Kent State (18-4, 8-1) at Akron (16-6, 8-1) – 9:00 PM ET (ESPNU)
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day features a rematch of last year’s MAC Championship Game between the Akron Zips and the Kent State Golden Flashes. Akron took the deciding game in the Wagon Wheel rivalry last year and a subsequent trip to the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Akron has won 13 of their last 15 games; their only stumbles in that period were losses at Bradley and at Ball State. Enrique Freeman averages a double-double (15.1 PPG, 10.7 RPG) for the Zips.
Kent State had been cruising since a tough stretch of losses against Charleston, Houston and Gonzaga; the Golden Flashes had won 10 games in a row before a surprising 86-76 loss at Northern Illinois. Since the loss, Kent State has defeated Buffalo and Central Michigan at home. In the 81-69 victory against CMU, 6 different players for Kent State scored in double figures.