Kennesaw State Owls vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction, 3/17/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kennesaw State Owls vs Xavier Musketeers

Date: Friday, March 17, 2023

Location: Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC

TV: truTV

Odds/Point Spread: Kennesaw State (+13)

The Xavier Musketeers (25-9) will try to beat the Kennesaw State Owls (26-8) at Greensboro Coliseum on Friday. Kennesaw State opens this contest as 13-point dogs from oddsmakers. The over/under is set at 150.5.

The Kennesaw State Owls stepped onto the hardwood against Liberty and went home with a win by a final score of 67-66 in their last game. Concerning fouls, the Owls ended up finishing with 15 while Liberty totaled 18 fouls. They converted 5 of 23 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Liberty ended up going 64.3% from the free throw line by burying 9 of their 14 shots. Furthermore, Liberty pulled down 32 rebounds (11 offensive, 21 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Liberty distributed 11 assists and had 8 steals in the game. When it comes to defense, Kennesaw State allowed the other team to go 40.6% from the floor on 26 of 64 shooting. They also distributed 9 assists in the matchup as well as forcing 8 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In regard to hauling in boards, they earned a total of 28 with 3 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Owls buried 15 of their 18 attempts for a percentage of 83.3%. Kennesaw State ended the game with a 46.9% field goal percentage (23 out of 49) and knocked down 6 of their 15 shots from 3-point land.

Terrell Burden is one guy who came through in this game. He finished 70.0% from the field and also totaled 3 assists. He played for 34 minutes played and also grabbed 3 rebounds. He was able to score 19 points on 7 of 10 shooting.

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Kennesaw State comes into this game with a mark of 26-8 on the year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.4 times per game and as a squad are committing 17.9 fouls every game. As a team, Kennesaw State is grabbing 35.2 rebounds per game and has 490 dimes on the campaign, which has them ranked 56th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Owls are shooting 36.8% from downtown (281 of 764) and 66.2% from the free throw line. They average 75.3 points per game (94th in college basketball) while hitting 46.2% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Owls have forced 14.5 turnovers per game while drawing 19.4 fouls. They currently rank 112th in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 383 relinquished on the campaign. The Owls defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 42.9% (818 of 1,905) and they concede 33.9 boards per game as a basketball team. They are surrendering 33.4% on 3-point shots and they rank 142nd in the country in PPG allowed (68.9).

In their last game, the Xavier Musketeers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 65-51 when they played Marquette. The Musketeers earned 28 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 39 for the game. They also turned the ball over 13 times, while getting 2 steals for the contest. Marquette was called for 15 fouls in the game which took the Musketeers to the charity stripe for a total of 11 tries. They were able to make 4 of them for a percentage of 36.4%. With respect to shooting from 3-point land, Xavier converted 5 out of 20 attempts (25.0%). Overall, the Musketeers finished 21 out of 61 from the field which had them shooting 34.4%. The Musketeers permitted Marquette to convert 22 of 61 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 36.1% for the game. They wrapped up this game 25.9% from distance by shooting 7 of 27 and walked away from this one shooting 14 of 16 at the charity stripe (87.5%). In relation to how they attacked the glass, Xavier allowed Marquette to snag 33 in total (8 offensive).

Adam Kunkel was important for the Musketeers for this game. He buried 5 out of 17 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 29.4%, and tallied 4 rebounds. He scored 14 points in his 34 minutes on the court and earned 1 assist for this contest.

Xavier has a record of 25-9 this season. The Musketeers are committing 15.9 personal fouls per contest and they go 71.4% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 19.3 times per contest (1st in college hoops) and they lose possession via turnover 12.6 times per game. Xavier has tallied 2,768 points on the season (81.4 per contest) and they snag 37.6 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Musketeers are shooting 49.4% from the floor, which is ranked 6th in the country.

The Musketeers defensively are ranked 295th in college hoops in PPG given up with 74.1. They are able to force 11.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 44.3% from the field (218th in college hoops). The Xavier defense concedes 35.9% on shots from behind the 3-point line (256 of 714) and opponents are connecting on 72.4% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 14.8 assists and 31.9 boards per game, which ranks 330th and 59th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kennesaw State (+13)

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