and as a team they commit 17.3 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Gaels are forcing their opponents into 14.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.8 personal fouls. They are ranked 137th in the nation in giving up assists with 56 conceded for the season. The Gaels defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 42.7% (119 of 279) and they concede 40.8 rebounds per game as a unit. They give up 19.8% from 3-point land and they rank 234th in college hoops in points per game allowed (76.0).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Akron Zips took a defeat with a final score of 97-79 when they played Purdue. The Zips snagged 14 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards totaling 25 for the matchup. They also gave up possession of the ball 10 times, while earning 9 steals in this game. Purdue had 15 personal fouls for the game which got the Zips to the free throw line for a total of 17 shots. They were able to knock down 12 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 70.6%. Pertaining to 3-point attempts, Akron made 13 of their 33 tries (39.4%). When this game wrapped up, the Zips went 27 for 67 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.3%. The Zips allowed Purdue to make 35 of 67 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 52.2% for this game. They shot 39.1% from beyond the arc by hitting 9 out of 23 and finished the game at 18 out of 23 at the free throw line (78.3%). Concerning rebounding, Akron permitted Purdue to pull down 43 overall (19 on the offensive glass).

Tavari Johnson was important for the Zips for the contest. He knocked down 7 of 16 in the game for a rate of 43.8%, and totaled 3 rebounds. He racked up 20 points in his 28 minutes on the court and tallied 2 dimes for the matchup.

Akron has a mark of 3-1 on the year. As an offensive unit, the Zips are hitting on 46.4% from the field, which is 156th in college. Akron has scored 377 points on the season (94.3 per contest) and they pull in 44.5 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 22.0 times per contest (7th in college) and they are turning it over 9.0 times per game. The Zips commit 13.8 personal fouls per game and they connect on 76.1% from the free throw line.

The Akron defense allows 33.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter (41 of 122) and their opponents are connecting on 77.6% of their free throw attempts. They have conceded 14.0 dimes and 38.3 total boards per game, which is ranked 230th and 292nd in those categories on the defensive end. The Zips on the defensive side of the court are 170th in college in PPG surrendered with 72.0. They are forcing 16.8 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 38.4% from the floor (63rd in the nation).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Iona

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