Let's welcome the Zips to the Barn.
Game Time: 7:30
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: WCCO and the Gopher radio network
| Pos | #20 Minnesota | Pnt/Gm | Pnt/Gm | Akron Zips | Pos | |
| PG | Devoe Joseph | 11.3 | 5.1 | Alex Abreu | G | |
| G | Blake Hoffarber | 15.0 | 6.9 | Steve McNees | G | |
| F | Rodney Williams | 5.2 | 12.4 | Brett McClanahan | G | |
| F | Trevor Mbakwe | 13.8 | 13.4 | Nikola Cvetinovic | F | |
| C | Ralph Sampson III | 12.2 | 11.0 | Zeke Marshall | C | |
| Bench | Colton Iverson | 6.5 | 9.1 | Darryl Roberts | Bench | |
| Bench | Austin Hollins | 4.6 | 1.7 | Mike Bardo | Bench | |
| Bench | Chip Armelin | 4.8 | 3.1 | Quincy Diggs | Bench |
Some balanced scoring by the Zips and this team has some size in the middle. Zeke Marshall vs. Ralph Sampson will be an interesting matchup. Marshall is a 7-0 sophomore and a former 4-star recruit, which is rare for a MAC program. He has doubled his point production from his freshman to sophomore season and is blocking an extra shot per game. For once we have an opponent with a true big man in the middle to present some opposition to our frontcourt. Mbakwe vs. Cvetinovic should also be a great matchup.
| KenPom Efficiency Stats | Minnesota (43) | Akron (189) |
| Record | 9-1 | 4-3 |
| Pnt / Poss | 1.111 (35) | 0.990 |
| Def Pnt / Poss | 0.935 | 1.013 |
| Off eFG% | 53.4% | 46.8% (334) |
| Def eFG% | 46.5% | 49.2% (265) |
| Off Reb % | 38.5% (32) | 23.6% |
| Def Reb % | 67.9% | 64.2% |
| TO % | 20.8% | 17.3% (35) |
Akron is not very efficient on offense or on defense. They do not rebound very well and they don't particularly shoot very well. To their credit they do not turn the ball over very much but statistically this game shouldn't be very close. I am extremely overconfident in tonight's game.