Northern Illinois Huskies vs Akron Zips Prediction, 3/6/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northern Illinois Huskies vs Akron Zips

Date: Friday, March 6, 2026

Location: James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, OH

TV: ESPN+

The Northern Illinois Huskies (9-20) are headed to James A. Rhodes Arena on Friday where they will take on the Akron Zips (25-5).

The Northern Illinois Huskies faced off with Kent State and ended up losing by a score of 102-76 in their last game. With respect to fouls, the Huskies ended up with 25 and Kent State totaled 25 fouls. They also made 15 of 33 attempts from downtown. Kent State walked away from this one shooting 82.9% from the free throw line by burying 29 of their 35 attempts. Moreover, Kent State totaled 36 rebounds (10 offensive, 26 defensive), but didn't have a block. Kent State earned 21 dimes and had 9 steals for this game. Pertaining to defense, Northern Illinois allowed the other team to go 47.5% from the floor on 29 out of 61 shooting. They also doled out 10 assists for the contest as well as creating 9 turnovers and earning 2 steals. In reference to hauling in boards, they earned 27 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Huskies knocked down 26 of 36 attempts for a percentage of 72.2%. Northern Illinois walked away from the game with a 40.0% field goal percentage (22 of 55) and converted 6 of their 26 three-point attempts.

Gianni Cobb is a player who played a role for this game. He ended up finishing with 17 points on 5 of 11 shooting. He played 33 mins played and also grabbed 3 boards. He ended up going 45.5% from the floor and also earned 4 dimes.

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Northern Illinois will play this game with a win-loss mark of 9-20 this year. They turn it over 15.0 times per contest and as a group are committing 18.6 fouls per game. As a unit, Northern Illinois is pulling down 35.1 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 370 dimes for the season, which has them ranked 304th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Huskies are shooting 31.6% on shots beyond the perimeter (234 of 740) and 66.7% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 70.0 points per outing (311th in Division 1) while hitting 41.7% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Huskies are able to force 11.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.1 personal fouls. They are giving up 33.9% on shots from distance while they are 273rd in college in points per game from their opponents (77.2). The Huskies defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 47.7% (788 of 1,653) and they relinquish 33.7 rebounds per contest as a team. They currently rank 226th in the country in allowing assists to their opponents with 421 surrendered for the year.

In their last game, the Akron Zips went home victorious with a score of 77-64 against Central Michigan. The Zips snagged 27 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive boards for a total of 41 in this contest. They turned the ball over 12 times, while earning 12 steals for the contest. Central Michigan was called for 11 fouls for the matchup which got the Zips to the free throw line for 11 tries. They were able to bury 6 of them for a clip of 54.5%. Pertaining to shots from beyond the perimeter, Akron knocked down 11 of 33 tries (33.3%). In all, the Zips ended up shooting 30 out of 63 from the field which had them sitting at 47.6%. The Zips permitted Central Michigan to convert 25 out of 58 tries from the field which had them shooting 43.1% for the matchup. They went 43.5% from beyond the arc by shooting 10 out of 23 and walked away from this one shooting 4 of 6 at the charity stripe (66.7%). When discussing rebounding, Akron allowed Central Michigan to pull down 24 overall (5 offensive).

Tavari Johnson pitched in for the Zips in this game. He recorded 17 points in his 32 minutes on the court and tallied 4 assists in the game. He buried 7 of 15 for the contest for a field goal rate of 46.7%, and totaled 3 rebounds.

Akron has a mark of 25-5 this season. The Zips are committing 15.8 fouls per game while shooting 77.4% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 19.0 times per contest (5th in college) and they turn the ball over 11.1 times per contest. Akron has accounted for 2,683 points on the year (89.4 per game) and they pull down 38.1 rebounds per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Zips are hitting on 50.4% from the floor, which is ranked 9th in college.

The Zips on defense are ranked 200th in the nation in PPG given up with 74.3. They have forced 13.8 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 42.4% from the field (86th in college hoops). The Akron defense allows 35.4% from downtown (287 of 810) and their opposition knocks down 73.1% of their foul shots. They concede 13.6 dimes and 33.0 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks them 200th and 92nd in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Northern Illinois

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