The Buffalo Bulls take on the Kent State Golden Flashes. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Buffalo Kent State prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Buffalo Kent State.

The Kent State Golden Flashes are tied with the Akron Zips atop the Mid-American Conference standings heading into the final weekend of January. They both lead third-place Toledo by one game. The rest of the conference is bunched up in the middle. By all appearances, it seems that the MAC is a three-team race, so every game is important for the top three teams. They want to make sure they finish in the top two and get the best seeding and bracketing arrangement for the MAC Tournament in March.

Kent State stepped into a pothole in its most recent game. The Golden Flashes were 6-0 in the MAC but lost to Northern Illinois, 86-76. Kent State allows 63.6 points per game, but the Golden Flashes were torched by NIU’s offense. Everyone who follows MAC basketball will be interested in this game — not only to see if Kent State bounces back, but more specifically if the Golden Flashes return to their normal standard of play at the defensive end of the floor.

Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Buffalo-Kent State College Basketball odds.

College Basketball Odds: Buffalo-Kent State Odds

Buffalo Bulls: +10.5 (-110)

Kent State Golden Flashes: -10.5 (-110)

Over: 149.5 (-115)

Under: 149.5 (-105)

How To Watch Buffalo vs. Kent State

TV: ESPNU

Stream: ESPN+

Time: 9:00 p.m. ET, 6:00 p.m. PT

*Watch Buffalo-Kent State LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*

Why Buffalo Could Cover the Spread

The Kent State juggernaut got halted by Northern Illinois, and the way the Golden Flashes lost could certainly raise some significant concerns. Kent State allowed over 22 points more than its normal season average. Let’s also be very clear: Northern Illinois is not a particularly good team. The Huskies are 8-12 on the season and have struggled with a lot of mediocre opponents. This is more than just a one-game sample size. This could easily indicate that Kent State is hitting a wall after playing so much good basketball earlier in the season. Winning, playing well, playing with precision, playing with intensity — all of it requires energy. Kent State’s fuel tank might be running on empty. You could see a two- or three-game losing streak from the Golden Flashes. They will be a MAC contender no matter what, but this could be the midseason rut a lot of teams encounter across the country.

Why Kent State Could Cover the Spread

This game might have been different from a betting perspective had Kent State not lost to Northern Illinois. It would have been a situation in which Kent State would have been 7-0 in the conference and might have been ripe for a letdown or a bad game. Instead, Kent State got the letdown out of the way. The Golden Flashes just did play the bad game which, all things considered, is likely to occur at some point for any team in any conference in college basketball. Teams that win a ton of games in a row are bound to have a clunker at some point. With Kent State having that clunker in its most recent game, it makes a lot of sense to expect KSU to come out fresh and focused in this game and put a hurt on Buffalo.

Final Buffalo-Kent State Prediction & Pick

You should stay away from this game. Maybe Kent State just had one bad night against Northern Illinois … or maybe this is the start of a downward trend. It’s hard to calibrate. Look for a live-betting opportunity.

Final Buffalo-Kent State Prediction & Pick: Kent State -10.5