Freeman leads James Madison against Appalachian State after 31-point game

James Madison Dukes (9-7, 2-2 Sun Belt) at Appalachian State Mountaineers (8-7, 2-2 Sun Belt)

Boone, North Carolina; Saturday, 1 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Mountaineers -1.5; over/under is 133.5

BOTTOM LINE: James Madison visits Appalachian State after Mark Freeman scored 31 points in James Madison's 80-78 loss to the Marshall Thundering Herd.

The Mountaineers are 6-2 in home games. Appalachian State is 2-0 in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Dukes have gone 2-2 against Sun Belt opponents. James Madison ranks eighth in the Sun Belt with 9.6 offensive rebounds per game led by AJ Smith averaging 2.6.

Appalachian State is shooting 45.6% from the field this season, 1.5 percentage points higher than the 44.1% James Madison allows to opponents. James Madison averages 9.2 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.0 more made shots on average than the 7.2 per game Appalachian State allows.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Myles Tate averages 2.1 made 3-pointers per game for the Mountaineers, scoring 15.1 points while shooting 41.0% from beyond the arc.

Bryce Lindsay is shooting 44.2% from beyond the arc with 2.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Dukes, while averaging 12.6 points.

LAST 10 GAMES: Mountaineers: 5-5, averaging 67.6 points, 32.5 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 5.9 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 45.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.4 points per game.

Dukes: 6-4, averaging 71.2 points, 34.0 rebounds, 12.0 assists, 4.8 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 43.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.3 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press