The 14th-seeded Kennesaw State Owls (26-8) battle the No. 3 Xavier Musketeers (25-9) Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Tip for the Midwest Region affair at Greensboro Coliseum is set for 12:40 p.m. ET (truTV). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Kennesaw State vs. Xavier'odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Check out: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
The Musketeers lost 65-51 to Marquette in the Big East Championship on March 11 after beating Creighton 82-60 in the semifinals and DePaul 89-84 in the quarterfinals. F Zach Freemantle, the team’s No. 3 scoring option in the regular season, missed the conference tournament and will not be available for the NCAA Tournament as he was ruled out for the year on March 5 with a foot injury. Xavier has won 5 of its last 6 games and is 5-3 against the spread (ATS) over its last 8 outings.
Kennesaw State beat Liberty 67-66 in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament championship game to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament. It has won 8 of its last 9 games yet is just 5-4 ATS over that span. The Owls were led by G Chris Youngblood, who is averaging 14.7 points per game.