Free Pick | Tuesday | NCAA | Feb. 20

#610 Toledo -2 over Akron 6:00 PM CT
Toledo is 10-2 in MAC play and delivered an important win on Friday against Ohio 85-83 in a comeback result after trailing most of the game. The Rockets have a huge opportunity Tuesday night sitting at 10-2 in conference play and hosting 11-1 Akron for a critical game in the MAC race. The Zips have played the weakest schedule in the MAC so far this season and have gone just 8-6 in road/neutral games on the season. The past two MAC wins have come against two of the worst MAC teams while this is going to be a third straight road game for the Zips who last played at home on February 6. This is a matchup of the #1 offense in the MAC in Toledo vs. the #1 defense in Akron but Toledo’s numbers are built on a more difficult conference path. Akron’s defense is built on creating turnovers and stalling the pace of play, but Toledo has the lowest turnover rate in the conference and the Rockets are an excellent 3-point shooting team at nearly 38 percent this season. The up-tempo Rockets have won S/U in seven of the past 10 meetings in this series and this will be a revenge spot after a 77-70 defeat at Rhodes Arena earlier this month. Toledo had fewer turnovers in that game and held its own in most statistical categories but had one of its worst outside shooting games of the season hitting just 17 percent beyond the arc with only two makes in the entire game. 3-point defense is a strength for Akron but not to that magnitude and the Rockets should be considered a threat to even the series and the conference standings.