UMass (6-6) vs. Akron (9-3)
James A. Rhodes Arena, Akron, Ohio; Monday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: UMass squares up against Akron in a non-conference matchup. UMass blew out Maine by 21 at home on Dec. 12, while Akron fell to Liberty in Washington on Dec. 21, 80-67.
FAB FRESHMEN: UMass has benefited heavily from its freshmen. Tre Mitchell, Carl Pierre, Sean East II and Samba Diallo have combined to account for 62 percent of the team's scoring this year and 71 percent of all Minutemen points over the team's last five games.
CREATING OFFENSE: Loren Cristian Jackson has either made or assisted on 40 percent of all Akron field goals over the last five games. The senior guard has accounted for 23 field goals and 29 assists in those games.
STREAK SCORING: Akron has won its last seven home games, scoring an average of 76 points while giving up 52.9.
ACCOUNTING FOR ASSISTS: The Zips have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Minutemen. Akron has an assist on 52 of 79 field goals (65.8 percent) across its past three games while UMass has assists on 44 of 80 field goals (55 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Akron has made 9.5 3-pointers per game as a collective unit this year, which is second-best among MAC teams. The Zips have averaged 10.8 3-pointers per game over their last five games.
