Kent State vs. Houston Prediction and Odds for Saturday, November 26 (Value on Total)

Houston is a tried and true Final Four contender. The team continues to boast an incredible defense under coach Kelvin Sampson and the offense is also becoming a jugernaunt, 10th in adjusted offensive efficiency per KenPom with relentless rebounding.

The Cougars continue their unbeaten season at home against a formidable MAC team in Kent State, who is 5-1 on the season and will try to speed up the methodical Houston offense. Will they be able to? Let's check out the odds and find the best bet:

Kent State vs. Houston Odds, Spread and Total

Kent State vs. Houston Prediction and Pick

This is a battle of contrasting styles, Houston tries to play as slow as possible, bottom 10 in pace, while Kent State is inside the top 70 nationally. The Cougars don't push the pace in transition despite being 21st in turnover percentage, but the team is hyper efficient on offense, 18th in offensive rebounding rate.

This will be the primary source of offense for Sampson's bunch as the Golden Flashes are 277th in defensive rebounding rate. The team has a compact defense that allows a three-point rate of 44% (314th lowest rate in the country), and is allowing opponents to shoot 42% on two-point shots.

Houston will crash the glass and get some easy put backs, and I expect their defense to continue to shut down this Kent State offense that wants to play fast and is shooting over their head from beyond the arc, nearly 40% from three. The Cougars stout pressure defense will overwhelm Kent State's offense (21st in turnover rate) and slow this game to a crawl.

Kent State's pace has inflated this total, and I'll play against it with Houston's slow tempo. Give me the under.

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.