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It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an SC State-Xavier prediction and pick. Find out how to watch SC State-Xavier.
Thanksgiving weekend works its way through Sunday afternoon with more college basketball fun. This game will be on national television, and it is an actual on-campus game for Xavier. So much of Feast Week — which concludes on Sunday — is comprised of neutral-site tournaments and games. It is hard to know what to expect when teams travel to neutral locations in front of crowds which are either neutral, small, mixed, or any combination of the above. These aren't deafening or hostile road environments, but the unfamiliarity of players with new gyms can still have an effect on outcomes.
Here, Xavier is hosting a game, so the reality of a true home game for the Musketeers combined with a true road game for South Carolina State offers more clarity to any prospective bettor.
Xavier has lost only one game this season, but it was the Musketeers' most recent game, and it was a blowout. X lost to Dusty May and Michigan, 78-53. Xavier's offense got stuck, and coach Sean Miller has to figure out to get his offense unstuck in the coming days.
Xavier has really struggled from the 3-point arc in its last two games. The Muskies are 12 of 41 combined in their last two outings, which is just under 30 percent from long range. That won't get the job done. When a team is firing blanks from 3-point range, it needs to be able to get to the free throw line more. In those two games in which X struggled to hit triples, it averaged 15 free throws per game (30 total over the two games). That's not a high-enough number to compensate for all of Xavier's 3-point misses. The shot distribution balance needs to be better for the Musketeers, who should be able to establish a rhythm in this buy game against South Carolina State.
Xavier needs to show that when it suffers an emphatic loss — as it did to Michigan — it can bounce back and play at a much higher level. Let's see what Sean Miller's team brings to the table on a late Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati.
Here are the SC State-Xavier College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: SC State-Xavier Odds
SC State: +24.5 (-120)
Moneyline: -178
Xavier: -24.5 (-102)
Moneyline: +146
Over: 150.5 (-105)
Under: 150.5 (-115)
How to Watch SC State vs Xavier
Time: 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT
TV: FS1
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why SC State Will Cover The Spread/Win
The spread is enormous, and given that Xavier has struggled to shoot 3-pointers in its last few games, that is exactly the kind of thing which can keep this spread from reaching 27, 28, 29, or 30 points. As long as X doesn't find a groove on 3-pointers, SC State will cover.
Why Xavier Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Musketeers will be motivated to play well and hard for the full 40 minutes, given their loss to Michigan. That's why betting on Xavier here makes sense. Chances are the Muskies blow the doors off this game.
Final SC State-Xavier Prediction & Pick
Our lean is to Xavier, and we feel good enough about X to pick the Musketeers here. We think it's a good bounce-back spot. Players will be angry after the Michigan loss, which means Xavier will continue to play with great effort and will not take its foot off the gas pedal midway through the second half. Xavier will keep pushing until the end, which is exactly what you want when the point spread is so huge. Take Xavier.
Final SC State-Xavier Prediction & Pick: Xavier -24.5
