Akron vs Southern 12/4/21 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Southern Jaguars will travel to James A. Rhodes Arena to take on the Akron Zips this Saturday night in College Basketball action.

The Southern Jaguars won their 2^nd straight game and improved to 3-4 on the season after defeating the Tennessee State Tigers, 82-80, this past Sunday. Southern was solid offensively against the Tennessee State defense and was able to hold off the Tigers after taking a 76-71 lead with 2:35 left in regulation. Southern shot 49.1% from the field & 60.0% from beyond the arc while allowing Tennessee State to shoot 46.2% from the field & 35.7% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Jaguars was Terrell Williams who had 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, & 2 steals.

On the season, Southern is averaging 73.4 ppg on 44.0% shooting from the field. The Jaguars are averaging 7.4 three-pointers per game on 39.1% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Southern has been led by Brion Whitley (14.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.6 spg), Tyrone Lyons (14.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.9 spg), Jayden Saddler (10.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.9 spg), & Terrell Williams (9.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.6 spg).

Defensively, Southern is allowing their opponents to average 72.7 ppg on 46.3% shooting from the field. The Jaguars have a rebound margin of -6.4 and a turnover margin of 5.4.

The Akron Zips won their 2^nd straight game and improved to 4-3 on the season after defeating the Marshall Thundering Herd, 88-86, this past Wednesday. Akron led by a 49-40 margin at halftime and was able to pull off the victory after the Zips Enrique Freeman hit two game-winning FT’s with just :04 seconds left in regulation. Akron shot 50.0% from the field & 36.8% from beyond the arc while allowing Marshall to shoot 53.2% from the field & 47.8% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Zips was Enrique Freeman who had a double-double with 24 points, 14 rebounds, 2 blocks, & 1 steal.

On the season, Akron is averaging 73.1 ppg on 45.6% shooting from the field. The Zips are averaging 7.7 three-pointers per game on 32.5% from beyond the arc. Offensively, Akron has been led by Enrique Freeman (14.1 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 1.1 bpg), Ali Ali (11.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.1 apg), Bryan Trimble Jr. (9.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg), & Zavier Castaneda (9.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.6 apg).

Defensively, Akron is holding their opponents to an average of 59.6 ppg on 38.8% shooting from the field. The Zips have a rebound margin of 8.1 and a turnover margin of 1.0.

The Jaguars are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games. The Zips are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games vs. a team with a losing road record & 9-2 ATS in their last 11 home games.

Southern has been decent on the offensive end this season, however, the defense has really struggled as the Jaguars currently rank just t-258^th in scoring defense, 303^rd in defensive FG%, & 331^st in rebound margin. Akron is coming off one of their best offensive performances of the season and have been strong defensively as the Zips come into this game ranked 37^th in scoring defense, 56^th in defensive FG%, & t-35^th in rebound margin.

Southern picked up a solid win at Tulane early in the season, however, this is still a team that lost by 23 points at Nebraska and just allowed Tennessee State to put up 80 points against them. Akron is coming off an impressive home win over Marshall and between the fact the Zips nearly upset Ohio State on the road and that their defense is going to give Southern trouble, I think Akron does enough in this one to cover this large home spread. Good Luck!