Appalachian State vs Georgia State 3/6/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The 3-seed Georgia State Panthers & 2-seed Appalachian State Mountaineers will square off at Pensacola Bay Center this Sunday night in the Semifinals of the Hercules Tires Sun Belt Championship.

The 3-seed Georgia State Panthers improved to 16-10 on the season after defeating the Arkansas State Red Wolves, 65-62, this past Saturday. Georgia State allowed Arkansas State to fight back from a 53-45 deficit to take a 58-57 lead, however, the Panthers were strong down the stretch and was able to take the lead for good after a Kane Williams jumper gave the Panthers a 61-60 lead with 2:18 left in regulation. Georgia State shot 37.9% from the field & 19.0% from beyond the arc while allowing Arkansas State to shoot 35.6% from the field & 23.5% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Panthers was Kane Williams who had 23 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, & 6 steals.

On the season, Georgia State is averaging 70.2 ppg on 40.0% shooting from the field. The Panthers are averaging 7.6 three-pointers per game on 31.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Georgia State has been led by Corey Allen (13.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.7 spg), Kane Williams (12.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.9 spg), Justin Roberts (11.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.4 spg), Eliel Nsoseme (9.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.3 bpg), & Eliel Nsoseme (9.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.3 bpg).

Defensively, Georgia State is holding their opponents to an average of 64.5 ppg on 41.3% shooting from the field. The Panthers have a rebound margin of 1.5 and a turnover margin of 4.8.

The 2-seed Appalachian State Mountaineers improved to 19-13 on the season after being defeated by the 10-seed Georgia Southern Eagles, 73-60, this past Saturday. Appalachian State was outstanding defensively against Georgia Southern and held a comfortable lead throughout the 2^nd half after going into halftime with a 37-25 lead. Appalachian State shot 44.2% from the field & 36.8% from beyond the arc while allowing Georgia Southern to shoot 34.8% from the field & 40.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Mountaineers was Justin Forrest who had 20 points, 2 rebounds, & 2 assists.

On the season, Appalachian State is averaging 66.9 ppg on 41.7% shooting from the field. The Mountaineers are averaging 8.1 three-pointers per game on 32.7% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Appalachian State has been led by Adrian Delph (17.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.1 spg), Donovan Gregory (10.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.3 spg), Michael Almonacy (10.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.1 apg), & Justin Forrest (9.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.4 apg).

Defensively, Appalachian State is holding their opponents to an average of 62.3 ppg on 41.7% shooting from the field. The Mountaineers have a rebound margin of 0.6 and a turnover margin of 2.1.

The Panthers are 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall & 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Sunday games. The Mountaineers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall & 8-2 ATS in their last 10 neutral site games.

Georgia State & Appalachian State split their regular season series as the Mountaineers defeated the Panthers by a 61-60 margin on the road in late January while Georgia State defeated Appalachian State by a 58-49 margin on the road in mid-February.

Appalachian State has had a tremendous season, led by their defense which ranks 22^nd in scoring defense, however, the Mountaineers offense has struggled and come into this matchup ranked just 281^st in scoring offense & 289^th in FG%. Georgia State had a rough start to their season due to some key injuries and Covid, however, the since getting healthy, the Panthers have looked like the team to beat in Sun Belt, winning 10 of their last 11 games. Georgia State has a great defense that ranks 43^rd in scoring defense, 6^th in turnover margin, & 64^th in defensive FG% and as I think the Mountaineers have issues scoring like we saw in the last matchup between these two teams, I’m taking Georgia State to cover this small spread. Good Luck!