Rhode Island Rams vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Prediction, 12/13/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds
![Charles Bassey Western Kentucky Hilltoppers](http://www.docsports.com/images/lib/large/charles-bassey-western-kentucky-hilltoppers.jpg)
Game: Rhode Island Rams vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Date: Sunday, December 13, 2020
Location: E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, KY
TV: CBSSN
Odds/Point Spread: Rhode Island (+2)
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (4-2) play the Rhode Island Rams (3-3) at E. A. Diddle Arena on Sunday. Rhode Island opens this contest as 2-point underdogs. The total opens at 149.5.
Rhode Island comes into this game with a record of 3-3 this year. They are turning it over 13.0 times per game and as a group they commit 23.3 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Rhode Island is collecting 35.2 rebounds per contest and has tallied 56 dimes for the season, which ranks 153rd in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Rams are hitting 31.0% on shots from 3-point land (31 of 100) and 70.6% from the free throw line. They are averaging 76.3 points per outing (139th in D-1) while going 47.0% from the floor. On the defensive end, the Rams are able to force 12.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 23.3 personal fouls. They currently rank 169th in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 53 surrendered on the season. The Rams defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 39.5% (138 of 349) and they concede 37.2 rebounds per game as a team. They concede 30.8% from 3-point land and they rank 205th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (73.0).
The Rhode Island Rams played the Wisconsin Badgers and took a loss by a final of 73-62 in their last contest. Rhode Island ended the contest having earned a 43.1% field goal percentage (22 of 51) and made 3 of their 13 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the charity stripe, the Rams made 15 of 25 shots for a percentage of 60.0%. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they earned 32 with 4 of them being offensive. They also dished out 4 dimes in the game as well as having 5 steals and 5 blocked shots. In reference to the defense, Rhode Island let their opponent shoot 43.1% from the field on 22 out of 51. Wisconsin distributed 9 dimes and 5 steals in this game. Furthurmore, the Badgers had 30 rebounds (7 offensive, 23 defensive) and earned 5 blocked shots. Wisconsin shot 72.2% from the free throw line by knocking down 26 of their 36 tries. They also knocked down 7 of 22 shots from downtown.
Fatts Russell is one player who played a lot for the game. He ended up with 8 points on 3 of 14 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 33 mins played and snagged 5 boards. Russell finished the game at 21.4% from the floor and also recorded 2 dimes. An additional guy that saw a lot of action in this game for the Rams was Jeremy Sheppard. He pulled down 2 boards and tallied 2 assists. He finished the game at 62.5% from the floor for this contest by going 5-of-8 (13 points). When the final whistle blew, Sheppard played for 29 minutes.
Western Kentucky has a mark of 4-2 on the season. In terms of offensive execution, the Hilltoppers are shooting 45.1% from the floor, which is ranked 184th in the nation. Western Kentucky has accounted for 468 points this season (78.0 per contest) and they collect 39.0 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 14.5 times per contest (129th in the nation) and they are turning it over 12.2 times per game. The Hilltoppers are committing 15.2 fouls per contest and they hit 75.0% from the free throw line. The Hilltoppers on the defensive side of the court are 233rd in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 75.7. The Western Kentucky defense gives up 46.2% on shots from distance (66 of 143) and opponents are knocking down 75.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They surrender 14.8 dimes and 31.7 boards every game, which has them ranked 237th and 60th in college basketball. They have forced 13.5 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 45.4% from the floor (237th in D-1).
In their last game, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers walked away with a victory by a final of 86-84 against the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs. The Hilltoppers earned 25 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 33 for the game. They rejected 4 tries while recording 7 steals in the game. The Bulldogs had 19 fouls for this contest which took the Hilltoppers to the charity stripe for 19 tries. They were able to convert 14 of those for a rate of 73.7%. Pertaining to shots from 3-point land, Western Kentucky made 8 out of 18 attempts (44.4%). When the game finished, the Hilltoppers shot 32 for 73 from the field which had them sitting at 43.8%. The Hilltoppers permitted the Bulldogs to convert 31 out of their 58 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 53.4% in this game. They finished 63.2% from distance by shooting 12 out of 19 and finished the contest at 10 of 15 from the charity stripe (66.7%). In the matter of rebounds, Western Kentucky allowed Gardner-Webb to snag 31 in all (4 on the offensive side).
Charles Bassey saw the court a lot for the Hilltoppers in the game. He converted 13 of 19 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 68.4%, which gave him 29 points. Bassey snagged 14 rebounds in his 34 mins and totaled 2 dimes in the matchup. An additional guy that was pivotal for Western Kentucky was Taveion Hollingsworth. He notched 9 points in 31 minutes on the court by going 3 out of 13 shooting for the matchup. Hollingsworth finished going 23.1% from the field and also totaling 3 dimes and 2 rebounds.
Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?
Tony Sink's Pick: Take Rhode Island (+2)
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Additional Resources:
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers - Twitter
Rhode Island Rams - Twitter