The Georgia Southern Eagles (6-11) try to bring a five-game road losing streak to a halt when they meet the Appalachian State Mountaineers (5-13) at Holmes Convocation Center. Action begins at 6:30 pm ET on Monday, Jan. 25.
The Mountaineers enter this game hoping for similar success after topping Georgia State 76-67 on Thursday. Frank Eaves was the game’s leading scorer with 25 points on 6-for-15 shooting. The Eagles, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their close 69-66 loss against that same Georgia State squad on Tuesday. Ike Smith led the game in scoring with 23 points.
This has potential to be a mistake-prone game for the offense of Appalachian State, which ranks 344th in the nation in ball protection (TO% of 23.2%). The disruptive defense of Georgia Southern forces the 29th-most turnovers in the nation (22.2%). The Eagles should also expect to protect the ball well. They rank 34th at avoiding errors (TO% of 16.0%). Conversely, the Mountaineers force the 58th-fewest turnovers in the nation (opponents’ TO% of 16.9%).
Appalachian State is a four-point favorite against Georgia Southern and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 148 points. The Mountaineers come into this game 5-13 Straight Up (SU) and 8-6 Against The Spread (ATS). Appalachian State’s three-point defense can be considered one of the best in the nation, allowing just 5.0 three-pointers per game.
In the other locker room, the Eagles have 6-11 SU and 4-7 ATS records. The Eagles have controlled the offensive glass with an average of 13.3 offensive rebounds per game, 40th in the country. Moving on to the Georgia Southern defense, the Eagles are a terror in the passing lanes, averaging an impressive 8.4 steals per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – GaSo, ATS Winner – GaSo, O/U – Over
Notes
Appalachian State is 3-10 SU in its last 13 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Appalachian State’s last 5 games.
Appalachian State is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home.
Appalachian State is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Georgia Southern.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Appalachian State’s last 9 games when playing at home against Georgia Southern.
Georgia Southern is struggling at 2-5 SU in its conference, while Appalachian State sits at 3-4 SU.
With 70.2 possessions and .971 points per possession, the Appalachian State Mountaineers perform worse on both metrics than the Georgia Southern Eagles. Georgia Southern averages 73.2 possessions and 1.049 points per possession.
Appalachian State has an average effective field goal percentage of 47.2%. Georgia Southern is an abysmal 2-9 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Appalachian State Mountaineers attempt 22.0 three point field goals per game and the Georgia Southern Eagles attempt 26.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Appalachian State has a losing record of 4-8, while Georgia Southern is 6-9.
The Georgia Southern Eagles rank 40th in offensive rebounds. The Appalachian State Mountaineers rank 274th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
Appalachian State has forced an average turnover percentage of 16.9% this season. Georgia Southern has an underachieving 1-6 record when its TO% is 16.9% or higher.
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