Central Michigan Chippewas vs Kent State Golden Flashes Prediction, 3/2/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Central Michigan Chippewas vs Kent State Golden Flashes

Date: Saturday, March 2, 2024

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

TV: ESPN+

M.A.C. Center is where the Kent State Golden Flashes (14-14) will take on the Central Michigan Chippewas (16-12) on Saturday.

The Central Michigan Chippewas took the court against Ball State and went home with a loss by a final score of 79-71 in their last game. Central Michigan finished having earned a 41.7% FG percentage (25 of 60) and converted 10 of their 25 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Chippewas made 11 of 15 attempts for a percentage of 73.3%. Regarding getting rebounds, they earned 27 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 11 assists for the game in addition to creating 13 turnovers and getting 5 steals. In relation to defending, Central Michigan allowed 49.1% from the field on 28 of 57 shooting. Ball State earned 14 dimes and had 6 steals in this contest. Moreover, Ball State snagged 34 boards (10 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't have a block. Ball State walked away from this one shooting 81.3% from the free throw line by making 13 of 16 tries. They made 10 of 23 attempts from three-point range. With respect to personal fouls, the Chippewas ended up finishing with 16 and Ball State totaled 15 personal fouls.

Paul McMillan is one player who played a role for this game. He walked away with 25 points on 10 of 14 shooting. He played for 39 mins and totaled 2 rebounds. He finished the contest at 71.4% from the field but had no dimes when the game ended.

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Central Michigan enters this matchup with a win-loss record of 16-12 on the campaign. They lose possession via turnover 12.4 times per game and as a group they commit 16.5 personal fouls per game. As a team, Central Michigan is pulling down 35.6 rebounds per game and has earned 314 dimes for the season, which is 320th in college hoops in terms of passing. The Chippewas are connecting on 30.6% on three-point shots (174 of 568) and 66.8% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 66.6 points per outing (331st in the country) while shooting 42.6% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Chippewas are forcing their opponents into 11.8 turnovers per game while drawing 15.5 personal fouls. They concede 31.6% on shots from downtown while they are 133rd in college hoops in points per game allowed (70.4). The Chippewas defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 41.5% (691 of 1,667) and they relinquish 37.2 boards per contest as a group. They are ranked 207th in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 371 relinquished this year.

For their last game, the Kent State Golden Flashes took home the win by a final score of 76-64 when they played Buffalo. The Golden Flashes collected 20 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive boards totaling 26 in the matchup. They coughed up the ball 6 times, while recording 8 steals in this contest. Buffalo had 9 personal fouls for this contest which took the Golden Flashes to the free throw line for 7 attempts. They were able to knock down 6 of those for a clip of 85.7%. With respect to 3-point shots, Kent State made 10 of 25 tries (40.0%). When the game finished, the Golden Flashes finished the game shooting 30 for 66 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.5%. The Golden Flashes permitted Buffalo to convert 23 out of 50 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 46.0% in the matchup. They shot 46.2% from beyond the arc by connecting on 6 out of 13 and ended up shooting 12 of 14 at the charity stripe (85.7%). When discussing how they attacked the glass, Kent State allowed Buffalo to snag 32 overall (6 on the offensive glass).

Jalen Sullinger ended up being a major contributor for the Golden Flashes for the game. He made 11 of 21 in the game giving him a rate of 52.4%, and had 1 rebound. He earned 30 points in his 34 minutes on the court and earned 1 assist for this contest.

Kent State has a win-loss mark of 14-14 this year. The Golden Flashes commit 18.0 fouls per contest and they hit 76.0% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 13.1 times per game (185th in the nation) and they cough up possession 12.5 times per contest. Kent State has totaled 2,124 pts on the season (75.9 per game) and they collect 34.7 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Golden Flashes are shooting 44.6% from the field, which has them ranked 181st in college basketball.

The Golden Flashes on defense are ranked 177th in D-1 in PPG allowed with 71.7. They are forcing their opponents into 13.8 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 45.0% from the field (262nd in D-1). The Kent State defense surrenders 33.4% from downtown (211 of 631) and their opponents are making 72.7% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 13.0 assists and 32.8 rebounds every game, which is 189th and 72nd in college basketball.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Kent State

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