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No. 13 Akron vs. No. 4 Arizona
Seattle, WA – Friday 7:35pm ET
When openers were released on Selection Sunday, the Zips were catching 15.5 in this one, and I put in a small wager on them. They’ve been a very popular play on DraftKings Sportsbook, with 63% of the tickets for 83% of the money to cover, and a shocking 93% of the handle to win the game outright. My concern on why I’m not going to make a bigger play on the game is that Akron hasn’t really played anybody this season. The one game we can point to is a matchup against St. Mary’s back in November, which the Zips lost by 19 points as a 14.5-point underdog.
That said, Akron is a well coached, veteran team that will be able to score on Arizona. The Zips rank 66th nationally in offensive efficiency, and we saw how capable they are of putting up points in bunches in their comeback in the MAC Championship Game. Arizona has a clear size advantage, and is a good rebounding team, but Akron held its own on the glass this season.
The Zips play at a rapid pace, ranking 14th in tempo, so I don’t think this will be one of those cases of the underdog looking to muck the game up. Akron’s best chance is to try and put up points. And it has to be in the back of everyone’s head that these Tommy Lloyd Wildcat teams have struggled at times in the NCAA Tournament — you’ll recall No. 15 Princeton knocked off No. 2 Arizona in the first round just two years ago.
While I’m passing on playing the game at 14.5, I have a strong lean to Akron and the over in this one if you’re looking to play it.
March Madness Lean: Akron +14.5 (-108)
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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
