Akron (13-4, 5-0) at Kent State (9-8, 2-3) – 7:00 PM ET (ESPNU)
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to the edge of Ohio’s Snow Belt as Kent State hosts the first leg of the Wagon Wheel between Akron and Kent State. Since a close loss against St. Bonaventure up in nearby Cleveland, Akron has won 5 straight games in the MAC to open conference play. Enrique Freeman is a serious contender for MAC Player of the Year and leads the Zips with 18.4 points a game and 13.2 rebounds a game.
Kent State has been a surprise in the league so far, and not in a good way. They had a 3-game losing streak that included a pair of road losses against the directional Michigan schools (Eastern and Central). They did snap that losing streak with an 83-76 win against Northern Illinois; VonCameron Davis led the Golden Flashes with 23 points in that game.
OTHER NEWS, NOTES, AND GAMES (From the Puppet):
-Memphis had what appeared to be a routine conference home win against South Florida last night, but ended up losing 74-73. Memphis had been playing with fire all year long and had pulled out several close ones that should have won handily. Well, last night they finally got burned. They’re still in good shape, but it is a bit of a setback.
-Florida Atlantic got a battle at home from Wichita State, but was able to get control in the final minutes of the game and hold on for an 86-77 win.
-Oregon, who had been playing well, lost rather handily at Colorado 86-70. It’s a nice win for the Buffs, but the thing I think they need more than anything right now is wins away from home.
-GEORGETOWN AT XAVIER (Big East). Xavier has a lot of work to do to even get within reaching distance of the bubble, but they have been playing better as the season has gone along.
INDIANA AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Wisky is coming off a somewhat surprising road loss at Penn State, but they should be able to bounce back at home tonight against an Indiana team that’s still pretty far outside the bubble
-UNLV AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West). UNLV has been playing better, but I don’t think they’ve improved so much that they’re likely to go on the road and pull an upset like this. Colorado State has been in a bit of a slump, but they’re back at home with a winnable game tonight.