The Kennesaw State Owls and the Queens NC Royals meet Saturday in college basketball action from Levine Center Curry Arena. Kennesaw State comes into this matchup after a Thursday game versus North Florida. The Owls ended up losing in a close outcome. As for Queens NC, they played Bellarmine in their Thursday matchup. In that one the Royals eked out a victory. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Kennesaw State was 6-4 after 10 games this year, losing to Florida, Campbell, VCU and San Diego State along the way. The Owls went 4-1 in their next quintet, beating Georgia College, USC Upstate, Central Arkansas and Eastern Kentucky.
In the North Florida game on Thursday, the Owls held a slim 45-43 lead going into the second half. Kennesaw State was outscored 46-41 after that and lost 89-86. Chris Youngblood led the way on 18 points.
Over on the Queens NC side, they hit an 8-2 run out of the gate this season with losses to only La Salle and George Mason. The Royals managed to go 3-2 over the next five games with wins over East Tennessee State, Fairleigh Dickinson and Austin Peay.
Matched up against Bellarmine on Thursday, the Royals jumped out to a 40-26 halftime lead. Queens NC had to scramble in the second half but still won it 75-74. AJ McKee led the team on 20 points, and Gavin Rains had 14 rebounds.
PICK: I’ll probably stick with Queens NC here. The Royals are having a pretty solid season all things considered, and they’re currently on a 7-2 run. Queens NC has played it close the last few games though; the margin of victory hasn’t been more than five points in any of those games. As for Kennesaw State, they’ve got a couple of close games in their last pair as well—one loss and one win. I like this one to be a competitive affair, with Queens NC powering out the eventual cover. Should be a fun game.