College Basketball Picks

Southern Utah vs Kent State 3/16/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

Kent State Golden Flashes (23-10) vs. Southern Utah Thunderbirds (20-11)
March 16, 2022 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Southern Utah Thunderbirds +1 / Kent State Golden Flashes -1; Over/Under: 140
(Get latest betting odds)

The Kent State Golden Flashes will travel to the America First Events Center to take on the Southern Utah Thunderbirds this Wednesday night in the 1st round of The Basketball Classic.

The Kent State Golden Flashes finished their overall season with an 23-10 record and finished MAC play with a 16-4 record. Kent State earned the 2-seed in the MAC Championship and had solid victories over Miami (OH) & Ohio in the conference tournament, however, the Golden Flashes could not punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament after falling to the Akron Zips, 75-55, in the Finals. Kent State finished their non-conference portion of their schedule with a 5-5 record, however, they did finish their regular season strong, winning their last 12 regular season games which included wins over Akron, Toledo, & Ohio.

On the season, Kent State is averaging 71.0 ppg on 44.1% shooting form the field. The Golden Flashes are averaging 7.5 three-pointers per gam eon 33.0% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Kent State has been led by Sincere Carry (18.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.8 apg, 1.4 spg), Malique Jacobs (12.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.5 spg), Justyn Hamilton (8.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.3 bpg), & Giovanni Santiago (8.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.2 spg).

Defensively, Kent State is holding their opponents to an average of 64.7 ppg on 40.8% shooting from the field. The Golden Flashes are averaging 7.5 three-pointers per game on 33.0% shooting from beyond the arc.

The Southern Utah Thunderbirds finished their overall season with a 20-11 record while finishing conference play with a 14-6 record. Southern Utah earned the 2-seed in the Big Sky Conference Tournament, however, the Thunderbirds didn’t make it far after being upset by the 7-seed Portland State Vikings by a 77-65 margin in the Quarterfinals. Southern Utah finished their non-conference portion of their schedule with a 6-4 record and picked up some solid wins over Yale, Eastern Washington, & Utah Valley.

On the season, Southern Utah is allowing their opponents to average 72.8 ppg on 44.1% shooting from the field. The Thunderbirds are averaging 8.3 three-pointers per game on 34.0% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Southern Utah has been led by Tevian Jones (14.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg), John Knight III (14.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.1 apg, 2.1 spg), Maizen Fausett (12.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.0 apg), & Dre Marin (10.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.1 spg).

Defensively, Southern Utah is allowing their opponents to average 72.8 ppg on 44.1% shooting from the field. The Thunderbirds have a rebound margin of 4.6 and a turnover margin of 0.1.

The Golden Flashes are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a double-digit loss at home & 11-3-1 ATS in their last 15 games overall. The Thunderbirds are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS loss, however, are just 3-8 ATS in their last 11 home games.

Kent State has been led by their defense which ranks 40th in scoring defense & 44th in defensive FG%, however, the Golden Flashes were below average on the offensive end as they come into this game ranked just 170th in scoring offense & 172nd in defensive FG%. Southern Utah has been led by their offense which ranks 27th in scoring offense & 80th in FG%, however, the Thunderbirds struggled defensively and currently rank just 269th in scoring defense & 216th in defensive FG%.

Southern Utah has a solid season, however, Kent State is no doubt the better team in my opinion and as I expect the Golden Flashes defense to give the Thunderbirds plenty of trouble in this one, I’m taking Kent State to cover this small spread. Good Luck!

Brett Nault's Free Pick: Kent State Golden Flashes -1

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Brett Nault

Brett has been involved with sports his entire life, whether playing them or betting on them, and loves using his education in data analytics to break down all matchups to get you a competitive edge. Follow Brett Nault on Twitter @BrettCU05

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