The Akron Zips and the UNLV Rebels meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Thomas & Mack Center. Akron is sitting at 4-2 overall after consecutive losses, most recently to Drake last Tuesday. As for UNLV, they’re fresh off a loss to Richmond which dropped the team to 2-3 overall. Here’s a Akron vs UNLV Prediction.

Akron Zips 

The Zips kicked off the season with a nice four-game win streak. Those victories came over South Dakota State, Southern Miss, Heidelberg and Florida International. Game five was Akron’s first loss, a 65-62 result versus Utah State. The Zips hit just 37.7 percent of their shots from the field in that defeat. 

Akron took another loss in their last appearance versus Drake. Following a 35-29 halftime deficit, the Zips didn’t get any closer in a 79-59 defeat. Enrique Freeman and Greg Tribble led the offensive attack for Akron in the loss, each with 11 points and a combined five rebounds. 

UNLV Rebels 

Over on the Rebels’ side, they started the year with a rough loss to Southern U, but then recovered with wins over Stetson and Pepperdine. UNLV couldn’t make it three in a row however, falling to Florida State 83-75. The Rebels shot an excellent 56.9 percent from the field in the loss, but allowed the Seminoles to hit 62.7 percent of their shots. 

UNLV took another defeat last Tuesday versus Richmond. The Rebels were drilled 38-23 in the first half and limped to an 82-65 result. Jackie Johnson led the scoring for the Rebels with 17 points. Kalib Boone added 14 points with four rebounds in the losing effort, and Jalen Hill chipped in 10 points with seven boards. 

ANDREW’S FREE UNLV VS AKRON PREDICTION 

I’m going to lean toward UNLV. The Rebels aren’t inspiring a lot of confidence these days, but they should have control in this matchup. UNLV needs a good bounce-back showing after a rough game against Richmond, though. The Rebels shot just 38.7 percent from the floor in that one, and were highly permissive on defense again by allowing 60 percent shooting to the Spiders. As for Akron, they didn’t shoot terribly versus Drake (43.8 percent) but got outmuscled on the boards 30-22. Considering UNLV has hit 71 or more points in four of five games so far, it’s going to take a big effort for the Zips to keep pace.