Western Illinois Leathernecks vs UT Martin Skyhawks Prediction, 12/20/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Western Illinois Leathernecks vs UT Martin Skyhawks

Date: Sunday, December 20, 2020

Location: Skyhawk Arena in Martin, TN

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Western Illinois (+7.5)

The UT Martin Skyhawks (3-0) play the Western Illinois Leathernecks (1-4) at Skyhawk Arena on Sunday. UT Martin opens this contest as 7.5-point favorites. The over/under opens at 144.5.

Western Illinois comes into this contest with a mark of 1-4 this year. They cough up possession 14.2 times per game and as a squad are committing 20.2 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Western Illinois is pulling in 42.6 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 68 dimes this season, which ranks 195th in college basketball in terms of passing. The Leathernecks are hitting 28.8% on 3-pointers (36 of 125) and 58.8% from the charity stripe. They average 71.2 points per outing (206th in D-1) while hitting 39.4% from the field. When they are on the defensive end, the Leathernecks are forcing 11.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.0 personal fouls. The Leathernecks defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 45.0% (140 of 311) and they relinquish 40.0 boards per game as a unit. They are currently ranked 216th in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 79 surrendered for the season. They are giving up 35.6% on shots from distance and they rank 286th in college basketball in points per game allowed (78.4).

The Western Illinois Leathernecks played the Eastern Illinois Panthers and went home with a loss by a final score of 92-88 in their last contest. Western Illinois finished the contest with a 40.8% field goal percentage (29 out of 71) and buried 10 out of their 27 shots from downtown. At the charity stripe, the Leathernecks made 20 of their 24 attempts for a percentage of 83.3%. In the matter of rebounding, they compiled a total of 42 with 14 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 8 dimes in this game while earning 5 steals and 2 blocks. When it comes to the defense, Western Illinois allowed the other team to go 40.8% from the floor on 29 of 71. Eastern Illinois distributed 17 dimes and 9 steals for this contest. Furthurmore, the Panthers totaled 33 boards (9 offensive, 24 defensive) and got 2 rejections. Eastern Illinois finished the game shooting 58.6% at the free throw line by knocking down 17 of their 29 tries. They also knocked down 9 out of their 21 tries from distance.

Justin Brookens is a guy who was a major contributor in the game. He ended up finishing with 37 points on 13 out of 23 shooting. He was on the court for 31 mins and also totaled 4 boards. Brookens ended up going 56.5% from the floor and recorded 4 dimes. Someone else that was a determining factor in the matchup for the Leathernecks was Ramean Hinton. He grabbed 8 rebounds and earned 2 dimes. He finished the game at 50.0% from the floor in this contest by shooting 6-of-12 (19 points). Overall, Hinton played for 18 minutes.

UT Martin has a win-loss record of 3-0 so far this year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Skyhawks are hitting on 45.3% from the floor, which ranks them 170th in college hoops. UT Martin has scored 257 points so far this season (85.7 per contest) and they pull down 39.0 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 13.3 times per game (191st in college hoops) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.0 times per game. The Skyhawks are committing 19.3 fouls per game and they connect on 75.9% from the free throw line. The Skyhawks on the defensive end are ranked 200th in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 71.3. They have allowed 17.3 dimes and 38.3 boards every game, which is 309th and 256th in college basketball. The UT Martin defense gives up 34.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter (27 of 78) and their opposition knocks down 68.1% of their free throw attempts. They have forced 16.7 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 39.3% from the field (76th in college basketball).

For their last game, the UT Martin Skyhawks went home victorious with a score of 69-67 when they faced the SE Missouri State Redhawks. The Skyhawks were able to pull down 22 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 for the matchup. They turned away 2 shots while recording 6 steals for the contest. The Redhawks committed 18 personal fouls in the game which got the Skyhawks to the charity stripe for 17 attempts. They were able to bury 12 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 70.6%. When talking about shots from beyond the perimeter, UT Martin knocked down 7 of their 17 tries (41.2%). When the final whistle blew, the Skyhawks finished 25 for 57 from the field which gave them a percentage of 43.9%. The Skyhawks allowed the Redhawks to knock down 23 of 51 tries from the floor which had them shooting 45.1% in the game. They went 33.3% from 3-point land by connecting on 9 of 27 and finished the game at 12 out of 19 at the free throw line (63.2%). Regarding rebounds, UT Martin permitted SE Missouri State to get 27 in total (5 on the offensive glass).

Eden Holt ended up playing a lot for the Skyhawks for this game. He buried 4 of 10 for this game giving him a rate of 40.0%, which had him sitting at 10 points. Holt totaled 2 rebounds in his 40 minutes and had 5 assists for this contest. An additional guy that played a role for UT Martin was Cameron Holden. He scored 24 points in 31 minutes on the hardwood by going 8 out of 14 from the floor for the contest. Holden finished going 57.1% from the floor as well as earning 2 dimes and 10 boards.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Western Illinois (+7.5)

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