The Toledo Rockets will host the Kent State Golden Flashes on Friday night with the MAC regular season championship on the line. If Akron beats Western Michigan, Toledo will need a win to share the title, but if Western Michigan can pull off the upset, Toledo will be playing for the outright championship. It is time to continue our men's college basketball odds series with a Kent State-Toledo prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
Kent State has stumbled to end the season, winning five of their last ten games and falling to seventh in the MAC. They also haven't been profitable from a betting standpoint, covering just two of their past eight. Coming into this season, Kent State had won seven of their last nine games against the Rockets, but Toledo dominated the Golden Flashes en route to a 14-point win in January.
This would be a meaningless game for the Rockets if they hadn't struggled to end the season. The Rockets had a MAC regular season title in front of them after beating Akron on February 20th but lost two of their last four games to fall back into a tie for first place. An Akron win in their final game and Toledo losing to Kent State will finish off an epic collapse and rob them of the regular season title. They will look back on a three-point loss as 16-point favorites against Northern Illinois as the most costly game of the season.
Here are the college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: Kent State-Toledo Odds
Kent State: +6.5 (-106)
Moneyline: +225
Toledo: -6.5 (-114)
Moneyline: -280
Over: 153.5 (-114)
Under: 153.5 (-106)
How to Watch Kent State vs. Toledo
Time: 8 PM ET/5 PM PT
TV: CBS Sports Network
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why Kent State Will Cover The Spread/Win
There aren't many matchups where Kent State's offense is the superior group, but that is the case against Toledo. Kent State is an inefficient unit, ranking 214th in the country in field goal percentage. However, they do manage to score points, averaging 75.7 per game. Toledo's defense won't offer much resistance in this game, as they are one of the worst defending teams in college basketball. They allow opponents to shoot 48.2% from the floor, an alarming number considering the amount of shots that Kent State will fire.
Why Toledo Will Cover The Spread/Win
Toledo can outscore their defensive woes by boasting one of the highest-scoring offenses in the nation. The team ranks 39th, averaging 80.5 points per game. They are very efficient, especially from three-point range, shooting 37.9%. The Rockets are also good at getting to the free-throw line, shooting 76.1%. Toledo's game plan for beating the Golden Flashes will be to smother them with offense, which they already did this season when they won 89-75 as four-point underdogs.
Toledo managed to get this win on the road in January, which means there is no reason why they can't do it again at home. They are 11-3 at home this season, while Kent State is 4-8 on the road. Toledo will also have tons to play for in this game, as they are tied for first in the MAC.
Final Kent State-Toledo Prediction & Pick
Toledo needs a win in this game to guarantee a share of the MAC regular season championship. They are tied for first with Akron, who faces an abysmal Western Michigan team. Akron plays two hours before Toledo on Friday night, so the Rockets will know heading into the game that they need the win. Toledo was able to dominate Kent State on the road this season, so they should continue this at home in the season finale.
Toledo's defense can be a concern, but they made it look irrelevant in their first meeting, and you can expect them to do the same here.
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Final Kent State-Toledo Prediction & Pick: Toledo -6.5 (-114)
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