Georgia Southern Eagles vs Appalachian State Mountaineers Prediction, 1/8/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Georgia Southern Eagles vs Appalachian State Mountaineers

Date: Friday, January 8, 2021

Location: Holmes Convocation Center in Boone, NC

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Georgia Southern (+5.5)

Holmes Convocation Center is the venue where and the Appalachian State Mountaineers (7-4) will play the Georgia Southern Eagles (7-4) on Friday. Georgia Southern opens this contest as 5.5-point dogs. The O/U is set at 134.

Georgia Southern will play this game with a record of 7-4 for the year. They cough up possession 14.2 times per game and as a team they are committing 17.8 personal fouls every game. As a team, Georgia Southern is pulling in 39.5 rebounds per game and has accounted for 138 dimes for the campaign, which is 107th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. The Eagles are shooting 27.2% on shots from 3-point land (64 of 235) and 63.1% from the free throw line. They average 79.5 points per contest (68th in college basketball) while going 48.8% from the floor. When they are on defense, the Eagles are forcing their opponents into 17.6 turnovers every game while drawing 19.3 fouls. The Eagles defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 42.8% (259 of 605) and they relinquish 30.6 rebounds per contest as a group. They are ranked 252nd in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 130 relinquished this season. They surrender 39.4% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 130th in D-1 in PPG allowed (67.8).

The Georgia Southern Eagles faced off with the South Alabama Jaguars and notched a win by a score of 62-49 in their last contest. Georgia Southern wrapped up the contest having earned a 40.4% FG percentage (23 of 57) and buried 6 of their 28 3-pointers. At the charity stripe, the Eagles converted 10 of 17 attempts for a rate of 58.8%. In relation to getting rebounds, they collected a total of 37 with 14 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 10 dimes in this game as well as earning 10 steals and 7 rejections. With respect to the defense, Georgia Southern allowed the other team to go 40.4% from the field on 23 of 57 shooting. South Alabama dished out 4 dimes and had 3 steals for this game. On top of that, the Jaguars pulled down 31 rebounds (9 offensive, 22 defensive) and added 7 blocked shots. South Alabama went 100.0% at the free throw line by making 7 of their 7 shots. They made 6 of 19 attempts from distance.

Zack Bryant is someone who was a contributor in the matchup. He scored 12 points on 4 out of 11 shooting. He saw the court for 36 minutes played and collected 3 rebounds. Bryant finished 36.4% from the floor and earned 2 dimes. Someone else that came through in the game for the Eagles was Elijah McCadden. He totaled 10 rebounds and earned 2 assists. He finished the game shooting 50.0% from the floor in this game by connecting on 4-of-8 (12 points). Overall, McCadden was on the hardwood for 33 minutes.

Appalachian State has a mark of 7-4 this season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Mountaineers are connecting on 43.8% from the field, which ranks 202nd in college basketball. Appalachian State has tallied 805 points on the season (73.2 per game) and they pull in 38.9 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 12.7 times per contest (223rd in college basketball) and they are turning it over 12.9 times per game. The Mountaineers are responsible for committing 13.4 fouls per game and they connect on 76.9% from the free throw line. The Mountaineers on defense are ranked 9th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 58.0. The Appalachian State defense surrenders 29.7% on 3-point shots (73 of 246) and opponents are connecting on 68.5% of their free throw shots. They have given up 11.5 assists and 31.1 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 103rd and 44th in those categories on the defensive end. They are forcing 14.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 39.0% from the floor (40th in college hoops).

For their last game, the Appalachian State Mountaineers got the victory with a final of 90-59 against the Troy Trojans. The Mountaineers collected 26 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 33 for the game. They blocked 2 tries while earning 8 steals in the matchup. The Trojans committed 13 personal fouls for the contest which got the Mountaineers to the free throw line for 14 attempts. They were able to bury 7 of the free throw tries for a clip of 50.0%. In the matter of shooting from 3-point land, Appalachian State converted 15 of 26 tries (57.7%). At the conclusion of this game, the Mountaineers walked away from this one shooting 34 for 62 from the floor which gave them a rate of 54.8%. The Mountaineers permitted the Trojans to make 22 of 49 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 44.9% for the game. They finished 32.0% from behind the 3-point line via 8 of 25 and ended up shooting 7 out of 9 from the charity stripe (77.8%). In the matter of rebounds, Appalachian State permitted Troy to pull down 27 overall (3 offensive).

Justin Forrest ended up being a major contributor for the Mountaineers in this game. He knocked down 6 of 10 in the matchup for a rate of 60.0%, which earned him 21 points. Forrest had 4 boards in his 27 minutes played and accumulated 2 dimes in this contest. Someone else who came through for Appalachian State was Donovan Gregory. He ended up with 15 points in 26 minutes on the court by going 7 out of 12 shooting for the contest. Gregory ended the game having shot 58.3% from the floor and also earning 2 dimes and 5 rebounds.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Georgia Southern (+5.5)

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