Akron Zips (21-6, 13-1 MAC) at Ball State Cardinals (14-13, 7-7 MAC)
Muncie, Indiana; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Nate Johnson and Akron visit Jermahri Hill and Ball State in MAC action Tuesday.
The Cardinals are 8-5 on their home court. Ball State is 4-2 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.
The Zips are 13-1 against MAC opponents. Akron ranks second in the MAC shooting 36.0% from 3-point range.
Ball State averages 76.6 points per game, 2.9 more points than the 73.7 Akron allows. Akron has shot at a 46.7% clip from the field this season, 2.5 percentage points greater than the 44.2% shooting opponents of Ball State have averaged.
TOP PERFORMERS: Hill is averaging 15.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists for the Cardinals. Payton Sparks is averaging 16.0 points and 8.2 rebounds while shooting 59.3% over the past 10 games.
James Okonkwo is averaging 7.3 points and 7.6 rebounds for the Zips. Johnson is averaging 15.2 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 6-4, averaging 77.9 points, 31.1 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 4.7 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.3 points per game.
Zips: 9-1, averaging 84.8 points, 36.1 rebounds, 18.3 assists, 6.9 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 50.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.3 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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