The Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks will travel to Memorial A & C Center to take on the Kent State Golden Flashes. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, Dec. 10.
The Golden Flashes come into this game hoping to repeat their last performance, beating NJIT 80-75 on Monday. Kellon Thomas led all scorers on the team with 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting. The Warhawks, meanwhile, are coming off an 81-70 win against Louisiana-Lafayette on Thursday. Majok Deng was the game’s top scorer, recording 30 points on 8-for-14 shooting.
Kent State, a five-point favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Louisiana-Monroe. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at 131 points. The Golden Flashes come into this game 5-2 Straight Up (SU) and 2-3 Against The Spread (ATS). Expect to see a lot of second-chance opportunities for Kent State in this matchup, which is one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 14.6 offensive boards per game. The Golden Flashes, sporting the 30th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in Division I (1.49), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team.
As for their opponent, the Warhawks head into the game with records of 2-2 ATS and 4-2 SU. The Warhawks are shooting lights out from the foul line so far, with a .750 free throw percentage that ranks 27th in Division I. The Warhawks are one of the top defensive teams in the nation, essentially shutting down opponents to the tune of 62.3 points allowed per game. Louisiana-Monroe’s defense is one of the top in the nation, with opponents shooting only .380 from the field.
Kent State and Louisiana-Monroe have not played one another in a regular season matchup in recent years.
Predictions: SU Winner – KentSt, ATS Winner – UL-Mon, O/U – Over
Notes
Kent State is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games.
Kent State scores an average of just 75.4 points per game (ranked 151st). Louisiana-Monroe ranks 31st in points allowed, giving up 62.3 points per game.
The Kent State Golden Flashes rank 86th for their offensive rating of 111.4. The Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks have a defensive rating of 92.3 (ranked 45th).
Louisiana-Monroe has an average field goal percentage of 46.4%. Kent State is a losing 1-2 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Kent State Golden Flashes and the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Kent State is 214th and 179th in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while Louisiana-Monroe ranks 179th and 93rd in these categories.
Louisiana-Monroe, the 94th-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 39.5 rebounds per game. Kent State does worse, ranked 109th with 39.1.
Louisiana-Monroe makes 6.7 steals per game. In games where it allows 6 or more steals, Kent State is undefeated at 2-0.
