Kent State Golden Flashes vs Ball State Cardinals Prediction, 3/5/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kent State Golden Flashes vs Ball State Cardinals

Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Location: Worthen Arena in Muncie, IN

TV: ESPN+

The Ball State Cardinals (14-15) will take on the Kent State Golden Flashes (15-14) at Worthen Arena on Tuesday.

The Kent State Golden Flashes faced Central Michigan and went home with a win by a final score of 79-73 in their last game. Kent State wrapped up the game having earned a 38.5% FG percentage (25 of 65) and made 10 of their 29 shots from distance. At the charity stripe, the Golden Flashes made 19 of their 24 attempts for a percentage of 79.2%. When talking about grabbing boards, they compiled 31 with 12 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 15 assists for the matchup as well as forcing 9 turnovers and getting 7 steals. Regarding defending, Kent State allowed their opponent to shoot 46.9% from the floor on 30 out of 64 shooting. Central Michigan recorded 13 dimes and had 1 steal for this game. On top of that, Central Michigan grabbed 38 rebounds (13 offensive, 25 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Central Michigan ended up going 66.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 10 of their 15 shots. They buried 3 out of their 16 shots from 3-point land. Concerning personal fouls, the Golden Flashes walked away with 14 while Central Michigan accumulated 20 personal fouls.

Giovanni Santiago is someone who was a factor for the matchup. He ended up with 21 points on 6 out of 12 shooting. He was on the court for 41 minutes and collected 5 rebounds. He went 50.0% from the floor and also totaled 4 dimes.

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Kent State enters this matchup with a win-loss record of 15-14 on the campaign. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.1 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 17.8 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Kent State is collecting 34.6 rebounds per game and is sitting with 381 assists on the year, which is 201st in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Golden Flashes are connecting on 36.0% on shots from distance (244 of 677) and 76.1% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 76.0 pts per game (114th in D-1) while going 44.3% from the field.

On defense, the Golden Flashes are forcing their opponents into 13.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.7 fouls. They rank 167th in the nation in giving up assists with 377 surrendered on the campaign. The Golden Flashes defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 45.1% (733 of 1,625) and they concede 33.1 rebounds per contest as a group. They are surrendering 33.1% on 3-pointers and they rank 178th in college basketball in points per game allowed (71.8).

For their last game, the Ball State Cardinals went home defeated by a final of 78-76 when they played Western Michigan. The Cardinals pulled down 19 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 26 for the contest. They also gave up possession of the ball 9 times, while recording 6 steals in this contest. Western Michigan had 21 fouls in the matchup which took the Cardinals to the free throw line for 28 shots. They were able to convert 25 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 89.3%. In regard to 3-pointers, Ball State converted 7 of 26 attempts (26.9%). Overall, the Cardinals walked away from this one shooting 22 for 61 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 36.1%. The Cardinals permitted Western Michigan to bury 33 out of 73 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 45.2% in this game. They finished 35.3% from distance by connecting on 6 out of 17 and ended up shooting 6 out of 9 from the charity stripe (66.7%). In the matter of rebounding, Ball State permitted Western Michigan to grab 41 overall (13 on the offensive side).

Jalin Anderson was important for the Cardinals in the matchup. He had 25 points in his 43 mins on the court and had 6 dimes in the game. He knocked down 7 of 19 in this matchup giving him a rate of 36.8%, and had 3 rebounds.

Ball State has a mark of 14-15 this season. The Cardinals are committing 15.3 fouls per contest while shooting 76.9% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 12.5 times per game (241st in college basketball) and they are turning it over 12.0 times per contest. Ball State has totaled 2,134 points for the campaign (73.6 per game) and they snag 34.9 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cardinals are shooting 44.6% from the floor, which is 185th in the nation.

The Cardinals on defense are ranked 138th in college hoops in PPG allowed with 70.7. They are forcing 11.8 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 44.6% from the floor (235th in college basketball). The Ball State defense allows 34.1% on shots from 3-point land (202 of 592) and opponents are connecting on 70.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 12.2 assists and 33.7 rebounds per game, which ranks 123rd and 126th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Kent State

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