Free Pick | NCAA | Friday | Feb. 13

Nelly’s is 4-1 the past three days in college basketball – play tonight or for the rest of February!

#887 UMass +13.5 over Akron 8:00 PM CT

Frank Martin’s UMass squad has competed well to reach 6-6 in MAC play. The Minutemen are just 2-4 S/U on the road, but the losses came by six, three, two, and two, including losing to Miami just 86-84 in the last MAC road test. Both UMass and Akron played Sun Belt teams last Saturday and took losses, with UMass falling in triple-overtime at Coastal Carolina. UMass has two wins over ACC teams in non-conference play and owns six top 200 wins this season as this is a credible team that shoots well from long range and rebounds effectively. Akron is 12-0 S/U at home this season and the 19-5 Zips have a stronger power rating in the MAC than 24-0 Miami. Akron is the top rated defense in the MAC, but the Zips have also faced the #12 ranked strength of schedule in the conference. Akron had a big non-conference opportunity Saturday at Troy, but the Zips lost by 10 to all but eliminate any slim NCAA Tournament at-large hopes, as while Troy is a solid team in the SBC, that loss rates as by far the worst of the season for Akron. The Zips have not lost a home game, but Akron has only faced two top 200 teams at home all season, winning by 10 and 17 in MAC wins over Toledo and Kent State in late January. This spread splits the difference between those results, but Akron is not likely to win the rebounding battle in this pairing which could be impactful in an up-tempo game as these teams are two of the fastest paced teams in the conference. This is the first meeting since 2019 in this series and Akron is just 1-4 ATS in the past five MAC home dates while UMass has covered in the past two MAC road games as the points are appealing in Friday’s contest.