Buffalo Bulls (15-16) vs. Akron Zips (20-10)
March 9, 2023 6:30 pm EDT
The Line: Akron Zips -7 / Buffalo Bulls +7 ; Over/Under: 148.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Buffalo Bulls and the Akron Zips meet Thursday in MAC Tournament college basketball action from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Buffalo finished off the regular season at 15-16 overall. The Bulls beat Miami-OH in their last game. As for Akron, they’re sitting at 21-10 overall following a loss to Kent State. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Buffalo Bulls
Over their first 24 games this year, the bulls hit a .500 run at 12-12 overall. Since then Buffalo has gone 3-4 with losses to Kent State, Ohio, Akron and Toledo among wins otherwise versus Central Michigan, Northern Illinois and Miami-OH.
Back on Friday versus Miami-OH, the Bulls were down 38-29 at the break. Buffalo rallied on a 39-25 second-half run and took the comeback victory 68-63. Leading the way was Isaiah Adams with 16 points, five rebounds and one assist.
Akron Zips
Over on the Akron side, they managed a 17-7 stretch through their first 24 outings of the season. The Zips finished things off with a 4-3 run, taking wins over Eastern Michigan, Buffalo, Western Michigan and Ball State. The losses came to Ohio, Toledo and Kent State.
In the Kent State matchup last Friday, the Zips scored 32 points in the first half, 40 in the second and 12 in overtime during a tough 89-84 loss. Tops in scoring was Sammy Hunter on 26 points, and Enrique Freeman added 25 points with 12 boards.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll probably stay with Akron. The Zips nearly topped a talented Kent State team in their last outing, but otherwise they’ve looked pretty good during this 4-2 stretch. Akron is on a nice scoring run with 74 or more points in seven of their last eight outings. These teams have met up twice this year already, with Akron taking the victory in both. The Zips won 81-64 on New Year’s Eve at UB Alumni Arena, then 86-66 at home on February 18. Buffalo is on a 3-1 run themselves and could cause some trouble for the Zips this time if Akron doesn’t get off to a good start. I think the Zips will pull it off, though.
