The Utah State Aggies and the Akron Zips meet in college basketball action from the John Gray Gymnasium on Monday.
Utah State Takes Out Marshall
The Utah State Aggies come into this one looking to build on an 83-60 win over Marshall for back-to-back W’s and to improve to 3-1 on the year as a result. Going into the Marshall game, Great Osobor leads the Aggies in scoring and rebounding with 22.3 PPG and 8.7 RPG with 3.7 APG while Darius Brown II has 15 PPG with 3.7 RPG and a team-high 7.7 APG to lead the Aggies in the assist department this season. Josh Uduje has 12.3 PPG with 3 RPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Utah State up to this point in the year. Mason Falslev also has 9.3 PPG with 5 RPG and 3.7 APG as well on the year. As a team, Utah State is averaging 86.7 PPG on 51.9% shooting from the field, 35.4% from three and 67.2% from the foul line this season.
Akron Knocks Off FIU
The Akron Zips will be looking to remain unbeaten on the year after picking up a 77-71 win over FIU in their last matchup. Mikal Dawson leads Akron in scoring with 17.3 PPG along with 3.7 RPG while Enrique Freeman has 12 PPG and a team-high 13 RPG to lead the Zips on the glass, averaging a double-double per game. Sammy Hunter has 11.7 PPG with 3.7 RPG and Nate Johnson has 10.7 PPG to round out the scoring in double figures for Akron so far this season. Greg Tribble has 9.7 PPG with 3.7 RPG and 3 APG while Kaleb Thornton has a team-high 3.7 APG to lead the Zips in the assist department this season. As a team, Akron is averaging 89 PPG on 49.2% shooting from the field, 40% from three and 81.3% from the foul line this season.
Chris’ Pick
I get why this line is close to a pick ‘em, as both teams match up fairly well from a statistical standpoint. However, Akron shoots the rock a lot better than Utah State does, and while Utah State has an edge in 2-point shooting, it’s not a big enough edge to make up for how much better Akron is from 3-point range and at the foul line. The Zips are also much better on the offensive glass and I think those second chances are the difference as Akron gets the win and cover here.
AUTHOR: Chris Ruffolo
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