The Kennesaw State Owls play the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in the Conference USA Championship game. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
Kennesaw State is favored by 1.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -125. Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech is the underdog at +1.5 and +105 on the moneyline. The total is set at 140.5 points.
Here’s my Kennesaw State vs. Louisiana Tech predictions and college basketball picks for March 14, 2026.
Kennesaw State vs Louisiana Tech Prediction
My Pick: Louisiana Tech ML +105
My Kennesaw State vs Louisiana Tech best bet is on the Bulldogs to cover the spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Kennesaw State vs Louisiana Tech Odds
| Kennesaw State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 -110 | 140.5 -110o / -110u | -125 |
| Louisiana Tech Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -110 | 140.5 -110o / -110u | +105 |
- Kennesaw State vs Louisiana Tech spread: Kennesaw State -1.5
- Kennesaw State vs Louisiana Tech over/under: 140.5 points
- Kennesaw State vs Louisiana Tech moneyline: Kennesaw State -125, Louisiana Tech +105
Kennesaw State vs Louisiana Tech College Basketball Betting Preview
Kennesaw State Preview
In year three under Antoine Pettway, Kennesaw State is 20-13 overall and playing for a chance to dance. Pettway was an assistant at Alabama for 15 years, the last four of which overlapped with Nate Oats.
The Owls have pulled off back-to-back upsets as the No. 6 seed in the Conference USA Tournament. Freshman Trey Simpson dropped 26 points in a 96-87 win over Western Kentucky, and freshman Amir Taylor scored 23.
As you can tell, this team is quite young, with no seniors in the starting lineup. The whole starting five is homegrown as well.
The Owls play at one of the fastest paces in the country, up to 19th in KenPom's adjusted tempo.
This group has graded out as the fifth-most efficient offense in the league, with the seventh-best defense. The Oats influence on Pettway is apparent with the tempo and shot profile of this group. 44% of Kennesaw’s field goal attempts come from behind the arc, and it has the second-closest average 2-point attempt distance in C-USA.
The main strength on the defensive end lies in their rim protection. The Owls are second in the league in both block rate and 2-point percentage defense.
Louisiana Tech Preview
This is Louisiana Tech’s third straight 20-win season under Talvin Hester, and he's looking to take the Bulldogs back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991.
Tech beat Middle Tennessee 80-69 in the opening four vs. five game of the C-USA Tournament, before catching a nice break in the bracket. No. 1 seed Liberty fell to No. 9 Missouri State in the quarterfinals, and then Tech defeated Missouri State 69-66 in the semis.
Point guard AJ Bates has put up huge scoring numbers in back-to-back games (29 and 27 points to go along with six assists in both). This didn’t come completely out of nowhere, as Bates has had a handful of big scoring nights this season. However, he had just scored less than 10 points in three of his last four before that.
That scoring punch is super valuable for a very defensive-minded team. The Bulldogs have the best defense in Conference USA. Hester’s group ranks No. 1 in block rate and 2-point percentage defense in the league, while also being second in turnover rate.
With that disruption and rim protection — plus this team’s collection of athletes — it’s one of the best mid-major defensive units in the country.
Offensively, things can be rough for this team, as it takes a lot of tough 2s. This season, this is the 282nd-most efficient offense in the nation and the second-worst in C-USA.
The Bulldogs do a great job of creating second chances, though, as they're a top-30 offensive rebounding unit in the country.
Kennesaw State vs Louisiana Tech Pick, Betting Preview
These teams played two close games in the regular season, with the home team winning each. Back on January 23, Louisiana Tech won 82-76, while Kennesaw won 58-55 on their home court on February 21.
These are two very opposing styles, as Tech likes a half-court crawl and Kennesaw wants to get up and down. Ironically, Louisiana Tech won the higher-scoring regular-season matchup, while Kennesaw won the game played in the 50s.
I’m siding with the defensive-minded group here. I expect this one to be slower-paced on a neutral floor in a tournament setting. I know the Owls proved their ability to win a game like that over the Bulldogs, but it’s still an uncomfortable thing for them to play at that level of a dogfight.
This is a group averaging 83.9 points per game.
Bates and the boys punch their ticket. Bulldogs outright.
My Pick: Louisiana Tech ML +105
