Kent State at Virginia odds, picks and prediction

Previewing Friday’s Kent State Golden Flashes at Virginia Cavaliers sports betting odds and lines, with college basketball betting picks, tips and predictions.

The Kent State Golden Flashes (1-0) visit the Virginia Cavaliers (2-1) Friday night for a 6 p.m. ET non-conference contest at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va. Below, we analyze the Kent State-Virginia college basketball betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.

Kent State at Virginia: Betting odds, spread and lines

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 2 p.m. ET.

  • Money line: Kent State +1400 (bet $100 to win $1,400) | Virginia -5000 (bet $5,000 to win $100)
  • Against the spread/ATS: Kent State +19.5 (+100) | Virginia -19.5 (-121)
  • Over/Under: 124.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

Kent State at Virginia: Three things to know

  1. Kent State opened its season with a 90-41 victory over Point Park (Pa.) Wednesday. The Flashes were dominant in forcing turnovers and won the game easily despite going just 5-for-29 (17.2%) from 3-point land.
  2. The slow-things-down Cavaliers opened last season with seven straight victories, but only one was by more than 20 points. Both wins this season — over Towson and St. Francis (Pa.) — have been by margins of 25-plus points. Most analytic pace measurements peg the Wahoos as one of the 20-30 slowest teams in terms of total possessions in NCAA-I.
  3. Senior F Jay Huff has averaged 10.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in less than 20 minutes of action. The 7-footer has also blocked 8 shots already. Virginia ranked third in the ACC a year ago, swatting away 4.9 shots per contest.

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Kent State at Virginia: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks

Prediction

Virginia 73, Kent State 51

Money line (ML)

STEER CLEAR, figuring the true odds are well bracketed by the wide 2200-to-10000 berth.

Against the spread (ATS)

The Cavaliers struggled to cover at home last season, especially in the second half of the campaign. From Dec. 18-Feb. 11, UVA went just 1-7 ATS in such games. What helps back this play is the early 61-60 loss to San Francisco (Nov. 27). Virginia bounced back with a 25-point win the next time out (against St. Francis).

None of the shooting, turnover, or rebounding analytics were out of whack in that victory. The St. Francis opponent figures as a solid comp for Kent State.

The slow pace is always a major consideration when trying to peg a big cover, but the overriding pace in this one is the jolt KSU is likely to get going from NAIA schedule fodder to DI top 10. BACK THE CAVALIERS -20.5 (-110).

Over/Under (O/U)

PASS ON THE O/U ACTION. A low-70s vs. low-50s final figures as a probable finish in the tumble of scoreboard digits.

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Additional college sports coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group:

Alabama / Auburn / Florida / Georgia / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Notre Dame / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Tennessee / Texas / USC / Wisconsin

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