Ball State Cardinals vs Kent State Golden Flashes Prediction, 1/2/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Ball State Cardinals vs Kent State Golden Flashes

Date: Tuesday, January 2, 2024

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

TV: ESPN+

M.A.C. Center is the location where the Kent State Golden Flashes (7-4) will compete against the Ball State Cardinals (8-4) on Tuesday.

The Ball State Cardinals stepped onto the hardwood against Minnesota and went home with a loss by a final score of 80-63 in their last contest. Ball State finished the game with a 45.3% FG percentage (24 out of 53) and knocked down 8 of their 21 shots from 3-point land. From the free throw line, the Cardinals converted 7 of 11 attempts for a rate of 63.6%. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they collected 25 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 11 assists for the matchup as well as forcing 6 turnovers and getting 2 steals. With respect to defense, Ball State allowed 52.6% from the field on 30 of 57 shooting. Minnesota totaled 22 dimes and had 7 steals in this matchup. In addition, Minnesota snagged 31 boards (8 offensive, 23 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Minnesota shot 54.5% when shooting free throws by knocking down 12 of 22 attempts. They also knocked down 8 of their 18 tries from distance. In the matter of fouls, the Cardinals ended up finishing with 16 while Minnesota totaled 15 fouls.

Jalin Anderson is one player who was a contributor in this game. He finished 61.1% from the field and also recorded 7 dimes. He played for 39 mins and also snagged 4 rebounds. He ended up walking away with 26 points on 11 out of 18 shooting.

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Ball State comes into this matchup with a mark of 8-4 so far this season. They cough up possession 12.4 times per game and as a group are committing 13.7 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Ball State is collecting 35.6 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 147 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 274th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Cardinals are shooting 37.9% on three-point attempts (92 of 243) and 73.2% from the charity stripe. They average 75.0 points per outing (185th in D-1) while shooting 46.3% from the floor.

On the defensive end of the court, the Cardinals are able to force 12.7 turnovers per game and they draw 19.3 personal fouls. They are ranked 177th in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 152 conceded for the season. The Cardinals defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 45.1% (305 of 677) and they concede 30.8 boards per game as a unit. They are giving up 33.3% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 106th in the country in opponents PPG (67.7).

The last time they took the court, the Kent State Golden Flashes took a loss by a score of 84-70 when they played Oregon. In relation to rebounding, Kent State permitted Oregon to snag 34 in all (8 on the offensive glass). They went 24.1% from behind the 3-point line by going 7 of 29 and walked away from this one shooting 21 of 27 at the free throw line (77.8%). The Golden Flashes allowed Oregon to knock down 28 out of their 60 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.7% for the contest. When the final whistle was blown, the Golden Flashes ended up going 22 for 56 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 39.3%. In reference to three-point shots, Kent State made 11 of their 24 attempts (45.8%). They were able to make 15 of the free throws for a clip of 83.3%. Oregon was called for 14 personal fouls for the contest which took the Golden Flashes to the charity stripe for 18 attempts. They gave up possession 13 times, but weren't able to put a steal in the stat sheet. The Golden Flashes were able to corral 24 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive boards for a total of 29 for this contest.

Tyem Freeman was important for the Golden Flashes for this contest. He had 16 points in his 31 minutes of playing time and totaled 2 dimes for this game. He made 5 of 7 in this game for a field goal rate of 71.4%, and earned 7 rebounds.

Kent State has a record of 7-4 this season. As an offensive team, the Golden Flashes are shooting 46.3% from the floor, which is 118th in D-1. Kent State has totaled 913 pts this season (83.0 per contest) and they grab 37.4 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 14.0 times per contest (153rd in Division 1) and they lose possession via turnover 13.7 times per contest. The Golden Flashes are responsible for committing 19.0 fouls per game while shooting 77.1% from the free throw line.

The Kent State defense allows 34.5% on three-point shots (97 of 281) and opponents are making 64.7% of their foul shots. They allow 13.9 assists and 33.2 total boards per game, which ranks them 267th and 103rd in those defensive categories. The Golden Flashes on the defensive side of the court are 247th in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 73.5. They are able to force 15.6 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.5% from the floor (224th in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kent State

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