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The Kent State Golden Flashes take on the Toledo Rockets. Check out our MAC Championship odds series for our Kent State Toledo prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Kent State Toledo.
The college basketball season arrives at the final batch of conference tournament championship games. There are a lot of them on Saturday night, and this coud be the very best of the bunch. Yeah, Arizona and UCLA are playing in the Pac-12 Tournament championship game, and Marquette is playing Xavier in the Big East final, but this is as good as it gets. Kent State was in first place in the MAC for a good portion of the season, but Toledo came on very strong in February and early March to win the league and overtake the Golden Flashes.
Toledo fended off Ohio in Friday's MAC Tournament semifinals. After the top-seeded Rockets took care of their end of the bargain, Kent State took the court. The second-seeded Golden Flashes defeated Akron in the second semifinal, creating a battle of the top two seeds for the conference crown.
The battle within the battle is the contest between two college basketball stars. Kent State has Sincere Carry, who scored 35 points in a win over Akron earlier this month before the MAC Tournament began. Toledo has RayJ Dennis, a strong, tough guard who can consistently get to the basket and is fearless at all times on the court. Both players are gifted playmakers and scorers, and the duel between them is an exciting feature of a much bigger clash for NCAA Tournament glory.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Kent State-Toledo MAC Championship odds.
MAC Championship Odds: Kent State-Toledo Odds
Kent State Golden Flashes: +0.5 (-110)
Toledo Rockets: -0.5 (-110)
Over: 148.5 (-110)
Under: 148.5 (-110)
How To Watch Kent State vs. Toledo
TV: ESPN2
Stream: ESPN+
Article Continues Below
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET, 4:30 p.m. PT
*Watch Kent State-Toledo LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
Why Kent State Could Cover the Spread
The Kent State Golden Flashes have seen Toledo win 17 straight games. They know Toledo is due for a letdown. They obviously want to win this game for themselves, to make the NCAA Tournament and have their own memory of a lifetime. However, they also want to stop the Toledo juggernaut. They know the Rockets have been getting most of the press clippings at this MAC Tournament. They want to change the narrative and remind everyone they can play some ball too. The Golden Flashes will be hungry, whereas Toledo — thinking about that 17-game streak and being worried about losing it — could play passively on this big stage. Kent State will embrace an underdog mentality. It's a great mindset to have in a moment like this. The Golden Flashes are likely to be less vulnerable to pressure in this final, climactic game of the 2023 MAC season.
Why Toledo Could Cover the Spread
The Toledo Rockets have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1980. Toledo has won or shared the MAC regular-season championship in each of the past three seasons, including this one. Other regular-season MAC champions have been produced at Toledo over the past 43 years. Yet, the Rockets haven't been able to get back to the Big Dance. This team wants it so badly, and that will give the Rockets the fuel they need to finally get over the hump.
Final Kent State-Toledo Prediction & Pick
Toledo is going to be hungry and ready to play the game of its season. Toledo will want this game more than Kent State. Take Toledo.
Final Kent State-Toledo Prediction & Pick: Toledo -0.5
