Kent State has won six games in a row going into the tournament and looks to keep it going. Everyone knows it’s important to have good guard play on offense in March, but what about defense? Kent State has that. Guards Sincere Carry and Malique Jacobs are defensive ballhawks and get after it. Jacobs averages 2.7 steals per game while Carry is adding 1.7. As a team, Kent averages right around nine steals per game placing them in the top 12 in all of college hoops.

The Golden Flashes defense kept them in lots of games this year. They lost to Houston by five and Gonzaga by seven, both teams that are poised to make a run at a championship. Indiana was the favorite to win the Big Ten in the preseason polls and they came up short, but they are getting hot at the right time with freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino becoming a legit second option on offense after Trayce Jackson-Davis. If Kent shuts them down early this plays in their favor.

Kent has a very good chance to win this game and we have seen MAC teams be competitive in March over the last couple of seasons. I like this game to be one of the upsets in the first round of the Big Dance.