Who’s Playing
North Carolina Central @ Alabama State
Current Records: North Carolina Central 0-3; Alabama State 0-6
What to Know
The Alabama State Hornets will be returning home after a five-game road trip. They will take on the North Carolina Central Eagles at 8 p.m. ET this past Saturday at Dunn-Oliver Acadome. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they’ll have plenty of motivation to get the ‘W.’
A win for the Hornets just wasn’t in the stars this past Thursday as the squad never even grasped a temporary lead. Things couldn’t have gone much worse for them as they lost 108-82 to the Iowa Hawkeyes. Alabama State was surely aware of their 27.5-point disadvantage in the point spread, but the foreknowledge did nothing to prevent the result. Their loss shouldn’t obscure the performances of forward Gerald Liddell, who had 19 points, and guard Christian McCray, who had 20 points. Liddell hadn’t helped his team much against the Iowa State Cyclones last Tuesday, so this was a nice turnaround for him.
Meanwhile, North Carolina Central ended up a good deal behind Iowa when they played last week, losing 86-69. Guard Randy Miller Jr. (15 points) was the top scorer for North Carolina Central.
Barring any buzzer beaters, Alabama State is expected to win a tight contest. They might be worth taking a chance on against the spread as they are currently on a five-game streak of ATS wins.
The Hornets are now 0-6 while the Eagles sit at 0-3. Two defensive numbers to keep in mind before tip-off: Alabama State is third worst in college basketball in points allowed per game, with 84.8 on average. North Carolina Central has experienced some struggles of their own as they are stumbling into the game with the 10th most points allowed per game in college basketball, having given up 82 on average. It’s possible one of these Achilles’ heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
How To Watch
- When: Saturday at 8 p.m. ET
- Where: Dunn-Oliver Acadome — Montgomery, Alabama
- Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds
The Hornets are a slight 1.5-point favorite against the Eagles, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Hornets as a 2.5-point favorite.
Over/Under: -110
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Series History
This is the first time these teams have played each other within the last six years.
