Akron Zips vs Kent State Golden Flashes Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 01/14/2022

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Friday, January 14, 2022

Venue:  Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, Kent, OH

Where to Watch:  CBS Sports

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Akron +1, Kent State -1; Over/Under:  135 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Akron +1, Kent State -1; Over/Under:  135 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Akron +1, Kent State -1; Over/Under:  134.5 points

 

Akron Zips:  9-4 (3rd place, MAC)

Kent State Golden Flashes:  7-8 (8th place, MAC)

 

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Akron Zips:  4-1 last 5

Kent State Golden Flashes:  2-3 last 5

 

 

 

Akron is coming into this game with a 9-4 record overall and they are 1-1 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 4th conference matchup of the year and they are currently 2-1 in their conference games this season. They have won 7 of their last 8 games and are coming into this one off of a win in their last game. Their last loss was against the Ohio Bobcats while their 7 wins in that span came against the Evansville Purple Aces, the Marshall Thundering Herd, the Southern Jaguars, the Florida A&M Rattlers, the Wright State Raiders, the Buffalo Bulls, and the Ball State Cardinals in their last game. Xavier Castaneda led the team in points in that game with 29 while Bryan Trimble Jr. was next on the team with 19 points. Castaneda led the team in assists in that game with 6 while Enrique Freeman led the team in rebounds with 12. They are 46% from the field, 35.2% from 3-point range, and 65.2% from the free throw line with their shooting this season. Their offense is averaging 74.2 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 62.5 PPG against them. Akron has an ATS record of 8-4 this season and their O/U record is 6-6.

 

 

Kent State is coming into this game with a 7-8 record overall and they are 4-4 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be the 6th conference matchup on their schedule this year and they are currently 2-3 in their conference games this season. Their last win was against the Ball State Cardinals but they have gone on a 2 game losing streak since then with losses coming against the Ohio Bobcats and the Northern Illinois Huskies in their last game. Sincere Carry and Malique Jacobs both led the team in points in that game with 16 while Justyn Hamilton was next on the team with 10 points. Carry led the team in assists in that game with 6 while Jacobs led the team in rebounds with 10. They are 41.9% from the field, 29.5% from 3-point range, and 80.2% from the free throw line with their shots this season. Their offense is averaging 69.4 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 63.9 PPG against them. Kent State has an ATS record of 4-9 this season and their O/U record is 4-8-1.

 

Akron is coming into this game as a 1 point underdog with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Akron has been playing much better than Kent State in their recent games with just 1 loss in their last 8 games. They have won 2 of their last 3 games against conference opponents and they are going up against a Kent State side that have not been playing well at home this season. Kent State is only 4-4 in their home games this season and they have lost 2 straight games coming into this one. They had won 2 straight against conference opponents but lost their next 2 straight and have now lost 3 of their 5 conference games this season. The best bet to place in this game is on Akron to cover the spread here as they will win this game playing in much better form than Kent State has been in.

 

Akron Kent State Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Friday, January 14, 2022 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Akron 79 Kent State 75.

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Akron Zips: 7-4 ATS in all games. 9-4 ATS when the line is +3 to -3. 12-4 ATS as an underdog. 10-1 ATS as a road underdog or pick. 17-8 ATS in road games. 24-18 ATS against conference opponents. 15-6 ATS in January games. 22-9 ATS after playing a home game.

Kent State Golden Flashes: 2-8 ATS after 2 straight games with 12 or less assists. 4-9 ATS in all games. 2-7 ATS when the total is 130 to 139.5. 18-25 ATS as a favorite. 18-25 ATS against conference opponents. 17-24 ATS after a conference game. 2-8 ATS after 2 straight games making 78% of their free throws or better.

 

 

Akron Zips:  None.

Kent State Golden Flashes:  None.

 

 

“I think obviously those teams that have avoided pauses have been in a rhythm, had minimal games canceled or no games canceled or postponed ... from a chemistry standpoint, cardio, rhythm, is that helpful to them?  Yeah. Absolutely it is. We're hoping we can get to that point here real soon.” - John Groce on his team’s covid-19 breaks compared to other teams not having to pause at all.

 

 

“If we want to get in the mix to try to win this league we’ve got to string together three, four, five wins in a row. We’ve got to find a way to get back on track [Tuesday].”  - Rob Senderoff prior to his team’s game against Northern Illinois.

 

 

 

A. Ali 

X. Castaneda 

E. Freeman 

B. Trimble 

K. Walton

 

T. Beck 

S. Carry 

J. Hamilton 

M. Jacobs 

G. Santiago

 

 

PPG: A. Ali (14)

APG: A. Ali (2.7)

Reb/G: E. Freeman (11.2)

 

PPG: S. Carry (17.3)

APG: S. Carry (5.1)

Reb/G: M. Jacobs (7.1)

 

Coaches:

Akron Zips: John Groce (5th season)

Kent State Golden Flashes: Rob Senderoff (11th season)