Appalachian State Mountaineers vs Norfolk State Spartans Prediction, 3/18/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Appalachian State Mountaineers vs Norfolk State Spartans

Date: Thursday, March 18, 2021

Location: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, IN

TV: TRUTV

Odds/Point Spread: Appalachian State (-2.5)

The Norfolk State Spartans (16-7) play the Appalachian State Mountaineers (17-11) at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Thursday in the NCAA Tournament. Norfolk State opens this matchup as 2.5-point underdogs. The O/U has been set at 135.5.

Appalachian State steps onto the court with a record of 17-11 for the campaign. The Mountaineers are shooting 32.4% on 3-pointers (227 of 701) and 73.7% from the free throw line. They have an average of 70.9 points per outing (190th in the country) while shooting 41.5% from the field. They are turning it over 11.8 times per game and as a unit are committing 13.8 fouls every game. As a team, Appalachian State is pulling down 36.0 rebounds per game and has totaled 333 dimes this season, which is 135th in the country in terms of passing the rock. On the defensive end, the Mountaineers are forcing their opponents into 14.1 turnovers every game and they draw 17.6 personal fouls. They are 251st in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 336 surrendered for the year. The Mountaineers defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 42.1% (669 of 1,590) and they concede 35.2 rebounds per game as a unit. They are giving up 32.3% from 3-point land and they are 39th in college hoops in points per game allowed (64.5).

The Appalachian State Mountaineers took the court against the Georgia State Panthers and earned the victory with a final of 80-73 in their last game. Appalachian State ended having earned a 43.1% FG percentage (25 out of 58) and made 10 out of their 26 three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Mountaineers made 20 of 27 attempts for a rate of 74.1%. When it comes to grabbing rebounds, they earned 36 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 10 assists for the contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 12 turnovers and having 11 steals. In reference to the defense, Appalachian State allowed 38.7% from the floor on 24 of 62 shooting. Georgia State totaled 12 assists and had 6 steals for the game. Furthurmore, Georgia State had 30 rebounds (8 offensive, 22 defensive) and had 3 rejections. Georgia State finished the contest at 88.9% when shooting free throws by burying 16 of their 18 shots. They buried 9 out of their 21 tries from beyond the arc.

Michael Almonacy is one player who was a major contributor for this game. He accounted for 32 points on 10 out of 18 shooting. He was on the court for 40 mins and totaled 7 boards. Almonacy finished 55.6% from the field and distributed 2 assists. One more player that played a role in this contest for the Mountaineers was Adrian Delph. He snagged 6 rebounds in 37 min played on the night. He went 42.1% from the floor for the contest by connecting on 8-of-19 (22 points). When this game wrapped up, Delph had accumulated 1 assist.

Norfolk State has a win-loss mark of 16-7 so far this year. Norfolk State has totaled 1,730 pts so far this year (75.2 per game) and they pull down 37.0 rebounds per contest. The Spartans are responsible for committing 19.7 fouls per contest and they connect on 70.6% from the free throw line. When it comes to executing on offense, the Spartans are shooting 43.6% from the field, which ranks them 212th in the country. They are dishing out assists 12.3 times per game (240th in college hoops) and they lose possession via turnover 13.1 times per contest. The Spartans on the defensive end are ranked 142nd in the nation in PPG given up with 69.2. They have forced 15.6 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 40.4% from the floor (32nd in D-1). The Norfolk State defense concedes 31.6% on shots from behind the 3-point line (183 of 579) and their opponents are converting on 68.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They surrender 12.3 dimes and 36.1 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 123rd and 236th in college hoops.

In their last game, the Norfolk State Spartans walked away with a victory by a final of 71-63 against the Morgan State Bears. The Spartans pulled down 24 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 31 for this game. They also gave up possession of the ball 14 times, while getting 9 steals in this game. The Bears had 18 fouls in this contest which took the Spartans to the charity stripe for a total of 17 tries. They were able to knock down 14 of the free throws for a clip of 82.4%. With respect to shots from distance, Norfolk State buried 7 out of 23 attempts (30.4%). At the conclusion of this game, the Spartans finished the game shooting 25 out of 59 from the floor which had them shooting 42.4%. The Spartans allowed the Bears to convert 22 out of 57 tries from the floor which left them shooting 38.6% for this contest. They finished the game shooting 17.6% from beyond the arc by hitting 3 of 17 and walked away from this one shooting 16 out of 25 from the free throw line (64.0%). Regarding how they cleaned up the glass, Norfolk State permitted Morgan State to pull down 36 in total (11 on the offensive side).

Joe Bryant ended up being a factor for the Spartans for this contest. He knocked down 5 out of 11 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 45.5%, and accumulated 4 rebounds. Bryant earned 17 points in his 30 minutes on the court and tallied 1 assist for the matchup. Someone else that was important for Norfolk State was Kashaun Hicks. He ended up with 1 assist in 34 mins on the hardwood, and he shot 6 of 11 from the floor. Hicks ended up shooting 54.5% from the floor as well as collecting 14 points and 7 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Appalachian State (-2.5)

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