Akron Zips vs Kent State Golden Flashes Prediction, 3/12/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Akron Zips vs Kent State Golden Flashes

Date: Saturday, March 12, 2022

Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, OH

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Akron (+1)

The Kent State Golden Flashes (23-9) host the Akron Zips (23-9) at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Saturday. Akron opens this contest as 1-point dogs. The total has been set at 125.5.

The Akron Zips took the court against Toledo and notched a win by a score of 70-62 in their last contest. In regard to personal fouls, the Zips ended up finishing with 19 and Toledo accounted for 16 personal fouls. They made 4 of 15 tries from downtown. Toledo ended up shooting 45.5% from the free throw line by making 10 of their 22 tries. On top of that, Toledo pulled down 30 rebounds (9 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Toledo dished out 7 assists and had 5 steals in this matchup. With respect to the defense, Akron allowed the other team to go 44.4% from the field on 24 of 54 shooting. They also recorded 9 dimes for the game as well as forcing the opposition into 8 turnovers and having 5 steals. In the matter of pulling down rebounds, they collected 34 with 8 of them being offensive. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Zips made 12 of 15 tries for a rate of 80.0%. Akron finished the game with a 47.2% FG percentage (25 of 53) and converted 8 out of their 23 shots from distance.

Xavier Castaneda is a player who was important for the contest. He ended up finishing with 26 points on 7 of 15 shooting. He played for 35 mins played and collected 4 rebounds. He finished shooting 46.7% from the field and also dished out 1 assist.

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Akron steps onto the court with a win-loss mark of 23-9 for the year. They are losing possession via turnover 11.5 times per contest and as a squad they commit 16.1 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Akron is collecting 35.3 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 376 assists for the campaign, which is 239th in the nation in terms of passing. The Zips are hitting 35.3% on shots from downtown (251 of 712) and 68.6% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 71.1 points per game (172nd in D-1) on 46.0% from the floor.

On the defensive end of the court, the Zips are able to force 11.7 turnovers per game and they draw 19.2 personal fouls. They surrender 33.9% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 25th in Division 1 in points per game allowed (63.1). The Zips are allowing a shooting percentage of 42.3% (742 of 1,756) and they surrender 30.9 rebounds per game as a unit. They rank 14th in the country in giving up assists with 297 conceded for the year.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Kent State Golden Flashes got the win with a final of 67-61 when they played Ohio. When discussing cleaning the glass, Kent State allowed Ohio to grab 27 in all (5 on the offensive glass). They went 33.3% from downtown by connecting on 8 of 24 and finished the contest at 15 out of 24 from the free throw line (62.5%). The Golden Flashes allowed Ohio to knock down 19 out of 47 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 40.4% for this contest. Overall, the Golden Flashes shot 26 out of 57 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 45.6%. When talking about 3-pointers, Kent State made 6 of 17 tries (35.3%). They were able to make 9 of them for a rate of 69.2%. Ohio was called for 13 fouls in the matchup which got the Golden Flashes to the charity stripe for a total of 13 tries. They gave up possession 6 times, while recording 3 steals for the contest. The Golden Flashes were able to collect 27 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 in the matchup.

Malique Jacobs was important for the Golden Flashes for the contest. He tallied 19 points in his 38 minutes on the court and earned 5 assists in this game. He knocked down 9 out of 13 in this contest for a field goal rate of 69.2%, and totaled 10 rebounds.

Kent State has a win-loss record of 23-9 so far this season. The Golden Flashes are committing 18.1 fouls per contest and they connect on 74.7% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 12.5 times per contest (212th in the nation) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.2 times per contest. Kent State has scored 2,289 pts on the campaign (71.5 per game) and they collect 36.3 boards per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Golden Flashes are connecting on 44.0% from the field, which is 184th in Division 1.

The Kent State defense gives up 30.3% on shots from behind the 3-point line (229 of 756) and opponents are converting on 70.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 11.3 assists and 31.9 total rebounds per game, which has them ranked 78th and 48th in college basketball. The Golden Flashes defensively are ranked 41st in the nation in points per game surrendered with 64.3. They are able to force 13.6 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 40.5% from the floor (39th in college basketball).

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Akron (+1)

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