By: Mark Wasik
Saturday, February 7
8 p.m. (ET) – Kennesaw State (14-8, 6-5 CUSA) at Jax State (12-10, 7-4 CUSA)
Location: Jacksonville, Ala. | Pete Mathews Coliseum (3,500)
TV: ESPN+ (Eli Gold, Mickey Shadrix)
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KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State men's basketball is looking for its second sweep of the season as the Owls will take on Jax State on Saturday night in Jacksonville, Ala., in a game moved this week to a new start time of 8 p.m.
A FEW NOTES
♦ Just past the midway point of the Conference USA season, the Owls are in a battle for a top two spot, as four of the top five teams are all within a game and a half of each other. Jax State currently leads KSU by a game, but a win for the Owls would give them a season sweep and a tiebreaker as well.
♦ KSU has the upper hand in the all-time series, having won five straight dating back to the conference championship season of 2022-23 when the two teams were both in the Atlantic Sun. That included a win by the Owls on Jax State's Senior Day last season that knocked them out of a share of the regular season conference title.
♦ The current Kennesaw State starting lineup is an oddity in today's college basketball world, as there is not a single senior or transfer player in the starting five, the only team in CUSA with such a lineup. KSU will start a pair of first-year players, two sophomores, and a junior, all recruited to the Black and Gold as freshmen.
♦ It's also been a strong year defensively for the Owls as well, currently 14th in the nation in field goal defense at 39.3%. The school record for best field goal defense in a season was set a year ago, as the 2024-25 squad limited teams to 41.4% from the floor.
♦ One sign of the Owls' improved defensive play has been inside the post, as KSU currently leads CUSA and is seventh in the nation in blocks per game at 5.8. Key to that has been Braedan Lue and Trey Simpson, one of just 14 duos in the nation with at least 30 total blocks each this season.
