Arizona vs. Kent State line at Golden Flashes -3.5
The Arizona vs. Kent State line had the Golden Flashes at -3.5 with the total at 138 at Sportsbook.com.
In-state rivals meet for the 131st time on Friday when Kent State hosts Akron in the conference finale for both schools. The Golden Flashes have already clinched a share of the conference’s regular-season title at 11-4, and will claim the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament with a win. Akron needs a victory and an Ohio loss at Miami-Ohio to secure a first-round bye in next week’s conference tournament.
A win on Friday would also give Akron 20 wins for a school-record sixth straight season. The Zips are looking to quickly recover from Tuesday’s 80-55 blowout loss to Ohio, which snapped a seven-game win streak (both SU and ATS). They were dominated on the boards, 40-21, and allowed the Bobcats to shoot over 50% from the floor for the second time this year. Akron has not allowed another MAC opponent to shoot over 47% FG this season. The Zips won the last meeting with Kent State, 65-52, on Jan. 8 in the conference opener for both teams. Zeke Marshall (8.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG) had 20 points and 11 rebounds in the win, while Brett McKnight (10.1 PPG) added 19 points. Marshall has not played well recently with almost as many fouls (20) as points (23) in his past six games. Nikola Cvetinovic leads Akron in points (12.4 PPG) and rebounds (7.0 RPG). He averaged 20.7 PPG and 7.0 RPG over a three-game stretch before scoring just eight points with two rebounds in the loss to Ohio.
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Kent State has won three of its past four games including a 63-57 win at Bowling Green on Tuesday. Justin Greene (15.5 PPG, 8.3 RPG) had 12 points and 14 rebounds on Tuesday, while Michael Porrini (9.6 PPG, 4.2 APG) scored 13 points and dished out nine assists for the second straight game. Rodriquez Sherman (12.8 PPG) also had 13 against the Falcons and is averaging 15.9 PPG on 54% FG over his past seven games. Sherman, who scored 19 points against Akron in the January meeting, is the only senior on the roster. He will be honored before his final home game Friday night as the only player in school history to play for three MAC Championship teams. A victory over Akron would make the Golden Flashes just the second team since 1963 to win consecutive MAC titles outright.
These teams have been playing since the 1915-16 season with Kent State holding a 68-62 series advantage. The Flashes are 6-2 SU (7-1 ATS) against Akron in the past eight games and are 29-3 SU in the past 32 home meetings. Kent State is 14-2 SU (6-6 ATS) at home this season, outscoring opponents by 9.0 PPG and limiting them to 39% FG. KSU is also 10-5 ATS in conference play.
