Kent State Golden Flashes take on the Akron Zips in MAC Championship

Published Mar. 12, 2022 2:22 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Akron Zips (23-9, 14-6 MAC) vs. Kent State Golden Flashes (23-9, 16-4 MAC)

Cleveland; Saturday, 7:30 p.m. EST

LINE: Kent State -1.5; over/under is 124.5

BOTTOM LINE: The Kent State Golden Flashes square off against the Akron Zips in the MAC Championship.

The Golden Flashes have gone 11-4 in home games. Kent State ranks third in the MAC with 9.1 offensive rebounds per game led by Justyn Hamilton averaging 2.3.

The Zips are 14-6 against MAC opponents. Akron is 9-2 when it wins the turnover battle and averages 10.9 turnovers per game.

The teams meet for the third time this season. The Golden Flashes won 66-64 in the last matchup on Feb. 12. Sincere Carry led the Golden Flashes with 19 points, and Enrique Freeman led the Zips with 21 points.

TOP PERFORMERS: Carry averages 2.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Golden Flashes, scoring 18.5 points while shooting 35.4% from beyond the arc. Malique Jacobs is shooting 44.8% and averaging 11.2 points over the past 10 games for Kent State.

Xavier Castaneda averages 2.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Zips, scoring 13.4 points while shooting 37.9% from beyond the arc. Ali Ali is averaging 10.6 points over the last 10 games for Akron.

LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Flashes: 10-0, averaging 72.9 points, 35.0 rebounds, 12.6 assists, 7.3 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 42.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.8 points per game.

Zips: 7-3, averaging 67.0 points, 31.4 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 7.1 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 43.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.8 points.

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