Kent State Golden Flashes vs Akron Zips Prediction, 1/30/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kent State Golden Flashes vs Akron Zips

Date: Friday, January 30, 2026

Location: James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, OH

TV: ESPN+

The Kent State Golden Flashes (16-5) are en route to James A. Rhodes Arena on Friday where they will go up against the Akron Zips (17-4).

The Kent State Golden Flashes played Ohio and earned the victory with a final of 72-57 in their last contest. In relation to personal fouls, the Golden Flashes left the arena with 19 while Ohio totaled 25 personal fouls. They converted 7 out of their 31 shots from distance. Ohio finished the game shooting 70.6% from the charity stripe by knocking down 12 of their 17 attempts. Furthermore, Ohio collected 27 rebounds (9 offensive, 18 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Ohio doled out 8 assists and had 13 steals in the game. In terms of defending, Kent State allowed their opponent to shoot 29.7% from the field on 19 out of 64 shooting. They also doled out 12 assists in this game as well as forcing 9 turnovers and earning 5 steals. With regard to grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 46 with 12 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Golden Flashes knocked down 26 of 35 attempts for a percentage of 74.3%. Kent State finished the game having earned a 37.7% field goal percentage (20 of 53) and converted 6 of their 20 3-point shots.

Morgan Safford is a guy who was a major factor for this game. He finished the game at 55.6% from the floor and totaled 2 dimes. He was on the court for 31 mins played and also pulled down 10 rebounds. He recorded 18 points on 5 of 9 shooting.

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Kent State comes into this one with a mark of 16-5 on the campaign. They average 89.2 points per game (14th in college hoops) while going 47.2% from the field. The Golden Flashes are hitting 36.3% on shots from beyond the arc (211 of 582) and 75.3% from the free throw line. As a unit, Kent State is grabbing 40.5 rebounds per game and has totaled 369 assists for the campaign, which ranks 30th in the country in terms of passing. They are turning it over 14.4 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 20.3 personal fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Golden Flashes have forced 12.3 turnovers per game and they draw 21.7 personal fouls. They relinquish 34.5% on shots from distance and they are 342nd in D-1 in points per game allowed (81.6). The Golden Flashes defense is allowing a FG percentage of 43.4% (579 of 1,334) and they relinquish 33.4 rebounds per contest as a squad. They rank 306th in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 324 conceded so far this season.

The last time they took the court, the Akron Zips walked away with a victory by a final of 91-81 against Toledo. With respect to team rebounding, Akron allowed Toledo to grab 24 in all (7 on the offensive side). They finished 55.0% from 3-point land by shooting 11 of 20 and ended up shooting 10 of 13 from the free throw line (76.9%). The Zips permitted Toledo to convert 30 of their 56 tries from the floor which had them shooting 53.6% for the game. When the final whistle was blown, the Zips went 35 out of 68 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 51.5%. In reference to 3-point shots, Akron knocked down 10 out of their 27 attempts (37.0%). They were able to knock down 11 of the free throws for a clip of 78.6%. Toledo was called for 12 fouls for the game which got the Zips to the charity stripe for 14 shots. They also coughed up the ball 11 times, while recording 8 steals for this contest. The Zips snagged 20 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive rebounds totaling 36 for this contest.

Tavari Johnson was important for the Zips in this game. He earned 25 points in his 37 minutes on the court and had 7 assists for this contest. He knocked down 9 of 18 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and totaled 3 rebounds.

Akron has a mark of 17-4 on the year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Zips are shooting 51.8% from the field, which ranks 3rd in the country. Akron has totaled 1,944 pts for the season (92.6 per contest) and they grab 38.2 rebounds per contest. They are getting an assist 20.0 times per contest (4th in the nation) and they turn the ball over 10.9 times per game. The Zips commit 16.0 fouls per game and they connect on 76.7% from the free throw line.

The Akron defense surrenders 34.4% on 3-point attempts (197 of 573) and their opposition knocks down 74.2% of their foul shots. They have given up 13.7 assists and 32.6 boards per game, which is 207th and 73rd in college. The Zips on defense are ranked 232nd in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 75.5. They have forced 14.0 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 42.7% from the floor (124th in D-1).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Akron

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