Akron Zips vs Kent State Golden Flashes Prediction, 3/3/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Akron Zips vs Kent State Golden Flashes

Date: Friday, March 3, 2023

Location: M.A.C. Center in Kent, OH

TV: ESPN+

M.A.C. Center is the site where the Kent State Golden Flashes (24-6) will play the Akron Zips (21-9) on Friday.

The Akron Zips faced off with Ball State and went home with a win by a final score of 87-83 in their last game. In relation to fouls, the Zips walked away with 14 and Ball State recorded 23 fouls. They knocked down 12 of 25 tries from beyond the arc. Ball State shot 81.8% at the free throw line by knocking down 9 of 11 attempts. Furthermore, Ball State totaled 32 rebounds (6 offensive, 26 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Ball State distributed 15 assists and had 5 steals in this contest. Concerning defending, Akron allowed the other team to shoot 51.7% from the floor on 31 of 60 shooting. They also recorded 12 assists in the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and having 5 steals. When it comes to grabbing rebounds, they collected 29 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Zips made 23 of 27 attempts for a rate of 85.2%. Akron finished the game having earned a 44.1% field goal percentage (26 out of 59) and made 12 of their 31 shots from 3-point land.

Xavier Castaneda is a guy who was a contributor in this game. He finished with 29 points on 7 out of 18 shooting. He saw the court for 38 mins played and also collected 3 rebounds. He finished shooting 38.9% from the floor and also dished out 1 assist.

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Akron steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 21-9 for the season. They turn it over 10.9 times per contest and as a team they are committing 15.4 personal fouls per contest. As a team, Akron is grabbing 35.9 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 402 assists for the campaign, which ranks 163rd in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Zips are hitting 35.3% on three-point shots (272 of 771) and 72.6% from the free throw line. They are averaging 73.5 points per contest (135th in the country) on 43.9% from the floor.

When they are on the defensive end, the Zips are forcing 12.5 turnovers per game while drawing 18.1 fouls. They currently rank 95th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 344 surrendered on the season. The Zips are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 42.8% (721 of 1,683) and they surrender 32.5 rebounds per game as a unit. They are relinquishing 34.4% on 3-pointers and they rank 58th in D-1 in opponents points per game (65.5).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Kent State Golden Flashes walked away with a victory by a final of 82-75 against Ohio. The Golden Flashes were able to snag 22 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 29 for this game. They turned the ball over 8 times, while recording 6 steals for the matchup. Ohio was called for 15 fouls in the game which took the Golden Flashes to the charity stripe for 16 attempts. They were able to knock down 12 of those for a rate of 75.0%. When talking about shooting from distance, Kent State knocked down 8 of their 21 attempts (38.1%). When all was said and done, the Golden Flashes finished the game shooting 31 for 57 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 54.4%. The Golden Flashes allowed Ohio to make 26 of 59 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 44.1% for the matchup. They finished 38.7% from distance by shooting 12 out of 31 and finished the contest at 11 out of 15 at the free throw line (73.3%). Regarding rebounds, Kent State permitted Ohio to collect 30 in total (11 on the offensive side).

Sincere Carry ended up being important for the Golden Flashes in this game. He converted 8 of 16 in the game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and accumulated 5 rebounds. He earned 23 points in his 36 minutes on the hardwood and added 2 assists for this contest.

Kent State has a win-loss mark of 24-6 on the season. The Golden Flashes commit 18.9 personal fouls per contest and they hit 72.2% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 12.5 times per game (231st in college basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.5 times per contest. Kent State has earned 2,268 pts this year (75.6 per contest) and they collect 35.1 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Golden Flashes are shooting 45.1% from the field, which ranks 157th in the nation.

The Kent State defense surrenders 31.2% on shots from beyond the arc (209 of 670) and their opposition knocks down 71.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 11.4 assists and 35.3 total boards per game, which is 88th and 265th in Division 1. The Golden Flashes on defense are ranked 38th in college basketball in points allowed per contest with 64.7. They are able to force 16.3 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.0% from the floor (18th in college basketball).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kent State

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