Akron looks to secure its top spot in the MAC with a win tonight against Kent State.
The Zips were tied with the Golden Flashes at +400 to win the league entering the season, which were the third-shortest odds. Their odds kept getting shorter as the season went on.
Akron (22-6, 14-1) was unbeaten in league play prior to its 84-67 loss at Ohio on Saturday. That loss snapped the Zips’ 14-game win streak, which was the longest in the country. They bounced back with a win over Ball State on Tuesday.
The Golden Flashes (19-9, 9-6) are coming off a 105-65 win over Toledo. Since losing to Akron on Jan. 31, Kent State has won six of seven with the only loss coming by four points to Miami (OH) in overtime. I’m sure they have eagerly been waiting for this game.
Kent State at Akron Odds
Akron is a 3.5-point college basketball odds favorite on BetMGM against Kent State while the Over/Under is at 155.5.
The Moneyline for Akron is at -185 and +150 for Kent State.
Kent State at Akron On TV
The matchup between Kent State and Akron will be televised on ESPN2.
Tonight’s game tips off at 9 p.m. ET.
Kent State at Akron Prediction
I predict Kent State covers the 3.5-point spread. I also predict for this game to go over 155.5 points.
The Golden Flashes have somewhat surprisingly turned into one of the more high-scoring teams in the conference. In the seven games since that loss to Akron, the Flashes have scored 90+ in four games. They only did that once in their first 20 games, and that came against Division II Miami-Hamilton.
After scoring 105 against Toledo on Tuesday, it can be expected that Kent State’s offense would regress and the shots might not fall tonight. However, I think the Flashes will still have their foot on the gas and will do whatever it takes to avoid a regular-season sweep from the Zips.
If the Flashes’ shots aren’t falling, they’ll find ways to score, either by getting to the free-throw line or on second-chance points. They’re getting to the free-throw line at a significant rate lately and are the top offensive-rebounding team in the league, grabbing an o-board on 36.3% of opportunities, per KenPom.
Akron should have no problem putting up points on Kent State, either. The Zips are leading the conference with 83.7 points per game and their adjusted offensive efficiency of 117.5 is the best in the MAC. Kent State has the top adjusted defensive efficiency in the league (101.9), but I don’t anticipate the Flashes to stymie the Zips too much.
The Zips are led by the best backcourt in the league in Nate and Tavari Johnson, who average 13.5 and 12.9 points per game. Six-foot-3 senior Isaiah Gray chips in with 9.5 PPG and five rebounds per game.
VonCameron Davis paces KSU with 15.5 PPG while Jalen Sullinger averages 14.3. Cli’ron Hornbeak is a big presence in the middle and averages 8 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 1.4 blocks per game.
One area Akron struggles at is getting to the free-throw line. Its 446 free throws attempted is by far the lowest in the league and it’ll be interesting to see if they try and attack a Kent State defense that sends its opponents to the line at the second-highest rate in the league. KSU’s last three opponents are averaging nearly 28 free-throw attempts per game. I don’t think they’ll want to give the Zips that many opportunities for “free points”.
Despite this being a championship-clinching spot for the Zips, I think the Flashes will want this game more and will do whatever they can to secure a win.
Kent State is 8-3-1 against the spread on the road, and Akron is 6-7 ATS at home.
