Northern Illinois Huskies vs Kent State Golden Flashes Prediction, 2/17/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northern Illinois Huskies vs Kent State Golden Flashes

Date: Saturday, February 17, 2024

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

TV: ESPN+

The Northern Illinois Huskies (9-15) are headed to M.A.C. Center on Saturday where they will take on the Kent State Golden Flashes (12-12).

The Northern Illinois Huskies took the court against Buffalo and went home with a win by a final score of 72-68 in their last game. Northern Illinois wrapped up the contest having earned a 43.6% field goal percentage (24 out of 55) and made 8 of their 15 shots from beyond the arc. At the charity stripe, the Huskies buried 16 of 29 tries for a percentage of 55.2%. When it comes to grabbing boards, they compiled 33 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 8 assists for the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In relation to defense, Northern Illinois allowed 49.1% from the field on 26 out of 53 shooting. Buffalo distributed 13 assists and had 4 steals in the game. Moreover, Buffalo grabbed 26 rebounds (3 offensive, 23 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Buffalo walked away from this one shooting 40.9% at the free throw line by making 9 of 22 tries. They knocked down 7 of 22 tries from distance. In the matter of personal fouls, the Huskies finished with 14 while Buffalo accumulated 22 personal fouls.

Xavier Amos is someone who was a major contributor for this contest. He finished with 25 points on 7 of 14 shooting. He played for 36 minutes and grabbed 5 rebounds. He went 50.0% from the field and also recorded 2 assists.

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Northern Illinois will take the court with a win-loss record of 9-15 for the campaign. They are turning it over 12.6 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 17.7 fouls every game. As a unit, Northern Illinois is snagging 36.1 boards per game and has tallied 249 dimes on the campaign, which is 346th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Huskies are hitting 33.6% on 3-pointers (180 of 535) and 67.7% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 75.5 points per game (138th in Division 1) while shooting 45.1% from the floor.

Defensively, the Huskies are forcing 11.3 turnovers per game while drawing 19.0 fouls. They currently rank 259th in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 336 relinquished so far this year. The Huskies defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 44.8% (669 of 1,494) and they relinquish 37.3 boards per game as a unit. They give up 36.3% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 329th in D-1 in PPG allowed (78.1).

In their last game, the Kent State Golden Flashes walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 78-68 against Troy. The Golden Flashes were able to collect 18 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 28 in this contest. They coughed it up 16 times, while recording 9 steals for the contest. Troy earned 23 personal fouls for the game which got the Golden Flashes to the charity stripe for 22 shots. They were able to knock down 20 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 90.9%. Regarding shots from beyond the perimeter, Kent State buried 8 out of 25 attempts (32.0%). Overall, the Golden Flashes went 20 for 53 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 37.7%. The Golden Flashes permitted Troy to make 25 of 47 attempts from the floor which left them shooting 53.2% for this contest. They finished 26.7% from downtown by hitting 4 out of 15 and finished the contest at 24 of 34 at the charity stripe (70.6%). Regarding how they cleaned up the glass, Kent State permitted Troy to collect 31 overall (9 on the offensive side).

Reggie Bass ended up being important for the Golden Flashes for this contest. He had 21 points in his 28 minutes on the hardwood and earned 6 assists for the matchup. He buried 6 out of 12 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and added 4 rebounds.

Kent State has a record of 12-12 this year. In terms of offensive execution, the Golden Flashes are shooting 44.5% from the field, which ranks them 195th in the nation. Kent State has tallied 1,836 points this year (76.5 per contest) and they grab 34.7 rebounds per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 13.0 times per game (202nd in college basketball) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 13.0 times per contest. The Golden Flashes have committed 18.0 personal fouls every game and they shoot 76.3% from the charity stripe.

The Kent State defense gives up 33.2% from downtown (185 of 558) and opponents are connecting on 70.9% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 13.3 assists and 33.3 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 229th and 99th in Division 1. The Golden Flashes on defense are ranked 221st in college basketball in points allowed per game with 73.0. They are able to force 14.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 45.5% from the field (301st in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Kent State

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