Western Michigan vs Kent State Prediction 1/14/25 College Basketball Picks

The Western Michigan Broncos and the Kent State Golden Flashes meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Kent State Mac Center. Here’s a Western Michigan vs Kent State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Western Michigan vs Kent State pick. We will examine:

The Western Michigan Broncos’ recent form and player performance

The Kent State Golden Flashes’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Western Michigan Broncos

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Kent State Golden Flashes

Recent betting trends in games played between Western Michigan and Kent State

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Western Michigan vs Kent State game

Western Michigan Broncos Betting Preview

It’s been a rough year for the Broncos so far. They didn’t start out horrendously—but were below .500 through seven games. Western Michigan went 3-4 in that time with wins over only Davenport, Canisius, and Youngstown State in that time. The losses otherwise were versus Coastal Carolina, Butler, SIU Edwardsville, and South Dakota. Since then it’s been a string of eight straight losses for Western Michigan. Those have come courtesy of Dayton, St. Thomas Minnesota, North Dakota State, Valparaiso, Michigan State, Toledo, Bowling Green, and Miami Ohio in succession, resulting in a dismal 3-12 overall record through 15 games so far this year.

In the Miami OH matchup back on Saturday, the Broncos came into the locker room holding a horrible 54-23 deficit. Western Michigan made up some ground in the second half but still ended up losing significantly 91-71 in the end. Leading team scorer Markhi Strickland posted 14 points with three rebounds and two assists. Chansey Willis added 12 points with four assists and two steals. Owen Lobsinger put up 11 points with five rebounds as well.

Kent State Golden Flashes Betting Preview

Over on the Kent State side, they’ve had quite a steady season so far and haven’t suffered consecutive losses just yet. The Flashes went 5-1 over their first half dozen outings, losing to only Auburn amid wins over Louisiana, Miami OH Hamilton, Niagara, Cleveland State, and Towson. A 4-3 stretch came after that, as Kent State fell to UC Irvine, Alabama, and Ball State among wins versus Kennesaw State, Portland, Mercyhurst, and Heidelberg otherwise. Since then it’s been a couple of consecutive wins over Northern Illinois and Buffalo, giving the Golden Flashes an 11-4 overall record through 15 games this season.

In the Buffalo matchup back on Friday, the Golden Flashes held a modest 24-20 halftime edge. Kent State rolled on a 44-29 second half though, cruising to the win 68-49 in the end. Tops in scoring was VonCameron Davis with 20 points, eight boards, and four assists with two steals. Also in double-figures was Jalen Sullinger with 12 points, two rebounds, one assist, and two blocks, while Delrecco Gillespie put up eight points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Why the Kent State Golden Flashes will win

• Western Michigan has lost each of its last eight games.
• Kent State has won each of its last seven home games against Western Michigan.
• Kent State has won the first half in nine of its last 10 night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Western Michigan vs Kent State Prediction

I’ll lean toward Kent State. The Flashes weren’t so “flashy” in the first half of their latest win over a struggling Buffalo team, but to their credit, Kent State finished strong and won by a sizable margin. In that one, the Flashes had a 46-28 rebounding advantage but also shot just 4-of-25 (16 percent) from 3-point range and had 14 turnovers. That’s not going to cut it in the closer games down the line. That makes 68 or fewer points in three straight games for Kent State, but they’ve given up just 99 combined points over their last pair (both wins).

As for Western Michigan, they’ve scored 70 or more points in three straight games, but they’re giving up a ton of points on the other side these days—76 or more in eight straight. The Flashes should have plenty of opportunities to run up the score here.

Andrew Jett's Pick: Kent State Golden Flashes -13