Who’s Playing
Ohio Bobcats @ Akron Zips
Current Records: Ohio 10-6, Akron 11-5
How To Watch
What to Know
We’ve got another exciting Mid American matchup on schedule as the Akron Zips and the Ohio Bobcats are set to tip at 6:00 p.m. ET on Friday at James A. Rhodes Arena. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as the Zips come in on four and the Bobcats on six.
Akron is headed into Friday’s contest after beating the impressive 161.5-point over/under the oddsmakers set for their last match against Toledo. Akron walked away with an 85-78 victory over Toledo on Tuesday.
Akron can attribute much of their success to Nate Johnson, who almost dropped a double-double on 28 points and nine rebounds, and Amani Lyles, who went 7 for 9 en route to 16 points plus five rebounds and two blocks. Lyles continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last four games he’s played.
Akron smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in six consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Ohio didn’t have too much trouble with Ball State on Tuesday as they won 86-71.
Ohio’s win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Aidan Hadaway, who went 5 for 9 en route to 15 points plus five rebounds. What’s more, Hadaway also posted a 60% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest he’s posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Shereef Mitchell, who went 5 for 7 en route to 12 points plus four steals.
Akron pushed their record up to 11-5 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home. As for Ohio, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they’ve won eight of their last nine matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 10-6 record this season.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Akron hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 82.2 points per game. However, it’s not like Ohio struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 81.1. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Akron came out on top in a nail-biter against Ohio in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, sneaking past 65-62. Will Akron repeat their success, or does Ohio have a better game plan this time around? We’ll find out soon enough.
Series History
Akron has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Ohio.
- Mar 15, 2024 – Akron 65 vs. Ohio 62
- Feb 27, 2024 – Ohio 74 vs. Akron 67
- Jan 23, 2024 – Akron 67 vs. Ohio 58
- Feb 10, 2023 – Ohio 90 vs. Akron 81
- Jan 28, 2023 – Akron 83 vs. Ohio 77
- Feb 25, 2022 – Akron 91 vs. Ohio 83
- Jan 04, 2022 – Ohio 69 vs. Akron 63
- Feb 23, 2021 – Ohio 90 vs. Akron 73
- Dec 22, 2020 – Akron 90 vs. Ohio 70
- Mar 03, 2020 – Akron 74 vs. Ohio 67
