Kent State Golden Flashes vs Ball State Cardinals Prediction, 2/14/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kent State Golden Flashes vs Ball State Cardinals

Date: Saturday, February 14, 2026

Location: Worthen Arena in Muncie, IN

TV: ESPN+

The Kent State Golden Flashes (18-7) are traveling to Worthen Arena on Saturday where they will take on the Ball State Cardinals (8-16).

The Kent State Golden Flashes faced Eastern Michigan and went home with a win by a final score of 95-91 in their last contest. Regarding fouls, the Golden Flashes finished with 13 while Eastern Michigan recorded 26 fouls. They converted 7 out of their 20 shots from 3-point range. Eastern Michigan ended up shooting 80.0% when shooting free throws by making 8 of their 10 shots. Additionally, Eastern Michigan pulled down 26 rebounds (8 offensive, 18 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Eastern Michigan earned 12 dimes and had 6 steals for this contest. In terms of the defense, Kent State allowed their opponent to shoot 59.4% from the floor on 38 out of 64 shooting. They also doled out 15 assists for this contest as well as creating 13 turnovers and earning 6 steals. Concerning pulling down rebounds, they compiled 25 with 9 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Golden Flashes buried 29 of 33 attempts for a rate of 87.9%. Kent State ended the contest having earned a 49.1% field goal percentage (27 out of 55) and converted 12 of their 24 shots from distance.

Morgan Safford is someone who came through for the contest. He ended up going 54.5% from the field and also dished out 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 28 mins played and collected 3 rebounds. He was able to score 23 points on 6 out of 11 shooting.

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Kent State will play this game with a win-loss mark of 18-7 this year. They turn it over 13.9 times per contest and as a squad are committing 19.3 fouls per game. As a unit, Kent State is collecting 40.4 rebounds per game and has accounted for 413 assists so far this year, which has them ranked 49th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Golden Flashes are hitting 35.1% from downtown (241 of 686) and 74.5% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 86.4 points per outing (18th in Division 1) while going 45.9% from the floor.

When they are on the defensive end, the Golden Flashes are able to force 12.2 turnovers per game and they draw 21.3 fouls. They concede 34.1% on shots from beyond the arc and they are ranked 332nd in college in points per game allowed (80.5). The Golden Flashes defensively are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 43.8% (690 of 1,577) and they concede 34.1 rebounds per game as a squad. They are 300th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 374 surrendered so far this season.

When they last played, the Ball State Cardinals walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 63-53 when they played Buffalo. The Cardinals collected 17 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 24 for this game. They also gave up possession of the ball 12 times, while earning 7 steals for the contest. Buffalo was called for 12 fouls for the contest which took the Cardinals to the free throw line for 9 shots. They were able to knock down 7 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 77.8%. When talking about shots from downtown, Ball State buried 8 out of their 24 tries (33.3%). When the final whistle was blown, the Cardinals went 19 for 54 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 35.2%. The Cardinals allowed Buffalo to knock down 21 of their 48 attempts from the field which had them shooting 43.8% in this contest. They finished 31.6% from distance by shooting 6 of 19 and ended up going 15 of 17 at the free throw line (88.2%). Regarding rebounds, Ball State allowed Buffalo to collect 31 in all (7 on the offensive side).

Davion Hill ended up being a major contributor for the Cardinals in this matchup. He recorded 14 points in his 29 minutes on the court, but wasn't able to earn an assist. He knocked down 6 out of 15 for the game giving him a field goal percentage of 40.0%, and added 4 rebounds.

Ball State has a mark of 8-16 on the campaign. The Cardinals commit 15.6 personal fouls every game and they shoot 69.5% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 12.0 times per contest (317th in the nation) and they turn the ball over 10.8 times per contest. Ball State has totaled 1,591 pts on the campaign (66.3 per contest) and they pull in 31.5 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Cardinals are shooting 41.6% from the floor, which has them ranked 333rd in the country.

The Ball State defense gives up 34.1% on shots from 3-point land (185 of 543) and their opponents are connecting on 77.0% of their free throw shots. They surrender 13.2 assists and 35.5 rebounds per contest, which is 165th and 238th in those categories. The Cardinals on defense are ranked 79th in the nation in points per game surrendered with 69.8. They are able to force 13.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 45.4% from the field (261st in the country).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kent State

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