James Madison vs Appalachian State 1/7/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Appalachian State Mountaineers and the James Madison Dukes meet Saturday in college basketball action from Atlantic Union Bank Center. Appalachian State is coming off a Thursday game versus Coastal Carolina. In that one the Mountaineers won by a single point. As for James Madison, they played Texas State in their Thursday outing. The Dukes ended up losing a close game. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Appalachian State went 6-4 over their first 10 games this year, losing to Campbell, Kennesaw State, Furman and Charlotte. The Mountaineers went 1-4 over the next five games with losses to Wake Forest, UCSB, Marshall and Southern Miss. 

In the Coastal Carolina matchup on Thursday, the Mountaineers nursed a slim one-point lead at halftime. Appalachian State managed to keep the pace in the second and won 63-62. Jomaru Brown topped the team on 20 points. 

Over on the James Madison side, they lost three of their first 10 games this year versus North Carolina, Valparaiso and Virginia. The Dukes hit a 4-1 run after that with victories over Gallaudet, LIU, Georgia State and Marshall. 

Matched up against Texas State on Thursday, the Dukes were all tied up at 27-27 going into the second half. James Madison was outscored 36-35 from there and lost a tough one 63-62. Lead scorer Mezie Offurum put up 19 points and six rebounds. 

PICK: I’ll probably stay with James Madison here. The Dukes are coming off a tepid effort versus Texas State on Thursday however, and they’ll need a good bounce-back game Saturday. James Madison has posted 72 or more points in four of the last six outings, going 4-2 in that stretch. A big offensive performance in the 70-plus range will likely be necessary for a cover in this one, and I think the Dukes can do it. Scoring-wise App State has been a little sketchy lately themselves with 63 or fewer points in three of their last four.