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#717 Niagara +13.5 over Kent State 7:00 PM CT

Niagara has taken on a difficult schedule and heads into a fourth straight November road game with three straight losses. The Purple Eagles lost by 36 at Michigan State but took Detroit to overtime and lost by just eight Tuesday against another MAC foe Bowling Green. Josiah Davis didn’t play in that game and is a question mark again tonight, but Greg Paulus has to be satisfied with his rebuilt roster so far this season despite the record. Niagara is shooting over 38 percent from 3-point range and has kept turnovers in check. With a rather slow pace of play the Purple Eagles can be an attractive underdog given the high volume of 3-point shots. Niagara has seen its opponents shoot 40 percent against them beyond the arc which won’t be a sustainable pace. Kent State hasn’t played since last Wednesday and this is the first Division I home game for the Flashes. Kent State lost by 23 in the last game vs. Auburn but did win at Louisiana in early November, getting a surprising free throw edge on the road in that early season game. Only two starters are back from last season’s solid team and size is an issue for this group. Kent State also plays very slow, which is less appealing for a double-digit favorite. The shooting numbers so far this season have been very poor with an effective field goal rate below 42 percent and hitting just 24 percent from 3-point range as these teams might be closer together than the current rankings suggest. Kent State also has a much bigger game just two days away playing Cleveland State in a local rivalry contest.