The Akron Zips will look to advance to the semifinals in the MAC Tournament. The Zips will have to defeat the Buffalo Bulls for the second time this season to do that. How do we see this game playing out? Let’s see what the NCAAB odds for this matchup tell us!
Buffalo Bulls vs. Akron Zips
Thursday, March 10, 2022 – 01:30 PM EST at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
The Akron Zips will take on the Buffalo Bulls in the MAC Championship quarterfinals. Buffalo already lost to Akron earlier this year, 88-76, on the road. To finish off the season, Buffalo lost two straight to Toledo and Kent State. Prior to those two losses, Buffalo went on a nine-game winning streak.
But that was large in part due to the fact that Buffalo's competition level was the bottom tier of the conference during that time. Buffalo is an above-average offense that runs the floor quickly. The Bulls are grabbing 37.1 percent offensive rebounds and are shooting 34.5 percent from three and 51.8 percent from inside the arc. The Bulls rarely get to the foul line and turn the ball over 18.5 percent of the time this season.
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Akron, on the other hand, has held teams to just 25.5 percent offensive rebounds while also limiting fouls at a high rate. If Akron can keep Buffalo away from the foul line, Akron will be in great shape. Akron has struggled to defend the three, allowing 35 percent from deep. However, inside the arc, opponents are shooting just 47.6 percent from the field.
Akron won't force a whole lot of turnovers but sometimes, Buffalo just makes careless errors on their own. Akron also loves to get to the line and feasts at the line. The Zips only shoot 68.5 percent from the line but are one of the top teams in the country at getting to the foul line.
On top of that, Akron hits 34.6 percent from three and 52.9 percent from inside the arc. The Zips also don't need to worry about turnovers. On the season, Akron is turning the ball over 17.7 percent of the time while Buffalo is only earning 15.6 percent turnovers per game.
Buffalo has done well defending against the three-point shot, allowing just 31.2 percent threes. However, inside, Buffalo has held opponents to 48.6 percent, giving some wiggle room for Akron to have success inside the paint.
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While Akron won't rebound as effectively on the offensive end, the Zips still average 29% offensive rebounds and should end up getting their fair share of second chances as well. After all, Akron has been a better defensive rebounding team than Buffalo has been this year analytically.
Prediction
Look for Akron to dominate the foul-shooting battle and also look for Akron to hit more three-point shots. Buffalo would rather score inside, which is the biggest strength of Akron's defense. For our NCAAB picks, so let's take Akron +2.5 in the quarterfinals. Buffalo has lost two straight and hasn't looked all that promising recently.
NCAAB Pick: Akron +2.5 (-110) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
