The Georgia Southern Eagles (6-11) try to bring a five-game road losing streak to a halt when they take on the Appalachian State Mountaineers (5-13) at Holmes Convocation Center. The game starts at 3:30 pm ET on Saturday, Jan. 23.
The Mountaineers were victorious over Georgia State 76-67 on Thursday. Frank Eaves led all scorers on the team with 25 points on 6-for-15 shooting. The Eagles, meanwhile, are coming off a tough 69-66 loss at the hands of that same Georgia State squad on Tuesday. Ike Smith had a good shooting night, leading the game 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 gambling defense of Georgia Southern forces the 32nd-most turnovers in the nation (22.2%). The Eagles should also expect to protect the ball well. They rank 35th at avoiding errors (TO% of 16.0%). Conversely, the Mountaineers force the 55th-fewest turnovers in the nation (opponents’ TO% of 16.9%).
Appalachian State is a three-point favorite against Georgia Southern and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 147 points. The Mountaineers enter the game with records of 5-13 Straight Up (SU) and 8-6 Against The Spread (ATS).
In the other locker room, the Eagles head into the game with records of 4-7 ATS and 6-11 SU. Georgia Southern is one of the better offensive rebounding teams in Division I. The Eagles average 13.3 offensive rebounds per game, making them the 38th-best team in the country for that category. Moving on to the Georgia Southern defense, teams with weak ball handling have not fared well against the Eagles, who rank 23rd in the nation with 8.4 steals per game.
This game marks the first time these teams will play this season. The last time these conference foes played, Georgia Southern won, but Appalachian State still leads the head-to-head record, 6-4 SU, over their most recent matchups. With a 6-4 record, the Eagles have the advantage ATS. Neither team was able to hold the edge in field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers over the course of their latest five contests.
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.
The Georgia Southern Eagles currently sit below 0.500 against the Sun Belt Conference at 2-5 SU, while the Appalachian State Mountaineers have a 3-4 SU record.
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 a subpar 2-9 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Appalachian State attempts an average of 22.0 three pointers per game and Georgia Southern attempts 26.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Appalachian State Mountaineers have a losing 4-8 record while the Georgia Southern Eagles have a 6-9 record.
The Georgia Southern Eagles rank 38th in offensive rebounds. The Appalachian State Mountaineers rank 270th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
Appalachian State has forced an average turnover percentage of 16.9% this season. Georgia Southern has an abysmal 1-6 record when its TO% is 16.9% or higher.
