The James Madison Dukes and the Akron Zips meet Monday in college basketball action from the James A. Rhodes Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a James Madison Dukes vs. Akron Zips prediction.
James Madison Dukes Recap
The James Madison Dukes come into this game looking to take another step forward in year two under Preston Spradlin, going 20-12 overall including a 13-5 mark in Sun Belt conference play. The Dukes would finish as co-champions in the regular season in the Sun Belt and would get a bye to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament before falling to Troy in the semifinals. There’s going to be a bit of an overhaul for the Dukes’ roster after losing 5 key pieces from last year’s team, but Gabe Newhof comes in after logging 21.5 PPG and 7.2 RPG at the NAIA level while Bradley Douglas has 12.6 PPG with 3.9 RPG and 2.3 APG last season at Georgia Southern and will try to bring that over to JMU. Only time will tell if Spradlin can work the same magic at JMU that he did at Morehead and get the Dukes back to prominence.
Akron Zips Recap
The Akron Zips come into the 2025-26 season looking to keep the ball rolling after another dominant season under John Groce, finishing 28-7 overall including 17-1 in MAC conference play, winning the regular season conference title and knocking off Bowling Green, Toledo and Miami-Ohio to win the MAC conference tournament. the Zips would be a 13-seed in the NCAA tournament, falling to Arizona in the first round of the big dance. There’s a lot to like about this year’s Akron team, with Tavari Johnson back after logging 13 PPG and Shammah Scott’s the second-highest returning scorer for Akron after logging 9.4 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 24.4 MPG last season. Evan Mahaffey transfers over from Ohio State and Ognjen Stankovic comes in after playing his U19 ball in Bosnia and logging 21.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 4.8 APG, making a case for potential freshman of the year if all goes to plan. It’ll be interesting to see if Akron can keep the roll going under Groce or if someone else will usurp the throne in the MAC this season.
James Madison Dukes vs. Akron Zips Prediction
I’m going to be on James Madison here. I was initially on Akron, but the line continues to move and I just think it’s now too far gone to be with the Zips here. JMU is still very well coached, and I think this is a game that could come down to the final seconds. Give me JMU and the points here.
