It will be a battle between Mid-American opponents when the Kent State Golden Flashes (14-5) welcome the Eastern Michigan Eagles (10-9) to Memorial A & C Center. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
The Golden Flashes edged Bowling Green 62-59 on Saturday. Jimmy Hall played a key role, recording 26 points and 16 rebounds to notch his third double-double this season. The Eagles are coming off a bitter 88-87 loss at the hands of Ball State on Saturday. James Thompson IV scored 23 points and recorded 14 rebounds earning his 11th double-double of the season.
Thompson IV has been on a tear over the last five games for the Eagles, averaging 17.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.0 block.
Kent State is a three-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 155 points. The Golden Flashes enter the game with records of 14-5 Straight Up (SU) and 7-8 Against The Spread (ATS).
Across the court, the Eagles head into the game with records of 5-7 ATS and 10-9 SU. Eastern Michigan is one of the top foul-shooting teams in the nation, converting 19.0 shots from the line per game.
These conference rivals will be facing off in their first head-to-head clash of the season. When they last met the Golden Flashes were winners, moving their SU record against Eastern Michigan to 9-1 in their most recent head-to-head meetings. Additionally, with a 7-3 record, Kent State has the advantage ATS. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Kent State held the edge in all three of these categories once in the last five meetings. Eastern Michigan never did so in those games.
Predictions: SU Winner – KentSt, ATS Winner – EastMi, O/U – Over
Notes
Kent State is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Kent State’s last 6 games.
Kent State is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Kent State’s last 6 games when playing Eastern Michigan.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kent State’s last 6 games when playing at home against Eastern Michigan.
Kent State sits at 5-1 SU against the conference, while Eastern Michigan is struggling at 2-4 SU.
Ranked 70th, the Kent State Golden Flashes have an offensive rating of 111.6. The Eastern Michigan Eagles rank 120th with a defensive rating of just 100.0.
The Eastern Michigan Eagles average a field goal percentage of 44.8% this season. The Kent State Golden Flashes have a poor record of 2-5 when opponents have a FG% of 44.8% or greater.
The Kent State Golden Flashes and the Eastern Michigan Eagles both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Kent State is 188th and 105th in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while Eastern Michigan ranks 224th and 136th in these categories.
Kent State ranks 63rd in offensive rebounding. Eastern Michigan ranks 202nd in defensive rebounding.
Though Eastern Michigan is one of the best in the country in forcing turnovers with opponents averaging a TO% of 23.5% (ranked 11th), Kent State is undefeated (2-0) when its TO% is 23.5% or greater.
