The No. 5 seed Ohio Bobcats (13-7) are favored by 2 points in the MAC Tournament against the No. 4 seed Kent State Golden Flashes (15-7) on Thursday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, starting at 1:30 PM ET on ESPN+. The winner takes another step toward an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament bracket.
The betting insights and predictions in this article reflect betting data from DraftKings as of March 11, 2021, 2:10 AM ET. See table below for current betting odds and CLICK HERE to bet at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Best Betting Odds
Computer Picks
Pick ATS:
Golden Flashes (+2)
The spread for this game suggested by the model (0.4 points) is a little tighter than the 2-point edge DraftKings gives to the Bobcats, though the data still has them as the favorite.
Pick OU:
Over (149.5)
The model predicts a total 1.4 points higher than the one set by DraftKings for this matchup.
Prediction: Ohio 76, Kent State 75
Predictions are calculated by a data-driven algorithm (raw power score) that ranks head-to-head matchup results within a closed network of games. Prediction confidence is determined by the delta between each team’s raw power score.
Examining the Over/Under
- The average implied total for the Bobcats this season is 78.1 points, 2.1 more points than their implied total of 76 points in Thursday’s game.
- Ohio will look to surpass its implied point total for this matchup (76) for the 15th time this season.
- The average implied point total on the season for the Golden Flashes (78) is four more points than the team’s implied total in this matchup (74).
- Kent State has scored more than this game’s implied total of 74 points 14 times this season.
Implied totals are projected point totals for each team based on totals and spreads set by sportsbooks.
Ohio and Kent State Records ATS
| ATS Record | ATS Record Against 2+ Point Spread | Over/Under Record (O-U-P) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bobcats | 10-7 | 5-3 | 10-7 |
| Golden Flashes | 10-9-1 | 7-7-1 | 10-10 |
Against The Spread (ATS) records are only reflective of games that had odds on them.
Betting Tips – Shooting Stats
- The Bobcats make 48.4% of their shots from the field this season, which is 6.8 percentage points higher than the Golden Flashes have allowed to their opponents (41.6%).
- In games when Ohio shoots higher than 41.6% from the field, it is 13-4 overall and 10-4 against the spread.
- Kent State is 15-4 overall and 9-7-1 against the spread when allowing its opponents to shoot higher than 48.4% from the field.
- The Golden Flashes have shot at a 44.6% clip from the field this season, 0.5 percentage points below the 45.1% shooting opponents of the Bobcats have averaged.
- This season, Kent State has compiled a 6-1 record against the spread and an 8-0 record overall in games the team shoots better than 45.1% collectively from the field.
- Ohio is 8-1 against the spread and 11-1 overall in games it allows opponents to shoot greater than 44.6% from the field.
- The Bobcats are making 35.1% of their three-point shots this season, 1.1% higher than the 34% the Golden Flashes allow opponents to shoot from deep.
- Ohio is 7-4 overall and 6-4 against the spread when it shoots better than 34% from distance.
- Kent State is 5-4-1 against the spread and 8-3 overall when its opponents hit more than 35.1% of their shots from deep.
- The Golden Flashes shoot 32.7% from beyond the arc this season. That’s 2.5 percentage points lower than the Bobcats have allowed their opponents to shoot from deep (35.2%).
- Kent State is 8-1 straight-up and has a 6-2-1 ATS record when the team hits more than 35.2% of its three-point attempts.
- Ohio has a 5-2 ATS record and a 5-2 straight-up record this season when it hits more than 32.7% of its three-point shots.
- The Bobcats are 6-3 against the spread and 6-4 overall when they make more threes than their opponents, while the Golden Flashes are 4-6 ATS and 5-5 straight up in games when they are out-shot from the three-point line.
Powered By Data Skrive using data from 
