Buffalo Bulls (17-14, 7-11 MAC) vs. Akron Zips (26-5, 17-1 MAC)
Cleveland; Thursday, 4 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Zips -13.5; over/under is 159.5
BOTTOM LINE: Akron faces Buffalo in the MAC Tournament.
The Zips have gone 17-1 against MAC opponents, with a 9-4 record in non-conference play. Akron ranks fourth in college basketball with 18.9 assists per game. Tavari Johnson leads the Zips averaging 5.1.
The Bulls are 7-11 against MAC teams. Buffalo is 8-11 against opponents over .500.
Akron averages 11.1 made 3-pointers per game, 2.7 more made shots than the 8.4 per game Buffalo gives up. Buffalo has shot at a 47.4% rate from the field this season, 5.2 percentage points greater than the 42.2% shooting opponents of Akron have averaged.
The teams meet for the third time this season. The Zips won 99-85 in the last matchup on Feb. 25. Johnson led the Zips with 23 points, and Ryan Sabol led the Bulls with 28 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Shammah Scott averages 2.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Zips, scoring 12.6 points while shooting 42.5% from beyond the arc. Johnson is shooting 46.2% and averaging 19.6 points over the past 10 games.
Tim Oboh is averaging 8.4 points and 1.5 blocks for the Bulls. Angelo Brizzi is averaging 20.1 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Zips: 9-1, averaging 83.3 points, 35.1 rebounds, 16.9 assists, 6.9 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.9 points per game.
Bulls: 3-7, averaging 74.7 points, 27.8 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 7.3 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 45.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 79.5 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
