The Kent State Golden Flashes (17-16) and Akron Zips (23-10) meet in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament Championship Game Saturday at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2/ESPN+). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s'lines around the Kent State vs. Akron odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
The 8th-seeded Golden Flashes have been disruptive in Cleveland. They came into the tourney under .500, but upended No. 1 seed Toledo, while topping Bowling Green 73-60 in the semifinals. Kent State ended the regular season 2-4 straight up (SU), while going 0-6 against the spread (ATS), but they’re 2-0 SU/ATS in the tourney, cashing the Under in both outings.
The 2nd-seeded Zips meet their rivals for a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Akron swept the regular-season series, while also covering both of the games. The average margin of victory was 9.5 points per game (PPG), and the Over cashed in both regular-season meetings.
Like Kent State, Akron skidded to the finish line of the regular season. It lost 3 of the final 4 games, while failing to cover 4 straight. The Zips were 1-7 ATS in the final 8 games, too, with the lone cover a win over the Golden Flashes.