The Ohio Bobcats host the Akron Zips in a MAC mid-week matchup that will be aired on ESPN3. Despite shooting nearly 60 percent in the second half and outscoring Central Michigan over the final 20 minutes of play, Ohio fell, 74-69, last Saturday. The Zips meanwhile is coming off a 59-58 narrow road win at Bowling Green. This should be a close game but the Bobcats should be able to pull out a second straight MAC home win.
Here are my keys to the game:
Home court advantage- Ohio is 5-3 at home this season while Akron is just 2-4 on the road this season. Akron's two road wins were by one point and two points. The Zips are the favorites in this game but with this record on the road they really shouldn't be.
Revenge factor- Akron has won the last two meetings at Ohio and you have to think the Bobcats think that enough is enough of the losing. This is as close as these teams have been in a while and I think Ohio knows that this is a chance to win the game.
X-Factor- Bobcat Senior Maurice Ndour who was named player of the week last week in the MAC. Ndour leads the team with 15.1 points per game (121), 9.4 rebounds per game (75) and 2.6 blocks per game (21) in conference play.
Selection: This is a play on the Ohio Bobcats