AKRON — The Bowling Green State University men’s basketball team will hit the road for the first time in just over a month, taking on the Akron Zips on Friday inside James A. Rhodes Arena.
The game is set for a 9 p.m. start on CBS Sports Network with a tentative tip time dependent on the finish of the game broadcasted prior.
The Falcons and Zips will be meeting for the 74th time in program history with Akron leading the all-time series 45-28. The matchup will consist of the top two teams in the MAC, and the only two teams with 9+ wins.
In addition to the records entering the game, BGSU and Akron are also the top two defensive teams in the conference for scoring defense.
A Bowling Green win would…
Grant the Falcons a season-best nine-game win streak, the longest since winning 10-straight during the 2018-19 campaign.
Move BGSU to 11-3, the best start to a season through 14 games since 2001-02 (13-1).
Start MAC play 2-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2001-02 and 2002-03.
Make coach Todd Simon the third Bowling Green men’s basketball coach to start their BGSU tenure 2-0 in the MAC (Jans, Weinert).
Scouting The Zips
Akron enters the contest having won five of their last six with the lone loss coming in a 62-61 final against St. Bonaventure in their non-conference finale. Akron opened MAC play against Northern Illinois with a 73-51 win Tuesday (Jan. 2).
The Zips are paced by Enrique Freeman who is currently tied for the nation’s lead in double-doubles with 11. On the season, Freeman is averaging 17.9 points and 13.2 rebounds per game with the rebounds mark leading the nation. Ali Ali follows Freeman in the scoring column with 17.6 points per game along with Sammy Hunter (10.2).
BGSU v. Akron, a history
Bowling Green and Akron will be meeting for the 74th time in program history with the Zips holding the all-time advantage, 45-28. When hosting the series, Akron is 24-11.
The last win in the series for the Falcons came in James A. Rhodes Arena during the 2020-21 campaign with an 83-71 final. Since then, the Zips have tallied four straight wins in the series with last year’s matchup being a close 74-70 final.
Simon establishing winning ways
The Falcons are currently riding an eight-game winning streak, tied for the eighth-longest active winning streak in the nation. The streak is the longest for BGSU since a streak of the same length during the 2019-20 campaign.
The 10-3 record is also the best start through 13 games for BGSU since 2020-21. Additionally, the Falcons have tallied 10 wins the fastest in a season, by date, since the 2001-02 season (Dec. 29).
Falcons one of four in the nation
So far this season, the Falcons have had five different players register a 20-point game becoming one of four teams in the nation to do so.
Only Kentucky, New Mexico and Loyola Marymount have hit the mark this season in addition to Bowling Green. Marcus Hill has posted a team-leading six 20-point games while Rashaun Agee, DaJion Humphrey, Jason Spurgin and Trey Thomas all have one.
Defense on defense
The game between Bowling Green and Akron will feature the top two defenses in the MAC. Akron is currently giving up just 65.2 points per game, leading the conference, while BGSU is second with 67.0. A similar story comes with field goal percentage.
This time, the Falcons top the stat sheet with a mark of 41.4% allowed from the field with Akron third at 43.0%. The two teams are also back-to-back for defense behind the arc. BGSU has the edge at fourth in the MAC (32.0%) and Akron is fifth (32.2%).
70-point threshold
Through the first 13 games of the season, BGSU has tallied 70 or more points in nine games. In those nine contests, the Falcons are an undefeated 9-0.
However, when they fall short of the 70-point mark, BGSU is 1-3. Similarly on the defense, when the Falcons hold opponents below the 70-point mark the team is 7-0 this season. When teams score 70+ against BGSU, the Falcons hold a record of 3-3.
Agee’s five-game stretch
Over the last five games for the Falcons, Rashaun Agee has recorded four double-doubles. The one game he fell short of the mark came against Siena Heights when he was a rebound shy.
Over the five-game span, Agee is averaging 15.6 points per game to go along with 11.0 rebounds per game. He’s also now fourth in the MAC for rebounds per game at 8.3.
