Halftime Report

Only one more half stands between North Texas and the win they were favored to collect coming into this evening. They have jumped out to a quick 33-28 lead against App. State.

If North Texas keeps playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 8-3 in no time. On the other hand, App. State will have to make due with a 6-6 record unless they turn things around (and fast).

Who's Playing

App. State Mountaineers @ North Texas Mean Green

Current Records: App. State 6-5, North Texas 7-3

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What to Know

The App. State Mountaineers' road trip will continue as they head out to face the North Texas Mean Green at 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday at The Super Pit. Coming off a loss in a game the Mountaineers were expected to win, they now face the more daunting task of proving themselves against unfavorable odds.

Last Wednesday, App. State came up short against Louisiana and fell 68-62. That's two games in a row now that the Mountaineers have lost by exactly six points.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask North Texas). They steamrolled past Miss Valley State 83-42 on Wednesday. The Mean Green have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three contests by 20 points or more this season.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead North Texas to victory, but perhaps none more so than Brenen Lorient, who went 6 for 7 en route to 16 points plus two blocks. Lorient has been hot recently, having posted two or more blocks the last three times he's played. Johnathan Massie was another key player, scoring 12 points along with six rebounds and three steals.

App. State's defeat was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 6-5. As for North Texas, their victory bumped their record up to 7-3.

Friday's matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy game: App. State has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 40 rebounds per game. It's a different story for North Texas, though, as they've been averaging only 33.1. Given App. State's sizable advantage in that area, North Texas will need to find a way to close that gap.

While only App. State took care of their fans the last time they played, neither team managed to cover. Going forward, North Texas is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 11.5 points. For those looking to play the spread, watch out: App. State is playing as the underdogs on the road, but their 0-2 record against the spread as such isn't exactly encouraging.

Odds

North Texas is a big 11.5-point favorite against App. State, 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 Mean Green as a 10.5-point favorite.


The over/under is 123.5 points.

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