Halftime Report
Akron has overcome an early deficit to take the lead back in this one. They have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead Princeton 41-30.
Akron came into the game with some extra motivation after the defeat they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We’ll see if they’re able to flip the script or if it’ll just be more of the same.
Who’s Playing
Akron Zips @ Princeton Tigers
Current Records: Akron 7-4, Princeton 9-4
How To Watch
What to Know
The Princeton Tigers and the Akron Zips will round out the year against one another at 1:00 p.m. ET on Monday at at L. Stockwell Jadwin Gymnasium. Coming in fresh off a victory as the underdog, the Tigers will stroll into this one as the favorite.
Princeton’s offense and defense might be a bit winded after their high-scoring matchup with Rutgers last Saturday. Princeton skirted by Rutgers 83-82 thanks to a clutch jump shot from Caden Pierce with 5 seconds left in the second quarter. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Tigers.
Princeton can attribute much of their success to Pierce, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Xaivian Lee, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 11 assists. The dominant performance also gave Pierce a new career-high in offensive rebounds (seven).
Princeton smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. That’s a new trend for them: they were averaging 7.8 offensive rebounds per game earlier this season, but in their last five contests they’ve averaged 12.2.
Meanwhile, Akron didn’t have too much trouble with Jackson State last Saturday as they won 68-50.
Akron got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was James Okonkwo out in front who dropped a double-double on ten points and 16 rebounds. Okonkwo’s performance made up for a slower match against Yale last Friday. The team also got some help courtesy of Shammah Scott, who scored 12 points in addition to six rebounds.
Princeton has been performing well recently as they’ve won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 9-4 record this season. As for Akron, their victory ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 7-4.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Princeton hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 76.9 points per game. However, it’s not like Akron struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 81.2. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Princeton skirted past Akron 64-62 in their previous meeting back in December of 2017. Will Princeton repeat their success, or does Akron have a better game plan this time around? We’ll find out soon enough.
Odds
Princeton is a solid 5.5-point favorite against Akron, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Tigers as a 4.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 155 points.
See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Princeton won the only game these two teams have played in the last 7 years.
- Dec 23, 2017 – Princeton 64 vs. Akron 62
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
