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College Basketball

Friday’s Tip Sheet

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
6 minute read
Kent State at Bowling Green (-5 ½, 149 ½) – 6:00 PM EST - CBSSN

The top three teams in the East division of the Mid-American Conference take the court on Friday night. East (and MAC leader) Buffalo visits Miami, while the two clubs behind the Bulls fight for second place in the division with three games remaining. Bowling Green (19-9 SU, 15-10-1 ATS) started MAC play at 11-2, but the Falcons have gone backwards of late by losing to Ohio and Miami, both in the favorite role. BGSU was stymied by Miami for the second time this season in Tuesday’s 82-69 home setback as seven-point favorites, as the Falcons try to avoid their first three-game losing skid.

Kent State (20-8 SU, 12-13-1 ATS) snapped a two-game losing streak in Tuesday’s 78-73 home triumph over Ohio, but the Golden Flashes failed to cash as 7 ½-point favorites. The Flashes pulled off the season sweep of the Bobcats, who sit at the bottom of the East division with a 4-11 record. Kent State reached the 20-win mark for the seventh time in the last 10 seasons, while trying to win 10 MAC games for the fourth time in the past five seasons.

Bowling Green crushed Kent State in the first matchup as five-point road underdogs on January 5 in an 86-64 rout. It marked the sixth time in the last nine regular season matchups that the away team has come up victorious, as the Golden Flashes have covered only once in the past six meetings with the Falcons.

Rhode Island at Dayton (-8, 135 ½) – 7:00 PM EST - ESPN2

The Flyers (19-9 SU, 13-15 ATS) enter the weekend tied for second place in the Atlantic 10 conference a 11-4 alongside Davidson. Dayton reached the NCAA tournament four consecutive seasons from 2014-17 before finishing below .500 in Anthony Grant’s first season as head coach in 2018. However, the Flyers are currently on the tournament bubble as the conference may receive only one invite (VCU is the leader).

Dayton is riding a three-game winning streak after dropping a 69-68 heartbreaker to VCU in mid-February. The most recent victory for the Flyers came in blowout fashion as Dayton crushed UMass on Tuesday, 72-48 to easily cover as six-point road favorites. Dayton built a 40-18 halftime lead and never looked back as the Flyers shot a scorching 55% from the field. The Flyers improved to 6-2 on the road in A-10 action, while pulling off the season sweep of UMass.

Rhode Island (13-14 SU, 10-17 ATS) ended a five-game slide in Tuesday’s 80-53 home rout of George Washington as 10 ½-point favorites. The Rams had lost to VCU, Davidson, and Dayton – the top three teams in the league during this stretch, while failing to cover in all five losses. One thing you can count on with URI in conference play is when they win, they cover (6-0 SU/ATS), and when they lose, they don’t cash (0-9 SU/ATS).

In the previous meeting between these two squads in Kingston on February 9, Dayton rolled past URI, 77-48. The Rams closed as a two-point home favorite, but the Flyers jumped out to a 14-point halftime lead and torched Rhode Island by shooting 63% from the floor. Dayton has cashed the UNDER in five of seven home conference games, while not allowing more than 69 points in any of those contests.

Buffalo (-8 ½, 152 ½) at Miami (OH) – 8:00 PM EST - CBSSN

The Bulls (25-3 SU, 16-10-1 ATS) aren’t going to sneak up on anybody in the NCAA tournament this season after shocking Arizona in the opening round last March. Buffalo sits atop the MAC at 13-2 as the Bulls are in the midst of a six-game winning streak after rallying past Akron, 77-64 on Tuesday. The Bulls closed out February with a less than stellar 3-4 ATS mark, while the last loss came to Bowling Green to start the month in a 92-88 setback.

The Red Hawks (15-13 SU, 14-11-1 ATS) have been the epitome of consistent inconsistency by alternating wins and losses in the last nine games. Miami is coming off a solid road victory at Bowling Green as seven-point underdogs on Tuesday, 82-69, but the Red Hawks have not won consecutive games since late January. After starting MAC home play at 0-2, Miami has picked up victories in four of its past five games in Oxford.

Miami is playing with revenge after getting blown out by Buffalo, 88-64 as 16-point underdogs in mid-January. This series has been dominated by the home team, who has won the last five meetings, including an 84-81 triumph by Miami last February as six-point ‘dogs.

Ivy League Nuggets

-- In a 5:00 start, Brown (17-9 SU, 10-11-3 ATS) seeks a season sweep of Columbia (7-17 SU, 10-11-1 ATS). The Bears edged the Lions, 65-63 as one-point road underdogs on February 16 to improve to 3-1 in the last four matchups. Brown has overcome a 1-4 start in Ivy League play by winning four of its past five games, including a 68-65 victory over Dartmouth last Saturday. Columbia sits at the bottom of the Ivy alongside Dartmouth at 2-8, while coming off an 18-point setback at Princeton last Saturday. However, the Lions have covered in each of their past three Friday contests.

-- Both Yale (18-5 SU, 13-9 ATS) and Cornell (13-13 SU, 11-13 ATS) are coming off losses last Saturday as the two squads hook up in New Haven. The Bulldogs had their six-game winning streak come to a close in a two-point setback to rival Harvard, while the Big Red dropped their third consecutive game in a 68-50 defeat to Penn. Yale barely cashed as 5 ½-point road favorites at Cornell in mid-February, 98-92, but the Bulldogs own a perfect 10-0 SU/ATS record in the past 10 matchups.

-- Two teams going in different directions hook up in New Hampshire as Princeton (15-8 SU, 11-10 ATS) looks to stay on fire against Dartmouth (11-15 SU, 12-9-3 ATS). The Tigers own a 7-3 conference record after beating Cornell and Columbia at home last weekend, while covering each time as a 6 ½-point favorite. The Big Green returns home following four consecutive losses, all on the road, but Dartmouth managed a 3-1 ATS mark in this stretch. One of those covers came at Princeton in a 69-68 defeat as 6 ½-point underdogs on February 16, as the Big Green attempt to beat the Tigers at home for the second straight season.

-- Harvard (14-9 SU, 11-11 ATS) hopes to avoid a look-ahead spot as the Crimson host Princeton on Saturday. The Crimson welcome in Penn (16-10 SU, 13-12 ATS) on Friday as the Quakers are fresh off an 18-point blowout of Cornell. That was the first game decided in regulation in the last four for Penn, who fell to Harvard in overtime on February 16 in a 75-68 setback as a one-point favorite. The Crimson are riding a four-game OVER streak, but Harvard is 0-3 ATS in their last three attempts in the favorite role.

You can reach Kevin Rogers via e-mail at rogers@vegasinsider.com

Kevin Rogers can be followed on Twitter at virogers.

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