Kennesaw State Owls vs Xavier Musketeers Point Spread Picks

Kennesaw State and its fans will be sky-high for this one, their first trip to the NCAA tournament. Kennesaw State is no Cinderella, covering at Florida scoring 78 points, covering at Indiana of the Big 10, winning the Atlantic Sun Conference regular season, and then winning its tournament. Guard play is a huge factor during the Big Dance and Kennesaw State has excellent balance with a four-guard attack anchored by junior Chris Youngblood (14.7 ppg) and senior Terrell Burden (13.5 ppg). Kennesaw State is on a 20-10 spread run, plus 11-3 ATS against teams that shoot 45% or better from the field. Xavier is a big favorite but the defense was ninth in the 11-team Big East in points surrendered and field goal shooting allowed (44.8%), plus eighth at defending beyond the arc (34.5%). And their free-throw shooting was last in the conference (68.6%). Xavier is 21-35 ATS after playing a Big East game and 9-20 ATS after five consecutive contests committing 14 or fewer turnovers, while Kennesaw State has covered three of its four games as a double-digit dog. Xavier is also 16-4 UNDER the total away from home after playing two straight as an underdog and 49-30 UNDER away from home against teams that hit eight or more treys per contest. Play Kennesaw State + UNDER the total.