Cleveland State Vikings vs Kent State Golden Flashes Prediction, 12/9/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Cleveland State Vikings vs Kent State Golden Flashes

Date: Saturday, December 9, 2023

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

TV: ESPN+

The Kent State Golden Flashes (6-3) host the Cleveland State Vikings (6-4) at M.A.C. Center on Saturday.

The Cleveland State Vikings stepped onto the hardwood against St. Mary's and ended up losing by a score of 70-57 in their last game. When discussing fouls, the Vikings ended up finishing with 19 and St. Mary's finished the game with 18 fouls. They also made 4 out of their 19 attempts from 3-point range. St. Mary's shot 52.6% at the charity stripe by burying 10 of 19 attempts. Moreover, St. Mary's pulled down 34 boards (8 offensive, 26 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. St. Mary's earned 17 assists and had 11 steals for the contest. In relation to defending, Cleveland State allowed the other team to shoot 49.1% from the field on 28 of 57 shooting. They also doled out 7 assists in this game as well as forcing 9 turnovers and having 4 steals. When discussing hauling in rebounds, they collected 31 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Vikings buried 10 of 20 attempts for a percentage of 50.0%. Cleveland State ended the game having earned a 35.0% FG percentage (21 of 60) and made 5 of their 16 3-pointers.

Drew Lowder is someone who played a role for the game. He ended up shooting 38.9% from the floor and also recorded 4 dimes. He played for 33 mins and collected 5 rebounds. He left the arena with 19 points on 7 of 18 shooting.

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Cleveland State steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss mark of 6-4 this season. They average 74.7 pts per game (176th in the nation) while connecting on 43.4% from the field. The Vikings are hitting 36.0% on 3-pointers (64 of 178) and 65.4% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Cleveland State is pulling in 37.3 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 116 assists on the year, which has them ranked 179th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession via turnover 11.8 times per contest and as a team they are committing 18.7 personal fouls per game.

On defense, the Vikings are forcing their opponents into 15.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.5 fouls. They are ranked 294th in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 128 surrendered this season. The Vikings are allowing a shooting percentage of 43.6% (248 of 569) and they concede 37.2 rebounds per contest as a team. They relinquish 30.4% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 112th in D-1 in points per game allowed (67.9).

The last time they took the court, the Kent State Golden Flashes walked away with a victory by a final of 82-73 against South Dakota State. The Golden Flashes earned 26 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards for a total of 37 for this contest. They also turned the ball over 15 times, while getting 8 steals in this matchup. South Dakota State was called for 19 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Golden Flashes to the charity stripe for 24 attempts. They were able to bury 22 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 91.7%. Pertaining to shooting from 3-point land, Kent State converted 10 out of 27 attempts (37.0%). Overall, the Golden Flashes went 25 out of 58 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.1%. The Golden Flashes permitted South Dakota State to convert 26 of their 62 attempts from the floor which had them at 41.9% for the contest. They finished 28.6% from beyond the perimeter via 8 of 28 and ended up shooting 13 of 19 from the charity stripe (68.4%). When talking about team rebounding, Kent State allowed South Dakota State to snag 30 in all (10 offensive).

Giovanni Santiago ended up being important for the Golden Flashes for the matchup. He earned 19 points in his 36 mins of playing time and tallied 4 assists in this game. He knocked down 4 out of 9 for this contest for a field goal rate of 44.4%, and had 6 rebounds.

Kent State has a record of 6-3 on the season. The Golden Flashes commit 19.0 fouls every game and they hit 78.7% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 14.0 times per contest (145th in college basketball) and they turn it over 13.1 times per contest. Kent State has accounted for 760 pts so far this year (84.4 per game) and they grab 36.9 rebounds per game. When it comes to offense, the Golden Flashes are connecting on 46.1% from the field, which ranks 120th in the nation.

The Kent State defense allows 35.8% on 3-point attempts (82 of 229) and their opponents are connecting on 65.3% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 14.1 assists and 33.3 rebounds per game, which is 289th and 106th in college hoops. The Golden Flashes are ranked 206th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 72.0. They are forcing 17.4 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 42.7% from the field (196th in college basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Cleveland State

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