Georgia State vs App State Picks and Odds (Jan. 26)

• Perennial Sun Belt powers Georgia State and Appalachian State tip off Thursday, January 26.
• Appalachian State is a 5.5-point home favorite over Georgia State at the Holmes Center.
• Read below for Georgia State vs App State odds, analysis and prediction

Appalachian State (11-10, 4-4 Sun Belt) is a 5.5-point home favorite over Georgia State in a Sun Belt game at 6:30 pm ET Thursday on ESPN+ at the Holmes Center. The Mountaineers have won three of their last five games.

Georgia State (9-11, 2-6 Sun Belt) has lost five of its last six and six of its last eight. The Panthers were picked to finish fifth in the Sun Belt in the preseason coaches’ poll, two spots ahead of App State.

Georgia State vs App State Odds

Odds from FanDuel on Jan. 25. Claim this FanDuel promo code to be on college basketball. 

Appalachian State is a 5.5-point favorite over Georgia State in a series that has been played seven times in the last two seasons and has produced the last four Sun Belt tournament champions. The Panthers won two of the three meetings last season, including a 71-66 victory in the semifinals of the Sun Belt tournament as a 3.5-point favorite.

App State is 4-3 SU and ATS in the series in the last two seasons. The Mountaineers won three of four in Covid-adjusted 2021, including an 80-73 victory in the finals of the Sun Belt tournament as a 7-point underdog. They are 9-9 ATS this season, 3-5 at home. Georgia State is 5-11-1 ATS, 1-4-1 on the road.

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Appalachian State Finds Heroes

Mountaineers’ sophomore guard 6’3 Terence Hercum had the game of his life in a 72-58 victory at Old Dominion the last time out Saturday with career hits in points (28), three-pointers (eight) and rebounds (seven). Hercum, who started the first eight games of the season, has returned to the lineup the last three games while senior guard 6’1 Tyree Boykin bas been out for undisclosed reasons. Senior forward 6’9 Dibaji Walker had a career-high 27 points off the bench against Coastal Carolina two days earlier.

Terence Harcum with 28 points and eight three-pointers tonight.pic.twitter.com/PS8XsM7yMl

— Mid-Major Madness (@mid_madness) January 22, 2023

Appalachian has used six starting lineups, with guard 6’3 Xavian Bown joining Hercum in the last three games as the Mountaineers worked around the absence of Boykin by going to a more perimeter presence alongside leading scorer guard 6’5 Donovan Gregory (12.0 points, 3.7, rebounds, 4.5 assists) and forward 6’10 CJ Huntley (9.0 points, 6.5 rebounds). Brown, an aggressive defender, has 20 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals in his three starts.

Appalachian State leads the Sun Belt and is 33rd in Division in field goal percentage defense (39.9 percent). Only one of its last six opponents has shot better than 42.2 percent. Freshman 6’9 Justin Abson (5.9 points, 5.0 rebounds) has 43 blocked shots.

Georgia State Hits the Skids

Georgia State has won three of the last four Sun Belt tournaments but appears to be a long way off this season, new coach Jonas Hayes’ first. Hayes stepped in to lead  Xavier to the 2022 NIT postseason championship last season after Travis Steele left one game into the NIT run, and Hayes brought dynamic sophomore point guard 6’1 Dwon Odom with him to Atlanta. But Odom (14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists) missed the Panthers’ two losses last weekend for undisclosed reasons, and his status entering this game is unknown.

Dwon Odom is an athletic guard who is unstoppable one he reaches the paint area. Having a strong first season for @GeorgiaStateMBB

He finished with a double-double of 16p (8-9fg) and 11a in the Panthers conference win over Coastal Carolina.

Highlights below👇 pic.twitter.com/7vRwga1a6S

— GREENLIGHT MEDIA (@atlgreenlight) January 16, 2023

The Panthers had trouble scoring without Odom last week, shooting the same 35.1 percent from the floor in road losses to Old Dominion and Georgia Southern. Forward 6’7 JaHeim Hudson (10.8 points, 7.4 rebounds) guard 6’4 Brendan Tucker (12.6 points) are the other top scorers for Hayes, who has used 11 different starting combinations, none more than five times. The Panthers have not shot well — 41.4 percent from the floor, 29.9 from distance — but are limiting opponents to 41.2 percent.