Akron vs Marshall 12/1/21 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Marshall Thundering Herd will travel to James A. Rhodes Arena to take on the Akron Zips this Wednesday night in College Basketball action.

The Marshall Thundering Herd had their 2-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 4-2 on the season after being defeated by the Indiana Hoosiers, 90-79, this past Saturday. Marshall led by a 42-41 margin at halftime, however, the Thundering Herd struggled defensively in the 2^nd half and could not fight back after Indiana took an 81-69 lead with 4:37 left in regulation. Marshall shot 49.2% from the field & 31.3% from beyond the arc while allowing Indiana to shoot 57.6% from the field & 53.3% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Thundering Herd was Andrew Taylor who had 20 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, & 4 steals.

On the season, Marshall is averaging 82.2 ppg on 45.7% shooting from the field. The Thundering Herd are averaging 6.2 three-pointers per game on 26.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Marshall has been led by Taevion Kinsey (19.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.0 spg), Obinna Anochili-Killen (14.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.2 spg, 5.5 bpg), Darius George (13.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg), & Andrew Taylor (12.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 6.8 apg, 3.5 spg).

Defensively, Marshall is allowing their opponents to average 74.7 ppg on 43.8% shooting from the field. The Thundering Herd have a rebound margin of 1.2 and a turnover margin of 3.8.

The Akron Zips snapped their 2-game losing streak and improved to 3-3 on the season after defeating the Evansville Purple Aces, 69-60, this past Wednesday. Akron was outstanding offensively against Evansville and had no trouble securing the victory after going into halftime with a 33-20 lead. Akron shot 48.8% from the field & 66.7% from beyond the arc while holding Evansville to just 37.3% shooting from the field & 26.1% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Zips was Ali Ali who had 20 points & 2 rebounds.

On the season, Akron is averaging 70.7 ppg on 44.8% shooting from the field. The Zips are averaging 7.8 three-pointers per game on 32.0% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Akron has been led by Enrique Freeman (12.5 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 bpg), Ali Ali (11.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.7 apg), Xavier Castaneda (10.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.3 apg), & K.J. Walton (7.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.3 spg).

Defensively, Akron is holding their opponents to an average of 55.2 ppg on 36.0% shooting from the field. The Zips have a rebound margin of 8.7 and a turnover margin of 1.3.

The Thundering Herd are just 2-7-2 ATS in their last 11 games overall & 0-3-2 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS loss. The Zips are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 Wednesday games & 8-2 ATS in their last 10 home games.

Marshall is a team that likes to get up and down the court quickly and has had success putting plenty of points on the board this season, however, the Thundering Herd haven’t shot the ball partically well and have struggled defensively, as they currently rank just 284^th in scoring defense & 238^th in defensive FG%. Akron is always solid at home and as their defense, which ranks 7^th in scoring defense & 14^th in defensive FG%, should have some success giving Marshall’s offense some trouble, I’m taking Akron to cover this small home spread. Good Luck!