The Ohio Bobcats take on the Akron Zips in Akron, OH. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
Akron is favored by 3.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -170. The total is set at 162 points.
Here’s my Ohio vs. Akron predictions and college basketball picks for January 17, 2025.
Ohio vs Akron Prediction
My Pick: Lean Akron -2.5
My Ohio vs Akron best bet is on the Zips spread, with the best odds currently available at DraftKings. For all of your college basketball bets, find the best lines using our live NCAAB odds page.
Ohio vs Akron Odds
| Ohio Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+3.5 -110 | 162 -108o / -112u | +145 |
| Akron Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-3.5 -110 | 162 -108o / -112u | -170 |
- Ohio vs Akron spread: Akron -3.5
- Ohio vs Akron over/under: 162 points
- Ohio vs Akron moneyline: Akron -170, Ohio +145
- Ohio vs Akron best bet: PASS | Lean Akron -2.5
My Ohio vs Akron College Basketball Betting Preview
Jeff Boals and John Groce are back on top of the Mid-American, as they should be.
The Bobs and Zips were projected as the conference’s two best teams in the preseason, and the duo is a combined 8-0 in conference play entering Friday’s monster MAC showdown.
Ohio leads the conference in 2-point shooting (63%) and 2-point shooting allowed (44%). Akron ranks second in both marks (59%, 44%). These are also the two best transition teams in the conference.
So, yeah. This one should be fun.
Akron’s transfer-laden roster plays mostly attack-and-kick, catch-and-shoot basketball, leading the MAC in 3-point rate (50%). The Zips have plenty of shooters, with Tavari Johnson, Isaiah Gray, Shammah Scott, Sharron Young and Amani Lyles all shooting better than 37% from deep.
The Zips are nothing if not deep, ranking in the top 25 nationally in bench minutes.
Unfortunately for them, Ohio boasts an elite catch-and-shoot denial defense, allowing fewer than 15 catch-and-shoot jumpers per game (19th nationally) and fewer than six unguarded ones (22nd nationally).
Also, I think Ohio is slightly better in transition denial than Akron, which will be crucial in this up-tempo matchup.
On the other end of the court, the Bobcats are an elite floor-spacing offense, leading the MAC in ShotQuality’s Spacing, Shot Selection and Shot Making metrics.
They have fantastic guard play behind Jackson Paveletzke and Shereef Mitchell, and AJ Clayton’s versatility as a stretch five gives Ohio all sorts of options out of pick-and-pop and short-roll actions.
But Akron’s ball-screen coverage is elite (.78 PPP allowed, 88th percentile), and the Zips have an excellent 3-point defense (16th nationally in ShotQuality’s Low-Quality 3s Allowed metric).
I can’t get an excellent feel for this matchup. I actually think both defenses have the schematic edge, but the pace of this game could be crazy, so I’m uncertain about the total.
All that said, there’s one glaring stat I can’t get out of my head.
Ohio is 1-8 ATS away from home this year. It beat Central Michigan and Buffalo on the road recently in conference play, but it lost the prior four true road opportunities by double-digits and went 1-2 in its neutral-court non-conference MTE.
The Bobcats rank 324th nationally in Haslametrics Away-From-Home metrics. They turn into pumpkins on the road.
Meanwhile, Akron has a surprisingly strong home-court advantage.
So, if I had to, I think I’d prefer to lay the points with the Zips than anything else.
But I’ll likely stay away from this one.
