The Kent State Golden Flashes will be at Convocation Center to play the Ohio Bobcats in a Mid-American matchup. The game starts at 9:00 pm ET on Friday, Jan. 29 and will air on ESU and ES3.
The Bobcats won a close one over Toledo 81-79 on Tuesday. Jaaron Simmons fueled the Bobcats, recording 12 points and 17 assists to notch his fourth double-double this season. The Golden Flashes are coming off a 73-58 win over Eastern Michigan on Tuesday. Khaliq Spicer played well, posting 21 points and 13 rebounds to claim his first double-double of the season.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Golden Flashes won the first game 89-82. Xavier Pollard was a top performer in the victory with 23 points, three rebounds, two assists, three steals, and one three-pointer.
Ohio is favored by a small two-point margin in its matchup against Kent State. Oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 153 points. The Bobcats look to build on their records of 12-7 Straight Up (SU) and 9-6 Against The Spread (ATS). The Bobcats are an impressive shooting team with a .470 field-goal percentage, one of the highest marks in Division I.
Across the court, the Golden Flashes head into the game with records of 8-8 ATS and 15-5 SU. Kent State has not committed many turnovers, averaging only 11.2 per game.
Kent State beat Ohio in their most recent meeting this season, taking the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over their most recent meetings. However, Kent State leads the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3. Kent State held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice in the last five game, while Ohio wasn’t able to do so in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – KentSt, ATS Winner – KentSt, O/U – Over
Notes
Ohio is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Ohio’s last 7 games.
Ohio is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games.
Ohio is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Kent State.
Ohio is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Kent State.
Ohio is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Kent State.
Kent State sits at 6-1 SU against its conference rivals, while Ohio is 3-4 SU.
Ranked 65th, the Ohio Bobcats have an offensive rating of 111.8. The Kent State Golden Flashes rank 179th with a defensive rating of just 103.0.
The Ohio Bobcats average 69.6 possessions and 1.118 points per possession in games this season. The Kent State Golden Flashes average fewer possessions with 68.5, as well as fewer points per possession with 1.112.
Ohio has an average effective field goal percentage of 54.2%. Kent State is a losing 1-4 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Ohio Bobcats attempt 20.0 three point field goals per game and the Kent State Golden Flashes attempt 17.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Ohio has a winning 8-5 record, while Kent State is 3-2.
Ohio ranks 74th in defensive rebounding. When it comes to offensive rebounds, Kent State ranks 57th.
On average, Ohio forces a turnover rate of 14.7%. When Kent State turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a solid 8-4 record.
