The North Alabama Lions and the Central Arkansas Bears meet Saturday in college basketball action from Farris Center. North Alabama is 8-8 on the season and took out Eastern Kentucky in their last outing. As for Central Arkansas, they’re sitting at 5-11 so far. The Bears are coming off a loss to Bellarmine. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
North Alabama managed a 7-4 stretch to start the season, losing to Mississippi State, Manhattan, Iona and Auburn along the way. After losses to UCF, Gonzaga, Lipscomb and Jacksonville State the Lions got another win over Eastern Kentucky.
In the Eastern Kentucky matchup on Tuesday, North Alabama held a slim 39-38 lead at the break. The Lions were able to hang on for the eventual 76-75 win. Daniel Ortiz led the team with his 20 points, and Damian Forrest doubled on 14 points and 10 boards.
Over on the Central Arkansas side, they hit a 2-10 run in their first dozen. The Bears beat only Oral Roberts and Hendrix in that time. Central AR then beat Champion Christian, Eastern Kentucky and Lipscomb before the loss to Bellarmine.
Matched up against the Knights on Tuesday, the Bears fell behind 34-24 at halftime. Things only got worse from there with a 51-39 deficit in an eventual 85-63 loss. Collin Cooper topped the team with 15 points, and Ibbe Klintman added 13 points with five boards.
The over is 6-2 in the Bears’ last eight overall and 7-3-1 in their last 11 at home versus a team with a losing road record. The over is 30-14-1 in Central AR’s last 45 after an ATS loss.
Meanwhile, the Lions are 5-2 ATS in the last seven overall and 4-1-1 ATS in their last six road games. North Alabama is 5-2 ATS in their last seven after an ATS win.
PICK: I’m going to take a shot on Central Arkansas. Sure, the Bears had an ugly game against a hot Bellarmine squad in their last outing, but they’d been playing well in the three games before that. Central Arkansas hit 79 or more points in each of that trio, and they’ve hit 70 or more points in six of their last eight.
As for North Alabama, they can score when the matchup is right as well. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a high total here, and if all goes well for Central AR I think they can cover.