Kennesaw State Owls vs Liberty Flames Prediction, 1/2/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kennesaw State Owls vs Liberty Flames

Date: Friday, January 2, 2026

Location: Liberty Arena in Lynchburg, VA

TV: ESPNU

The Liberty Flames (9-3) are hosting the Kennesaw State Owls (8-4) at Liberty Arena on Friday.

The Kennesaw State Owls stepped onto the hardwood against Alabama and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 92-81 in their last game. In the matter of personal fouls, the Owls ended up walking away with 19 while Alabama finished the game with 16 personal fouls. They also knocked down 10 of 31 attempts from 3-point land. Alabama ended up shooting 78.3% at the charity stripe by knocking down 18 of 23 tries. Moreover, Alabama collected 35 rebounds (10 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't have a block. Alabama distributed 17 dimes and had 8 steals in this matchup. With respect to defending, Kennesaw State allowed the other team to go 43.8% from the field on 32 out of 73 shooting. They also distributed 13 assists for the game as well as forcing the opposition into 7 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In the matter of pulling down boards, they compiled 44 with 15 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Owls converted 14 of their 18 tries for a percentage of 77.8%. Kennesaw State walked away from the contest having earned a 43.5% FG percentage (30 of 69) and buried 7 of their 23 3-point attempts.

Simeon Cottle is one player who came through for the contest. He left the arena with 20 points on 6 of 15 shooting. He played for 31 minutes and snagged 2 rebounds. He finished the game shooting 40.0% from the field and also dished out 1 assist.

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Kennesaw State will enter this contest with a record of 8-4 for the campaign. They are averaging 93.3 pts per contest (11th in D-1) while going 47.3% from the floor. The Owls are connecting on 34.9% on shots from downtown (118 of 338) and 68.0% from the charity stripe. As a team, Kennesaw State is grabbing 47.0 boards per game and has earned 180 dimes this season, which ranks 214th in college in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 13.3 times per game and as a squad are committing 21.2 personal fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Owls are forcing 14.1 turnovers every game while drawing 20.8 personal fouls. They are surrendering 31.6% on three-point shots and they rank 248th in college hoops in opponents points per game (76.0). The Owls are allowing a FG percentage of 37.2% (280 of 753) and they concede 35.7 rebounds per game as a squad. They currently rank 13th in D-1 in allowing assists with 118 surrendered on the season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Liberty Flames got the win with a final of 97-94 when they played FIU. The Flames pulled down 18 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 26 for the contest. They also turned it over 9 times, while getting 7 steals in this contest. FIU had 20 personal fouls for this game which took the Flames to the charity stripe for a total of 16 attempts. They were able to bury 12 of the free throw tries for a rate of 75.0%. In relation to three-point attempts, Liberty converted 15 out of their 40 attempts (37.5%). In all, the Flames went 35 for 69 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 50.7%. The Flames allowed FIU to bury 36 of 73 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 49.3% in this contest. They finished shooting 35.3% from 3-point land via 6 out of 17 and walked away from this one shooting 16 of 23 from the free throw line (69.6%). When talking about how they attacked the glass, Liberty permitted FIU to collect 44 in all (19 offensive).

Brett Decker Jr. was important for the Flames for the contest. He knocked down 9 out of 18 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and had 3 rebounds. He accumulated 27 points in his 41 minutes on the court and had 2 dimes for the matchup.

Liberty has a mark of 9-3 on the campaign. When it comes to offensive execution, the Flames are connecting on 53.0% from the floor, which ranks them 4th in the nation. Liberty has earned 979 points so far this year (81.6 per contest) and they collect 31.5 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 18.5 times per contest (30th in college) and they lose possession via turnover 8.9 times per game. The Flames are responsible for committing 14.8 fouls per contest and they go 63.1% from the free throw line.

The Liberty defense concedes 33.9% on three-point shots (84 of 248) and their opposition makes 72.8% of their foul shots. They have allowed 11.7 assists and 33.1 rebounds every game, which is 65th and 113th in D-1. The Flames on the defensive end are ranked 66th in the country in points allowed per game with 67.7. They have forced 11.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 43.3% from the field (172nd in college hoops).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kennesaw State

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