UMass Minutemen vs Akron Zips Prediction, 2/14/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UMass Minutemen vs Akron Zips

Date: Saturday, February 14, 2026

Location: James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, OH

TV: ESPN+

The UMass Minutemen (15-10) are headed to James A. Rhodes Arena on Saturday where they will go up against the Akron Zips (19-5).

The UMass Minutemen took the court against Coastal Carolina and took a loss by a final of 94-91 in their last game. When it comes to fouls, the Minutemen left the arena with 20 and Coastal Carolina had 22 fouls. They buried 16 of 34 attempts from three-point range. Coastal Carolina finished shooting 50.0% when shooting free throws by converting 8 of their 16 attempts. Furthermore, Coastal Carolina snagged 50 rebounds (15 offensive, 35 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Coastal Carolina distributed 13 assists and had 4 steals in the game. In relation to defense, UMass allowed 42.7% from the floor on 35 of 82 shooting. They also distributed 11 assists in this contest as well as forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and getting 3 steals. In relation to getting rebounds, they collected 56 with 21 of them being offensive. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Minutemen converted 11 of 23 shots for a percentage of 47.8%. UMass walked away from the contest with a 42.2% field goal percentage (35 of 83) and knocked down 10 out of their 26 shots from beyond the perimeter.

K'Jei Parker is someone who was a factor for the game. He finished shooting 66.7% from the floor but had no dimes when the game ended. He was on the court for 34 minutes played and also snagged 6 boards. He scored 31 points on 12 out of 18 shooting.

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UMass enters this matchup with a win-loss mark of 15-10 on the campaign. They have an average of 80.6 pts per game (92nd in D-1) while hitting 46.5% from the field. The Minutemen are shooting 35.1% on three-point shots (190 of 542) and 67.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, UMass is collecting 37.8 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 437 dimes this season, which ranks 23rd in D-1 in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 13.1 times per contest and as a team they commit 20.5 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Minutemen are forcing 13.2 turnovers per game and they draw 19.7 fouls. They surrender 31.7% on shots from distance while they are 235th in college in PPG allowed (75.8). The Minutemen are giving up a field goal percentage of 44.9% (635 of 1,414) and they surrender 32.4 boards per game as a team. They currently rank 275th in D-1 in allowing assists with 364 relinquished this season.

When they last played, the Akron Zips walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 79-69 against Troy. In relation to rebounds, Akron allowed Troy to collect 32 overall (9 on the offensive side). They finished 51.9% from three-point range by going 14 out of 27 and walked away from this one shooting 15 of 17 from the free throw line (88.2%). The Zips allowed Troy to knock down 25 of their 58 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 43.1% in this matchup. At the conclusion of this game, the Zips ended up going 26 for 59 from the field which gave them a percentage of 44.1%. In reference to shots from 3-point land, Akron buried 8 of their 30 attempts (26.7%). They were able to knock down 9 of them for a rate of 69.2%. Troy committed 12 personal fouls for this game which took the Zips to the free throw line for 13 tries. They also coughed it up 7 times, while recording 4 steals in this game. The Zips recorded 23 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 31 in the game.

Tavari Johnson ended up having an impact for the Zips in this contest. He converted 11 out of 21 in this matchup giving him a rate of 52.4%, and totaled 3 rebounds. He scored 26 points in his 38 minutes on the court and had 1 assist in the matchup.

Akron has a record of 19-5 so far this season. The Zips are committing 15.8 fouls every game and they connect on 76.2% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 19.3 times per contest (6th in college) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.9 times per game. Akron has accounted for 2,148 pts on the year (89.5 per game) and they average 37.8 boards per contest. In terms of offensive execution, the Zips are hitting on 50.6% from the field, which is 14th in the nation.

The Akron defense allows 34.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter (220 of 643) and opponents are making 73.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 13.3 assists and 33.8 rebounds per game, which is 179th and 143rd in Division 1. The Zips on the defensive end are ranked 199th in college in PPG allowed with 74.2. They are able to force 13.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 42.0% from the field (75th in college).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Akron

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