GAME NOTES: Former Ohio Valley Conference rivals get together on Saturday night, as the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee pay a visit to the Akron Zips.

Middle Tennessee comes in sporting an even 4-4 record, and the team recently put the brakes on a three-game slide by claiming a 68-67 overtime win at South Alabama last Saturday. This is the fifth installment of a six-game stretch for the Blue Raiders away from home.

Akron brings a 6-2 record into this contest, and the club is seeking its fourth straight victory after topping the likes of Bryant (72-66), Arkansas- Pine Bluff (81-60) and Western Illinois (73-49) recently. The Zips' two defeats have come against Miami-Florida (79-51) and Penn State (78-72).

Middle Tennessee owns a 16-10 lead in the all-time series with Akron, and the Blue Raiders have won six of the last seven meetings.

Jacquez Rozier scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help Middle Tennessee slip past South Alabama the last time out. Jaqawn Raymond added 11 points and Reggie Upshaw chipped in with 10 for the Blue Raiders, who shot 44.6 percent from the field, but were just 4-of-12 from 3-point range and only 14-of-25 at the free throw line. Upshaw came up a rebound shy of logging a double-double, and the team took advantage of 15 turnovers by the Jaguars.

There are no players averaging double figures in the scoring column for the Blue Raiders this season, although Upshaw (9.5 ppg) and Rozier (9.3 ppg) are close to cracking that barrier. As a result, the team is netting just 60.2 ppg in shooting a mere 37 percent from the field. Thankfully, the team's defensive effort has been on point more times than not, as it yields only 60.6 ppg while also laying claim to favorable margins in both rebounding (+3.8) and turnovers (+1.5).

Akron has been idle since routing Western Illinois at home on Dec. 4. In that game, Kwan Cheatham Jr. drained five 3-pointers to finish with 15 points, while Pat Forsythe (14 points), Jake Kretzer (13 points) and Deji Ibitayo (11 points) all finished in double figures as well. As a team, the Zips made good on 13-of-33 long-range launches, while its opponent converted only 4-of-15 chances. A 38-30 rebounding advantage also helped secure the positive outcome.

Balance is the key to Akron's early success, as the team boasts five double- digit scorers, all of whom average between 10.0 and 11.2 ppg. Cheatham and Noah Robotham lead the way for the Zips, who are putting up 69.6 ppg in hitting 41.5 percent of their field goal attempts, while permitting 62.2 ppg behind a typical shooting allowance of only 40.6 percent.

Akron is the better team in this matchup, and while it may be close for a while, expect the home crowd to spur the Zips on to another victory.