Princeton vs Akron Prediction 12-30-24 College Basketball Picks
Akron (7-4) vs. Princeton (9-4)
December 30, 2024 1:00 pm EDT
The Line: Princeton -5; Over/Under: +155.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Akron Zips and the Princeton Tigers meet Monday in college basketball action from Jadwin Gym. Here’s a Princeton vs Akron prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Princeton vs Akron pick.
Akron Zips Betting Preview
Akron’s season kicked off on a 6-2 run with wins over Ohio Wesleyan, Lamar, Omaha, Alabama State, Northern Kentucky, and SUNY-Brockport. The Zips would then lose to Milwaukee and Yale before a win over Jackson State.
Matched up against the Tigers on December 21, Akron went into the break with a one-point lead. The Zips hit a 38-21 run the rest of the way in a 68-50 win. Shammah Scott came off the bench for a team-high 12 points and six boards.
Princeton Tigers Betting Preview
Over on the Tigers’ side, they went 4-3 in their first seven with losses to Loyola, Wright State, and Texas State. Princeton is 5-1 in their last six though, beating Portland, Nazareth, St. Joseph’s, Monmouth, and Rutgers.
In the Rutgers matchup last Saturday, the Tigers scored 44 points in the first half and 39 in the second for a tight 83-82 win. Both Caden Pierce (14 rebounds) and Xaivian Lee (11 assists) doubled up as top team scorers.
Why the Princeton Tigers will win
- Princeton has won each of its last 21 day games at Jadwin Gymnasium.
- Princeton has won the first half in seven of its last eight day games at Jadwin Gymnasium.
Why the Akron Zips will win
- Akron has won six of its last eight games.
- Akron has won the first half in six of its last eight games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Princeton vs Akron Prediction
I’ll stay with Princeton, but this should be a pretty fun matchup. The Tigers powered out a win over a decent Rutgers team in their last game, shooting 47.1 percent from the field with a 43-36 rebounding edge. The 14 turnovers for 20 Knights points were just about the only major blemish—besides the 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) from the line, that is. Princeton has scored 71 or more points in six of their last seven games, going 5-2 in that time.
As for Akron, they started slowly against a winless Jackson State team and ended up shooting just 34.8 percent from the field with 21 turnovers in their last game. The Zips normally score pretty well this year however; they’ve hit 75 or more points in eight of 11 games. Akron will probably need another one of those if they’re going to compete here.
