KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Broncos welcome the Zips of Akron at University Arena in a doubleheader matchup with Men's Basketball on Saturday, Feb. 4. Tip-off against the Zips is set for noon featuring National Girls and Women in Sports Day, as well as Youth Day!
Prior to the matchup, the purchase of a youth ticket gains free entry into the
Pregame Youth Showcase with Female Varsity Sports followed by
Kids Take Over the Arena for WMU Basketball Youth Day! More information is listed above and can also be found
HERE.
WHERE TO WATCH
Saturday's matchup between the Broncos and the Zips will be available for streaming via ESPN+. The link to the stream is listed above and can also be found
HERE.
THE MATCHUP
In the 48th meeting in program history, Western Michigan leads the all-time series, 35-12. The two teams split the season series a year ago with a Western Michigan victory, 57-53, on Feb. 2nd at James A. Rhodes Arena, before Akron downed WMU, 86-70, on the road on Feb. 9th at University Arena.
THE SERIES
Overall: Western Michigan leads, 35-12
Home: Western Michigan leads, 20-4
Away: Western Michigan leads, 14-8
Neutral: Western Michigan leads, 1-0
MAC Tournament: Western Michigan leads, 3-1
Last 10 Meetings:
Date Result Score Location
1/21/2017 W 73-57 Akron, Ohio
1/24/2018 W 59-51 Akron, Ohio
2/3/2018 W 76-60 Kalamazoo, Mich.
1/9/2019 L 59-72 Kalamazoo Mich.
2/9/2019 L 62-69 Akron, Ohio
1/8/2020 W 56-51 Akron, Ohio
1/25/2020 W 79-71 Kalamazoo, Mich.
2/10/2021 W 74-66 Kalamazoo, Mich.
2/2/22 W 57-53 Akron, Ohio
2/9/22 L 70-86 Kalamazoo, Mich.
SCOUTING THE ZIPS
Akron comes to campus following a rivalry showdown with the Kent State Golden Flashes on Wednesday evening at James Rhodes Arena. KSU defeated the Zips 57-54, but not before Reagan Bass posted a double-double. Bass finished the night with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Senior Molly Neitzel also recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while junior Alexis Stewart scored 12 points.
On the year, the Zips as a collective averaged 70.3 points on 42.4 percent shooting, while allowing 62.3 PPG for a scoring margin of +8.0. Akron also knocks down 27.3 percent of their looks from three, and 77.3 percent of their free throws for 6 made triples and 15.7 made foul shots each game. The Zips pull in 39.2 RPG and post a rebounding margin of +2.0 while leading the MAC in defensive rebounds per game (30.2).
Akron also leads the conference in field goal percentage defense (36.6) and three-point percentage defense (28.8). Additionally, The Zips dish out 16 assists per game and post a turnover margin of -0.4 on the season. Reagan Bass has led the Akron offense this season, posting a 17.6 PPG while tallying 7.8 RPG and shooting at a season percentage of 47.8 percent from the field, which also ranks fourth in the MAC. Bass leads the MAC in free throw attempts (143) and free throws made (110).
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM WESTERN MICHIGAN
Western Michigan gets set to host Akron following a dropped battle on the road this past Wednesday at Bowling Green, 74-56. Three different Broncos each posted double-figure in the loss, WMU held the leaders of the MAC to a 32-32 tie heading into halftime and held the Falcons to 42 points in the second half.
Redshirt junior forward
Taylor Williams posted her seventh double-double performance of the year, pulling 12 boards in addition to her 17 points, shooting 7-of-12 from the field, and sending back one Falcon shot attempt in her 28 minutes. Redshirt senior
Abby Voss downed four three-point attempts to tally 15 points, and also grabbed one steal and block each. Furthermore, she went 5-of-11 from the field and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Junior guard
Hannah Spitzley finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds while notching three blocks, two assists, and one steal.
As a group, Western Michigan scores 64.5 PPG on 39 percent shooting and post a scoring margin of -5.0 on the year. WMU leads the MAC in three-point attempts per game with 26.8 and ranks second in both steals per game (10.2) and turnovers forced per game (18.7).
Western Michigan shoots 26.9 percent from the three-point range and finds the net on 66.5 percent of their free throws for an average of 7.2 threes and 11.3 free throws per game. On the glass, the Broncos pull down 32.3 boards per game while finding open teammates for buckets 12 times each contest.
MAC STANDINGS
Bowling Green (8-1 MAC, 19-2 Overall)
Ball State (8-1 MAC, 18-4 Overall)
Toledo (7-2 MAC, 16-4 Overall)
Kent State (6-3 MAC, 14-6 Overall)
Akron (5-4 MAC, 14-6 Overall)
Buffalo (4-5 MAC, 9-9 Overall)
Western Michigan (4-5 MAC, 9-11 Overall)
Eastern Michigan (3-6 MAC, 11-9 Overall)
Miami (3-6 MAC, 8-14 Overall)
Northern Illinois (2-7 MAC, 10-10 Overall)
Central Michigan (2-7 MAC, 4-16 Overall)
Ohio (2-7 MAC, 4-16 Overall)
LEADING THE MAC (*NATIONAL RANKING)
Taylor Williams
Blocks (148 Ranked) - 1st (36) *43rd
Blocks Per Game (250 Ranked) - 1st (1.89) *33rd
Field Goal Percentage (250 Ranked) - 10th (45.4) *131st
Free Throw Attempts (147 Ranked) - 5th (105) *85th
Points Per Game (250 Ranked) - 12th (14.5) *194th
Rebounds (149 Ranked) - 3rd (176) *74th
Rebounds Per Game (249 Ranked) - 3rd (9.3) *38th
Hannah Spitzley
Steals (149 Ranked)- 6th (40) *149th
Steals Per Game (149 Ranked)- 6th (2.00) *123rd
Gabi Saxman
Steals Per Game (247 Ranked)- 8th (1.90) *164th
UP NEXT
After Saturday's contest, Western Michigan spends a week on the road, traveling first to Oxford, Ohio for a matchup with the University of Miami. Tip-off with the RedHawks is set for 7 pm on Wednesday, Feb. 8th. Later in the week, the Broncos take on the Eagles of Eastern Michigan for their second meet this season. Tip-off in Ypsilanti, Mich, is scheduled for 7 pm on Saturday, Feb. 11th. Both Wednesday's and Saturday's contests will be available for streaming via ESPN+.
