The Appalachian State Mountaineers and the East Tennessee State Buccaneers meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Freedom Hall Civic Center. App State is currently 4-2 this year following a win over SE Louisiana. As for East Tennessee State, they sit at 3-2 overall. The Buccaneers lost to Tennessee Tech in their most recent outing. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Appalachian State got off to a 3-0 start with wins over Warren Wilson College 142-74, NC Central 79-74 and Louisville 61-60. The Mountaineers then lost to Campbell 63-58 and Kennesaw State 71-67 in the next pair.
On Sunday versus Southeastern Louisiana, the Mountaineers were down 35-30 going into the second half. App State hit a 53-39 run from there and took the game 83-74. Dibaji Walker led the team on 17 points and six rebounds.
Over on the East Tennessee State side, they beat Emory & Henry 88-66 in their opener, then took out Elon 77-64. After an 81-77 loss to Louisiana, the Buccaneers bounced back with a win over Little Rock 84-76.
In their Sunday game versus Tennessee Tech, East Tennessee State took a three-point deficit into the locker room. The Buccaneers scored 32 points in the second half and lost 69-62. Jordan King topped the team on 20 points and seven boards.
PICK: I’m probably going to stick with Appalachian State. The Mountaineers have been pretty competitive so far, even in their losses. During their last outing versus Southeastern Louisiana, App State shot a nice 47.5 percent from the field and had a 45-41 rebounding advantage. The Mountaineers shouldn’t have too many issues scoring in this one; East Tennessee State has given up 69 or more points in each of their last three games. Should be an interesting matchup but I like App State better cover-wise.