The Jackson State Tigers and the Akron Zips meet Sunday in college basketball action from James A. Rhodes Arena. Jackson State is just 1-7 so far this year. The Tigers lost to TCU in their last matchup. As for Akron, they’re 4-4 and coming off a win over Muskingum. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Jackson State went 0-6 to start out the year, losing to Abilene Christian, Tulsa, Little Rock, Michigan, Indiana and Miami-OH. The Tigers beat SMU in game seven, then lost again to TCU back on Tuesday.
In the TCU matchup, Jackson State faced a 39-27 deficit going into the second half. The Tigers scored 24 more points from there and lost 78-51. Coltie Young was tops in scoring with 14 points.
Over on the Akron side, they won three of their first four games this year over South Dakota State, Morgan State and Western Kentucky. The Zips lost three in a row after that to LSU, Nevada and Marshall.
Akron got back into the win column last weekend versus Muskingum. The Zips took a 34-12 lead into the break, and eventually emerged victorious 80-33. Xavier Castaneda put up 17 points with five rebounds.
PICK: I’ll probably stay with Akron here. There’s admittedly not a ton of intrigue in this game, however; both teams have struggled this year. The Zips have scored 58 points or fewer in three of their last four games, but this matchup should feature a pretty good total from Akron; Jackson State has given up 68 or more points in each of their last seven outings. The Zips should be able to cover in this game if they play well, but it’s probably not one to mess with.