Quick...or Zippy...Turnaround

Next up are the Zips...another big game in BG's streak of games where they need to make some hay.   The Zips are coming to town.

Akron has been a trail of tears for Bowling Green.  They went through a streak of winning 25 out of 26 against the Falcons.  BG finally broke through in February of 2017, beating a really good Akron team at the Stroh, which was the last time BG faced the Zips with Dambrot on the sideline.  In comes John Groce, who is 6-3 against us.  UA has won 2 of the last 3 at the Stroh and our last game was last year's loss at the MAC Tourney.

Blue Ribbon had them 3rd in the MAC to start the year.  It hasn't been a great start for them.  They are 10-5 with 2 non-D1 wins.  They lost on a neutral floor to Fordham and App. State and strung together a streak of wins over weak opposition.  In the MAC, they have beaten UB, BSU and WMU at the JAR and loss to OU (at home) and @ Kent.  They are 3-2 and this is only their second MAC road game.

Interesting, they were counting on KJ Walton, the Ball State transfer (16 ppg) to help them this year.  He started the first six games and then disappeared from the roster.  Their last game--which was a tight win over WMU--featured their normal starters.

Tempo will be interesting.  Akron has played the slowest pace in the MAC and BG the fastest.  A lot will depend on how that shakes out.

Both teams are efficient on offense and non-efficient on defense.  Akron is #3 on offense and #8 on defense, while BG is #4 and #11.  Doesn't mean the game will be high scoring, if Akron's pace prevails.

Akron is good but not great at shooting, preventing turnovers and getting to the line.  They are really good on the offensive boards, with BG being just average.  That will be a key battle.

They try 45% of their shots from 3FG, which is #2 in the MAC.  They aren't great--the only make 32%.  They make 55% from 2FG, which is very good.  They only make 69% of the FTs.

Akron is the easiest team to shoot against in the MAC.  They are last in defending the 3FG and 9th in defending the 2FG, providing BG a great opportunity to extend their scorching shooting from DeKalb to the Stroh. They do force turnovers and are really good on the defensive boards.  They also don't allow many FTs.  BG can make shots here and will need to.

The leading scorer for the Zips is USF transfer Xavier Castenada.  He's scoring 18.2 PPG in MAC play which is #6 overall.  He's 50% from 2FG and 32% from 3FG, which is average efficiency.  He is 29 of 30 from the line.  He leads the team with 17 assists and has only 7 turnovers, the 3rd best A/T ratio in MAC.  (Myron Gordon leads the MAC).

Ali Ali is scoring 16.2 a game on 46% 2FG and 42% 3FG shooting. He has 15 assists and 19 turnovers.

Enrique Freeman was all-defense last year in the MAC and he is scoring 12.6 PPG on 74% 2FG shooting, leading the MAC.  He averages 9.4 RPG and makes only 59% of his FTs. He led the MAC in blocked shots last year, but has only 3 in MAC play this year.  He's 6'7".

Others of note...Bryan Trimble made almost 40% of his 3FGs last year but is 3-23 this year.  And they have a 7'0" named Aziz Bandaogo, from Senegal who plays 12 minutes a game.

This has the potential to be an interesting game.  BG should be favored here and this is a time to defend home court.  No idea about whether Reece and Matheny will play...but that would help.