Akron Zips (21-5, 13-0 MAC) at Ohio Bobcats (14-12, 8-5 MAC)
Athens, Ohio; Saturday, 6 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Ohio takes on Akron after Jackson Paveletzke scored 22 points in Ohio’s 84-82 win against the Central Michigan Chippewas.
The Bobcats are 10-2 in home games. Ohio ranks sixth in the MAC in team defense, giving up 75.6 points while holding opponents to 45.0% shooting.
The Zips are 13-0 in conference matchups. Akron ranks 65th in college basketball averaging 11.2 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 36.3% from deep. Bowen Hardman leads the team averaging 1.9 makes while shooting 39.5% from 3-point range.
Ohio makes 47.1% of its shots from the field this season, which is 5.3 percentage points higher than Akron has allowed to its opponents (41.8%). Akron has shot at a 46.8% clip from the field this season, 1.8 percentage points above the 45.0% shooting opponents of Ohio have averaged.
TOP PERFORMERS: Paveletzke is averaging 13.2 points and five assists for the Bobcats. Shereef Mitchell is averaging 16.8 points over the last 10 games.
Hardman is shooting 39.5% from beyond the arc with 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Zips, while averaging 6.5 points. Nate Johnson is shooting 50.9% and averaging 16.2 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bobcats: 4-6, averaging 77.8 points, 27.8 rebounds, 11.9 assists, 5.8 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.4 points per game.
Zips: 10-0, averaging 87.3 points, 35.7 rebounds, 19.7 assists, 7.5 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 51.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.9 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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