You wouldn’t expect UCLA and UNDER to go hand in hand, but books have certainly been overcompensating for the Bruins offense recently. UCLA has gone UNDER in five of the past six games with an average closing total of 166. Kent State, UCLA’s first-round opponent in the NCAAB tournament, has a similar record with the total going UNDER in eight of its past nine.
- UCLA is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games as a favorite of 18.0 or more.
- Kent State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games after winning as an underdog.
- UCLA is 23-6 SU in its last 29 games after losing as a favorite.
We are entering March Madness and I'm still not tired of talking about Lonzo Ball’s play (let’s not talk about his father). Ball is shooting a ridiculous 71 percent from inside the arc and his funky shot is still draining at 41 percent from deep. That’s not even Ball’s best attribute, as he legitimately has the best passing instincts of any college hoops player in years. But Ball isn’t the only star freshman at UCLA, as TJ Leaf leads the team with 16.2 ppg while shooting over 61 percent from the floor.
Talk about an exciting path to the Madness. Kent State topped Central Michigan in an overtime thriller to open the MAC tourney, then went on to beat the top three seeds in three consecutive days to win the conference crown. Aside from that crazy overtime game, a deliberate pace was the Golden Flashes’ path to victory with neither Kent State nor their opponents scoring more than 70 points in the past three.
Kent State Golden Flashes vs UCLA Bruins Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
The UCLA Bruins sport a record of 29-4 and 16-17 ATS heading into this betting matchup, while the Kent State Golden Flashes have 22-13 and 16-13-2 ATS marks on the season. The OVER/UNDER records are 16-14-3 for the UCLA Bruins and 14-17 for the Kent State Golden Flashes.
According to new college basketball power rankings here at Odds Shark, it's the No. 12-ranked UCLA Bruins and the No. 71-rated Kent State Golden Flashes in this matchup.
Statistical Matchup
Rating these schools in several key categories is important for handicappers and UCLA has the nation's No. 1-rated offensive output, at 90.36 PPG. The visiting Kent State Golden Flashes defense ranks No. 140 allowing on average 72.31 PPG. The Bruins FG% has averaged 51.91% so far, more than the UCLA Golden Flashes marksmen have achieved on the year, 42.79% per game.
Recent Outings Betting Recap
The Golden Flashes got 30 points from Jaylin Walker as Kent State ran past Akron 70-65 on Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena.
Isaac Hamilton scored 20 points in a futile effort to lead the Bruins to a win (they lost 86-75 to Arizona at T-Mobile Arena on Friday).
