Louisiana Tech Bulldogs vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Prediction, 3/25/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Date: Thursday, March 25, 2021

Location: Comerica Center in Frisco, TX

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Louisiana Tech (-1)

Comerica Center is the venue where and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (21-7) will take on the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (22-7) on Thursday in the NIT Quarterfinals. Western Kentucky opens this game as 1-point dogs. The over/under opens at 138.5.

Louisiana Tech heads into this contest with a mark of 22-7 on the year. The Bulldogs are connecting on 33.9% on shots from 3-point land (213 of 629) and 68.9% from the free throw line. They are averaging 73.4 points per contest (117th in Division 1) while shooting 44.5% from the floor. They are turning it over 12.9 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 15.3 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Louisiana Tech is grabbing 38.8 rebounds per game and is sitting with 364 assists for the campaign, which ranks 92nd in Division 1 in terms of passing. On the defensive end, the Bulldogs are forcing 13.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.3 fouls. They give up 29.4% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 41st in the country in opponents PPG (64.5). The Bulldogs defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 39.9% (680 of 1,704) and they concede 35.0 rebounds per game as a team. They are 237th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 334 surrendered so far this season.

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs stepped onto the hardwood against the Ole Miss Rebels and took home the win by a score of 70-61 in their last contest. Louisiana Tech walked away from the contest having earned a 40.7% FG percentage (22 out of 54) and made 4 of their 17 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the free throw line, the Bulldogs buried 22 of their 29 attempts for a percentage of 75.9%. Regarding rebounding, they earned 27 with 7 of them being offensive. They also recorded 13 assists for the matchup while creating 21 turnovers and getting 15 steals. In the matter of defense, Louisiana Tech allowed the other team to shoot 40.7% from the field on 22 of 54 shooting. Ole Miss doled out 11 dimes and had 4 steals in the game. On top of that, Ole Miss had 35 rebounds (9 offensive, 26 defensive) and had 2 blocked shots. Ole Miss ended up shooting 75.0% from the charity stripe by converting 12 of their 16 attempts. They also buried 5 of 15 tries from distance.

Kenneth Lofton is a guy who came through in the game. He totaled 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 28 mins and totaled 7 rebounds. Lofton finished 57.1% from the floor and also recorded 1 assist. Someone else that was a determining factor in the game for the Bulldogs was Amorie Archibald. He totaled 2 rebounds in 36 minutes played on the night. He finished the game at 20.0% from the field in this contest by hitting 2-of-10 (14 points). In all, Archibald earned 7 assists.

Western Kentucky has a win-loss mark of 21-7 for the campaign. As an offensive team, the Hilltoppers are shooting 45.3% from the floor, which is ranked 109th in D-1. Western Kentucky has scored 2,043 points for the year (73.0 per contest) and they collect 37.6 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.4 times per game (151st in college basketball) and they turn it over 14.5 times per contest. The Hilltoppers are committing 14.1 personal fouls per game and they hit 78.8% from the free throw line. The Hilltoppers on the defensive side of the court are 106th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 67.9. They relinquish 12.3 dimes and 31.0 rebounds per contest, which is 123rd and 27th in the nation. The Western Kentucky defense allows 35.7% on 3-point attempts (234 of 655) and their opposition makes 74.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They are forcing 13.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 42.1% from the floor (110th in the nation).

When they last stepped on the court, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers got the victory with a final of 69-67 when they played the St. Mary's Gaels. The Hilltoppers snagged 21 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 28 for the matchup. They also turned it over 4 times, while recording 6 steals for the contest. The Gaels committed 13 fouls in this matchup which got the Hilltoppers to the free throw line for a total of 19 attempts. They were able to make 14 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 73.7%. When discussing shots from beyond the arc, Western Kentucky made 5 of their 10 attempts (50.0%). When this game wrapped up, the Hilltoppers walked away from this one shooting 25 out of 56 from the field which had them shooting 44.6%. The Hilltoppers permitted the Gaels to make 24 of their 50 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 48.0% in the game. They shot 33.3% from 3-point land by shooting 7 of 21 and walked away from this one shooting 12 of 14 at the free throw line (85.7%). When discussing how they rebounded, Western Kentucky permitted St. Mary's to grab 26 in total (2 on the offensive side).

Taveion Hollingsworth ended up having an impact for the Hilltoppers for the matchup. He made 7 of 15 for this game for a rate of 46.7%, and had 3 rebounds. Hollingsworth earned 21 points in his 34 minutes on the court and had 2 assists for the matchup. Someone else that was pivotal for Western Kentucky was Charles Bassey. He left the arena with 1 assist in his 31 mins played, and he knocked down 8 of 16 from the floor. Bassey ended the game having shot 50.0% from the field while also collecting 19 points and 11 rebounds.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Louisiana Tech (-1) and under 138.5 points

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