Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs MTSU Blue Raiders Prediction, 2/26/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs MTSU Blue Raiders

Date: Saturday, February 26, 2022

Location: Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, TN

TV: ESPN+

Murphy Center is where the MTSU Blue Raiders (20-7) will try to defeat the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (17-11) on Saturday.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers faced Old Dominion and went home with a win by a final score of 73-64 in their last contest. Regarding fouls, the Hilltoppers walked away with 7 and Old Dominion finished the game with 20 fouls. They made 8 of 23 shots from 3-point land. Old Dominion walked away from this one shooting 75.0% at the charity stripe by burying 6 of their 8 tries. In addition, Old Dominion collected 35 boards (13 offensive, 22 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Old Dominion doled out 11 assists and had 6 steals for the contest. When discussing the defense, Western Kentucky allowed their opponent to shoot 40.3% from the floor on 25 out of 62 shooting. They also dished out 8 assists for the game as well as forcing 13 turnovers and earning 6 steals. When it comes to grabbing boards, they compiled 38 with 15 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Hilltoppers converted 17 of 22 attempts for a percentage of 77.3%. Western Kentucky ended the contest with a 39.3% FG percentage (24 of 61) and converted 8 out of their 31 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Dayvion McKnight is one guy who was a major factor for this game. He shot 47.4% from the floor and distributed 1 assist. He played 40 mins and snagged 7 boards. He left the arena with 23 points on 9 out of 19 shooting.

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Western Kentucky enters this game with a mark of 17-11 so far this year. They are turning it over 12.3 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 11.6 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Western Kentucky is snagging 35.0 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 411 dimes this year, which has them ranked 55th in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. The Hilltoppers are shooting 36.5% on shots from downtown (222 of 609) and 72.1% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 76.5 points per contest (55th in college hoops) while connecting on 47.6% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Hilltoppers are forcing their opponents into 14.3 turnovers per game while drawing 16.8 fouls. They are giving up 33.8% from 3-point land while they are 197th in college hoops in PPG allowed (69.5). The Hilltoppers defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 41.7% (737 of 1,766) and they surrender 36.5 boards per contest as a group. They currently rank 345th in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 439 surrendered this year.

For their last game, the MTSU Blue Raiders took home the win by a final score of 77-59 against UTEP. With respect to how they attacked the glass, MTSU allowed UTEP to pull down 24 in all (2 on the offensive glass). They went 22.7% from beyond the perimeter via 5 of 22 and finished the contest at 16 out of 22 from the free throw line (72.7%). The Blue Raiders allowed UTEP to bury 19 of their 52 attempts from the field which left them shooting 36.5% in this matchup. When the final whistle blew, the Blue Raiders went 26 for 53 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.1%. With respect to 3-pointers, MTSU made 11 of 23 attempts (47.8%). They were able to make 14 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 66.7%. UTEP committed 18 fouls for the contest which got the Blue Raiders to the charity stripe for 21 tries. They turned it over 8 times, while recording 2 steals for the matchup. The Blue Raiders pulled down 32 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 39 for the contest.

Camryn Weston was important for the Blue Raiders in the game. He buried 2 of 4 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and had 7 rebounds. He totaled 12 points in his 20 minutes on the court and had 4 dimes in the matchup.

MTSU has a record of 20-7 this season. The Blue Raiders are committing 18.6 fouls per contest and they hit 74.6% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 12.5 times per game (218th in the country) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.9 times per game. MTSU has tallied 2,029 pts for the year (75.1 per contest) and they average 34.7 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offense, the Blue Raiders are connecting on 45.8% from the field, which is 86th in the country.

The MTSU defense concedes 31.7% on 3-point shots (172 of 543) and their opponents are knocking down 72.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They surrender 10.3 dimes and 33.0 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 29th and 101st in the country. The Blue Raiders are ranked 122nd in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 67.1. They are able to force 15.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 42.9% from the floor (176th in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Western Kentucky

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