Buffalo vs Akron College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions 3/12/21

The Akron Zips and the Buffalo Bulls meet Friday in college basketball action from Quicken Loans Arena. 

Coming into this MAC Tournament matchup, Akron sits at 15-7 so far. The Zips took out Bowling Green in the conference tournament on Thursday. As for Buffalo, they’re 15-7 overall this year as well. the Bulls beat Miami-OH in tourney activity on Thursday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Akron started out their year at a shaky 4-3 but then hit a nice win streak in January. The Zips took a three-game losing streak to Ohio, Bowling Green and Buffalo in February, but bounced back on a tournament victory over Bowling Green on Thursday.

In the Thursday tournament win over Bowling Green, Akron jumped out to a 34-26 lead at the half and cruised to an eventual 74-67 result. Leading the way in scoring was Loren Cristian Jackson with 31 points, three rebounds and four assists.

Over on the Buffalo side, they started out the year at a relatively 6-6 back at the end of January, but since then they’ve lost just one game. The Bulls are on a six-game win streak right now, capped off by the 11-point tournament win over Miami-OH on Thursday. 

In the 74-63 win over Miami-OH, Buffalo jumped out to a 40-32 lead at the half, and kept it going in an eventual 74-63 result. Topping the Bulls in scoring was Josh Mballa with 23 points, 19 rebounds, two assists and two steals. 

The Bulls are 1-4-1 ATS in their last six neutral-site games and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 overall. The under is 5-0 in Buffalo’s last five overall and 6-0 in their last six Friday games. 

Meanwhile, the Zips are 4-1 ATS in their last five Friday games and 11-4 ATS in their last 15 overall. Akron is 19-7 ATS in the last 26 as an underdog and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 as a favorite. 

PICK: I’m going to stick with Buffalo in this one. The Bulls have been on a great run lately, and their offense is clicking well. They’ve hit 80 or more points in five of their last six games, and haven’t finished below 69 points all season. If Buffalo can get their offense clicking early, I don’t think they’ll have too many issues staying ahead on the way to a cover.