The Northern Illinois Huskies (13-18, 9-9) and Kent State Golden Flashes (25-6, 15-3) meet Thursday in a 1st-round matchup in the Mid-American Tournament. Tip from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland is approximately 4 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Northern Illinois vs. Kent State odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Kent State enters the tournament as a 2-seed after winning 15 conference games. The Golden Flashes pushed past Akron 89-84 in overtime in the regular-season finale, and Kent State won 7 of its last 8 games overall.
Northern Illinois blasted non-tournament team Eastern Michigan in the finale by an 85-66 count as 4.5-point favorites, cashing the Over for a 3rd straight outing. NIU is a very solid 10-4 ATS in its last 14 games.
These teams met once in the regular season, with NIU posting a surprising 86-76 win in DeKalb as a 12-point underdog with the Over cashing. The underdog has cashed in 5 of the past 6 meetings overall.
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Northern Illinois 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 7:28 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Northern Ilinois +525 (bet $100 to win $525) | Miami -850 (bet $850 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Northern Illinois +12.5 (-115) | Kent State -12.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 141.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Northern Illinois vs. Kent State picks and predictions
Prediction
Kent State 77, Northern Illinois 68
Moneyline
Kent State is far too expensive and isn’t very good option for a standalone bet.
AVOID, and focus on the spread instead.
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Against the spread
The lean is to NORTHERN ILLINOIS +12.5 (-115) plus double-digit points.
The Huskies won outright against Kent State -12.5 (-105) in the only regular-season meeting as a double-digit underdog at NIU. The Huskies are unlikely to run it back and win this game outright, but they won’t go quietly into the night, either.
Kent State is 0-3-1 ATS in the last 4 games overall, while NIU has cashed in 10 of the last 14. The underdog has hit in 5 of the last 6 meetings, too.
Over/Under
OVER 141.5 (-110) is the best play on the board in this MAC battle.
The Over is 10-4 in the last 14 games overall for NIU, while going 11-4 in the last 15 games against teams with a winning overall record. The Over is 8-1 in the last 9 games for the Huskies after a cover, while going a 7-0 in the last 7 outings following a straight-up win.
For Kent State, the Over has hit in 3 of the last 4 games, and it easily cashed in the 1st meeting with NIU, too.
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