The Kent State Golden Flashes (20-5, 10-2 MAC) and Western Michigan Broncos (6-19, 2-10) meet Tuesday at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Kent State vs. Western Michigan game odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
The Flashes are tied with Toledo atop the MAC standings with a 10-2 conference record. Kent State has won and covered the last 2 games since a loss at rival Akron on Feb. 3. It is still just 2-4 ATS in the last 6 games overall, however.
The cellar-dwelling Broncos have dropped 8 straight games, all inside the league, and it has failed to cover the last 7 games, going 0-6-1 ATS during the slide.
These teams met Jan. 3 in Kent, with the Golden Flashes posting an 80-72 victory. Western Michigan did get the easy cover as 17.5-point ‘dogs while the Over connected.
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Kent State at Western Michigan odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:31 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Off the board
- Against the spread (ATS): Kent State -11.5 (-110) | Western Michigan +11.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 140.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Kent State at Western Michigan picks and predictions
Prediction
Kent State 74, Western Michigan 66
Moneyline
PASS. Simply, Kent State would way too expensive if a moneyline was available.
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Against the spread
WESTERN MICHIGAN +11.5 (-110) is the lean, ever so slightly.
This is a poor offensive and defensive team, scoring just 70.6 PPG while yielding 74.2 PPG. It is also 322nd or worse in both defensive field-goal percentage (46.3%) and defensive 3-point percentage (36.2%).
However, the home team is 7-2-1 ATS in the last 10 meetings in this series, with the underdog 3-1-1 ATS in the last 5 in the series overall. And Western Michigan did play Kent State extremely well in the 1st meeting in Northeast Ohio.
Over/Under
UNDER 140.5 (-105) is the lean, but go a half-unit at best.
The Under is 11-5 in the last 16 games overall for Kent State, while going 24-7 in the last 31 games on the road.
The Under is 8-3 in the last 11 home games for Western Michigan, too. However, the Over is 15-5-1 in the last 21 against winning teams. Hold your news and hope that Western Michigan’s ugly defense can at least be somewhat dependable.
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