Bradley vs Akron 12/22/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Akron Zips and the Bradley Braves meet Thursday in college basketball action from Carver Arena. Akron is 7-4 overall this year so far. The Zips beat Maine on Monday. As for the Braves, they’re currently 8-4 on the season after a win over Stonehill. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Akron was 3-3 over their first six games this year, beating South Dakota State, Morgan State and Western Kentucky. The Zips are 4-1 since then with wins over Muskingum, Jackson State, Wright State and Maine. 

Matched up against Maine on Monday, the Zips jumped out to a 44-23 halftime lead. Akron kept the pedal down with a 43-32 second half and won 87-55. Leading scorer Xavier Castaneda put up 33 points with four rebounds. 

Over on the Bradley side, they went 3-3 over their first six as well, beating UW-Parkside, Eastern Michigan and SEMO. The Braves are 5-1 in their last six games with a lone loss to Arkansas during that time. 

In Monday’s matchup versus Stonehill, Bradley took a 40-22 advantage into the break. The Braves scored another 39 points after halftime for a 79-50 win. Duke Deen led the team on 26 points, and Rienk Mast doubled with 13 points and 10 boards. 

PICK: I’m going to take a stab on Bradley. This should be a pretty darn good matchup regardless, though; both teams are playing well lately. The Braves are doing well on defense right now and have given up 54 points or fewer in each of their last five victories. As for Akron, they’ve scored 80 or more points in three of their last four games, going 4-0 in that stretch. I like this one to come down to the wire, with Bradley eking out a late cover. Should be fun.