The 3rd-seeded Akron Zips (22-10) and No. 2 Kent State Golden Flashes (26-6) meet in a Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinal Friday. The intrastate battle at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland will tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Akron vs. Kent State odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Akron defeated No. 6 Buffalo 101-77 as an 8.5-point favorite on Thursday and is 5-2 over its last 7 games. Its last loss was 89-84 in overtime to Kent State on March 3 as 4.5-point underdogs. Kent State shot 51.7% from the floor in that game after Akron had held the Flashes to a 37.5% mark in a 67-55 Zips win on Feb. 3.
Kent State trounced No. 7 Northern Illinois 76-57 Thursday to cover as 13.5-point favorites. The Flashes have won 4 straight and 8 of their last 9. KSU is looking to get to its 1st NCAA Tournament since 2017.
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Akron vs. Kent State odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:39 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Off the board
- Against the spread (ATS): Akron +2.5 (-120) | Kent State -2.5 (+100)
- Over/Under (O/U): 134.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Akron vs. Kent State picks and predictions
Prediction
Kent State 65, Akron 63
Moneyline
Not available.
Against the spread
Look for free throws and 3s to keep Akron neck-and-neck with Kent State on Friday. The Zips are a lean, but not an actionable one unless they’re getting 3 points evenly priced (-110).
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Over/Under
The Flashes play mid-tempo ball, while the Zips are the tortoise five in the MAC. And the lean here is on the Under because Kent games have landed on the Under more times than not when playing slow teams on their schedule (like Cleveland State, Houston, Western Michigan, UTEP).
The Under is 8-2 over the last 10 Akron-Kent battles and is 5-1 in the Zips’ last 6 neutral-site contests.
Akron likes to shoot 3s; KSU is solid in defending 3s. Both sides take care of the ball, and neither is a big threat to pile up 2nd-chance points. Both can get to the line, and that may be a danger in a close game, but on a risk/reward basis, this number is worth attacking.
TAKE THE UNDER 135.5 (-110).
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