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The Kent State Golden Flashes (1-0) and Auburn Tigers (2-0) meet in a Wednesday contest at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+) at Neville Arena. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s college basketball odds around the Kent State vs. Auburn odds, and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions.
Kent State logged a pair of opening-week victories, taking down Louisiana 70-66 Nov. 4 and Miami (OH)-Hamilton 98-53 Friday. The Golden Flashes are coming off a bit of a down year — 17-17 overall and under-.500 in the Mid-American Conference — after the program averaged 21.6 wins per season over the previous 5.
Auburn, which is No. 11 in the USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, clocked an easy win in a non-competitive Nov. 6 season opener (94-43 vs. Vermont). The Tigers then earned a big road victory as 5.5-point underdogs over No. 4 Houston, 74-69, Saturday. The Tigers shot 52.9% in that game and have shot 54.8% through their first 2 games.
– Rankings: USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll
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Kent State at Auburn odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of college basketball odds. Lines last updated Tuesday at 9:43 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Kent State +1400 (bet $100 to win $1,400) | Auburn -5000 (bet $5,000 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Kent State +20.5 (-110) | Auburn -20.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 146.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Kent State at Auburn picks and predictions
Prediction
Auburn 84, Kent State 62
Moneyline
No interest: PASS.
Against the spread
KSU is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 road games.
Kent State is a solid mid-major program, but Auburn may have the talent to be a top-10 efficiency squad at both ends of the floor for a second straight season. KenPom pegged the Tigers 10th on offense and sixth on defense last year.
AU figures to have a big size advantage. The Tigers have swatted 14 shots through 2 games, and their interior defense has been excellent. Kent likes to launch it from 3-point-land, but the Tigers defend the perimeter well also.
KSU played at Saint Mary’s last season (Dec. 29), and that’s a decent comp for this one. The Gaels defeated the Flashes by 20 (66-46) in a game with a much slower tempo than what we should expect in Auburn.
TAKE THE TIGERS -20.5 (-110).
Over/Under
Kent State figures to want to grind this contest to a halt at times, and Auburn may not be a 5 that get an abundance of stop-the-clock 1-pointers.
KSU’s 3-point shooting woes in its first game (25% at Louisiana) brings an Under question to that part of the equation. Auburn could well be somewhat down and in need of some rest after its big Saturday win over Houston. The Tigers could well be content to bang out the win without grinding out every last possession of lineup combo late.
In Auburn’s last 9 November games as a favorite, the Under is 6-3.
Would’ve preferred a better number to leverage. Consider a partial-unit play on the UNDER 146.5 (-110).
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