The Indiana Hoosiers completed a successful season in Big Ten play, earning a four-seed in the NCAA Tournament. They’ll be met in the first round by a Kent State team that will be coming in as a confident group after winning the MAC Conference Tournament. The Indiana-Kent State opening odds & betting line still shows the Hoosiers as a sizable favorite despite the recent trends.
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Indiana-Kent State Betting Odds For NCAA Tournament Matchup
Per DraftKings Sportsbook, Indiana (-5.5) opens as a large favorite over Kent State. The Hoosiers are -240 on the moneyline, with Kent State coming in at +200. Those Ohio residents looking to bet on Kent State as the home state team can benefit from a Bet365 promo which gives new users $365 in credits with any $1 bet!
Kent State will have their work cut out for them when trying to defend star Indiana big man Trayce Jackson-Davis. But an undersized Penn State team was able to take care of the Hosiers despite the frontcourt advantage in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, winning 77-73 on Saturday afternoon.
Kent State will hope they can limit Jackson-Davis and the Hoosiers’ attack similarly to how Penn State pulled off their upset, and they certainly have the offensive firepower to make the game competitive. Kent State took it to Toledo (the best team in the MAC by most metrics) in the championship game, scoring 93 points including 58 in the second half. Senior guard Sencire Carry led the way for Golden Flashes with 26 points. Despite the high-scoring affair, Kent State has shown most of its prowess on the defensive side this year. They hold opponents to 40.3% shooting, good for 19th in the nation.
Indiana and Kent State actually have a history in the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Flashes were also a 13 seed when they beat the Hoosiers back in 2001, but Indiana would get its revenge the following year when ending Kent State’s Cinderella run in the Elite Eight. Legendary NFL tight end Antonio Gates led the way for the Golden Flashes in that matchup scoring 22 points.
This time around, Kent State will hope they can put an end to the college career of Jackson-Davis. The big man is one of the most accomplished players in Hoosiers history, leading the team with 20.9 points per game, 10.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.7 blocked shots. He earned a first-team Big Ten honors.
Jackson-Davis is the only player in Indiana’s storied history with 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. He is the school’s all-time leader in blocked shots and rebounds and is top five in scoring. But there is unfinished business. Indiana ended a five-year NCAA Tournament drought last season but failed to make it past the first round.
For Jackson-Davis and this Indiana team to cement their legacy and build on their successful season they will need to go on a run in the NCAA Tournament. Based on the early Indiana-Kent State betting odds, they should have a great chance to begin their quest with a win.
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