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A spot in the NCAA Tournament will be on the line on Monday night when the No. 1 seed Georgia State Panthers take on the fourth seed Appalachian State Mountaineers in the Sun Belt Championship Game at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida.
Georgia State (16-5, 8-4 Sun Belt) beat Arkansas State and Louisiana the last two days to reach the conference title game. In their last time out, the Panthers beat the Ragin’ Cajuns 84-73 thanks to an incredible first half in which the Panthers scored 52 points prior to halftime. Five players scored in double digits for Georgia State, and senior guard Corey Allen scored 21 points with seven rebounds and five assists. He leads the team in scoring with 15.2 points per game.
Appalachian State (16-11, 7-8 Sun Belt) earned wins in three consecutive games to get to this position defeating the No. 1 seed and No. 2 seed in the Mountaineers’ side of the bracket, both of which came in overtime. Against Coastal Carolina on Sunday, Appalachian State won 64-61, as Adrian Delph and Michael Almonacy each scored 19 points. Justin Forrest leads the team with 13 points per game this season, though he shot 3 of 18 from the floor in Sunday’s win.
Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming
You can watch No. 1 seed Georgia State vs. No. 4 seed Appalachian State on Monday, March 7 at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2, or you can stream it via the ESPN app with a cable or streaming service login. If you don’t have a cable login to access the ESPN app, you can get a free trial from YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, AT&T TV Now, FuboTV, or Sling TV to stream it.
Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends
Point spread: Georgia State (-5.5)
Point Total: O/U 140
Money line: Appalachian State (+195), Georgia State (-245)
Notes
- Appalachian State is 4-1 straight up and against the spread in their last five games.
- The total went under in six of Appalachian State’s last nine games, while the over hit in four of Georgia State’s last five.
- Georgia State is 8-0 straight up in their last eight games and 6-1 against the spread in their last seven.
The Best Bet
These two teams play a contrast in styles with Georgia State looking to push the pace, while Appalachian State tries to limit the number of possessions. This will be played at the Panthers’ pace, and the Appalachian State offense will struggle to keep up. Appalachian State won the first two matchups in this series before Georgia State got the best of them on February 23rd. The over is a solid play, but let’s go with the top seed to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
The Pick: Georgia State -5.5
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