Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Florida Atlantic Owls Prediction, 1/20/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Florida Atlantic Owls

Date: Thursday, January 20, 2022

Location: FAU Arena in Boca Raton, FL

TV: CBSSN

The Florida Atlantic Owls (9-8) will compete against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (10-7) at FAU Arena on Thursday.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers stepped onto the hardwood against North Texas and took a loss by a score of 65-60 in their last game. Western Kentucky ended with a 46.9% field goal percentage (23 of 49) and converted 2 out of their 12 3-pointers. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Hilltoppers converted 12 of 18 attempts for a percentage of 66.7%. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 30 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 9 assists for the matchup while forcing 12 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In terms of defense, Western Kentucky allowed the other team to shoot 43.4% from the floor on 23 of 53 shooting. North Texas recorded 16 assists and had 9 steals for the contest. In addition, North Texas grabbed 25 rebounds (5 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't notch a block. North Texas finished the game shooting 60.0% when shooting free throws by burying 9 of 15 attempts. They converted 10 out of their 23 attempts from beyond the arc. In regard to personal fouls, the Hilltoppers walked away with 17 and North Texas accumulated 17 personal fouls.

Dayvion McKnight is a player who played a role for the contest. He ended up walking away with 23 points on 11 out of 18 shooting. He played for 39 minutes played and snagged 5 rebounds. He ended up shooting 61.1% from the floor and totaled 5 assists.

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Western Kentucky heads into this game with a win-loss mark of 10-7 so far this year. They are averaging 76.5 points per game (81st in D-1) while connecting on 47.2% from the floor. The Hilltoppers are connecting on 34.1% from downtown (125 of 367) and 71.1% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Western Kentucky is pulling down 36.9 boards per contest and has tallied 266 assists this season, which is 53rd in the country in terms of passing. They are turning it over 13.6 times per contest and as a team they are committing 12.8 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on the defensive end, the Hilltoppers are forcing 15.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.9 fouls. They are conceding 32.6% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 166th in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (68.2). The Hilltoppers are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 40.2% (435 of 1,082) and they relinquish 37.2 boards per game as a unit. They rank 320th in the nation in allowing assists with 256 surrendered this year.

The last time they took the court, the Florida Atlantic Owls got the win with a final of 96-67 against Charlotte. When talking about cleaning up the glass, Florida Atlantic permitted Charlotte to get 20 in all (4 offensive). They shot 42.1% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 8 out of 19 and finished the contest at 15 of 18 from the charity stripe (83.3%). The Owls permitted Charlotte to bury 22 of 50 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 44.0% in the matchup. Overall, the Owls went 34 out of 55 from the field which had them sitting at 61.8%. In the matter of 3-point shots, Florida Atlantic made 16 of 21 tries (76.2%). They were able to convert 12 of the free throws for a clip of 92.3%. Charlotte committed 14 personal fouls in the game which took the Owls to the charity stripe for a total of 13 shots. They turned the ball over 5 times, while getting 5 steals in this contest. The Owls pulled down 26 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards totaling 30 for the game.

Alijah Martin pitched in for the Owls in this matchup. He racked up 20 points in his 30 mins on the court and accumulated 2 dimes in this matchup. He buried 7 of 11 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 63.6%, and accumulated 5 rebounds.

Florida Atlantic has a mark of 9-8 for the campaign. The Owls have committed 16.7 fouls per game and they connect on 68.9% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 13.7 times per game (155th in the nation) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 12.4 times per contest. Florida Atlantic has totaled 1,279 pts so far this year (75.2 per game) and they pull in 36.8 boards per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Owls are hitting on 46.0% from the field, which is 99th in the nation.

The Owls on the defensive side of the court are 175th in college basketball in points allowed per game with 68.5. They are forcing 13.5 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 44.6% from the floor (277th in D-1). The Florida Atlantic defense allows 38.0% on shots from beyond the arc (125 of 329) and their opponents are knocking down 69.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 12.3 assists and 31.6 boards per contest, which ranks 155th and 53rd in D-1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Western Kentucky

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