Xavier vs Kennesaw State Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 17 NCAA Tournament Game (Musketeers Hold Off Owls)

Updated: Sep 10, 5:00pm UTC

Xavier vs Kennesaw State Game Info

2022-23 NCAA Tournament Game
No. 15 Xavier (25-9) vs. Kennesaw State (26-8)
Date: Friday, March 17, 2023
Time: 12:40 PM ET
Venue: Greensboro Coliseum -- Greensboro, North Carolina
Coverage: truTV

Friday, March 17's 2022-23 NCAA Tournament schedule features Midwest Region action as the No. 3 Xavier Musketeers take on the No. 14 Kennesaw State Owls in a first-round tilt.

Xavier's Big East Tournament run ended on a sour note, falling 65-51 to Marquette in the championship game. Meanwhile, Kennesaw State extended its winning streak to five straight games with a 67-66 victory over Liberty in the ASUN Championship Game.

Can Xavier put its latest loss in the rearview by advancing to the second round? Or will Kennesaw State's winning ways continue at Greensboro Coliseum?

Xavier vs Kennesaw State Odds & Spread

All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline: XAVIER: (-750) | KENSAW: (+520)
Spread: XAVIER: -11.5 (-108) | KENSAW: +11.5 (-112)
Total: 151.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Xavier enters this contest as a massive favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 12:40 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 151.5 points with both sides sitting at -110 odds.

Xavier vs Kennesaw State Betting Trends

Xavier has beaten the spread 18 times in 34 games.
Against the spread as 11.5-point favorites or more, the Musketeers are 3-6.
Xavier has seen 21 of its 34 games go over the point total.
Against the spread, Kennesaw State is 21-10-0 this season.
The Owls are 3-1 as 11.5-point underdogs or greater.
Kennesaw State has seen 17 of its 31 games hit the over.

Xavier Rank	Xavier AVG		Kennesaw State AVG	Kennesaw State Rank
11th	81.4	Points Scored	75.3	91st
295th	74.1	Points Allowed	68.9	142nd
35th	34.8	Rebounds	31.4	202nd
123rd	9.1	Off. Rebounds	7.6	265th
154th	7.6	3pt Made	8.3	75th
1st	19.3	Assists	14.4	84th
232nd	12.4	Turnovers	12	200th

Xavier vs Kennesaw State Prediction & Pick

Xavier shouldn't have much of an issue with this matchup. While Kennesaw State has the momentum, it's also winless in its last eight meetings with a Big East school. On the other hand, Xavier is a perfect 6-0 in its last six games against the ASUN Conference.

The Musketeers won't have any issues scoring on Friday. They average the 12th-most points on the seventh-best field goal and third-best three-point percentages in the country. With Kennesaw State usually finding itself in foul trouble (18.2 per game, T-No. 268), Xavier will likely make the opposition pay from the charity stripe, where it hits 74.7% of its free throws away from home.

After coming up short against Marquette, look for Xavier to move forward with a convincing win.

Final Score Prediction: Xavier: 80 | Kennesaw State: 72

Xavier vs Kennesaw State Best Bet

Despite calling for a Xavier victory, I don't expect the 11.5-point spread to be covered. For starters, The Muskeeters have failed to cover the spread in three of their previous four outings while being an uninspiring 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games as the favorite.

Kennesaw State has had much more success against the spread lately, Not only are the Owls 4-1 ATS in their past five games, but they've also covered in nine of their last 12 games where they were underdogs.

Xavier won't struggle too much, but Kennesaw State has the tools to keep things closer than expected.

Bet: Kennesaw State +11.5 (-112)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.