Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs FIU Panthers Prediction, 1/26/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs FIU Panthers

Date: Thursday, January 26, 2023

Location: Ocean Bank Convocation Center in Miami, FL

TV: fuboTV

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (11-9) are traveling to Ocean Bank Convocation Center on Thursday where they will try to beat the FIU Panthers (9-11).

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers faced off with Charlotte and took a loss by a score of 75-71 in their last contest. Regarding fouls, the Hilltoppers ended up finishing with 12 while Charlotte accounted for 17 fouls. They made 8 of 20 tries from distance. Charlotte ended up going 69.2% from the charity stripe by knocking down 9 of their 13 shots. In addition, Charlotte had 28 rebounds (3 offensive, 25 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Charlotte earned 18 dimes and had 1 steal in this matchup. Pertaining to defense, Western Kentucky allowed 55.8% from the floor on 29 out of 52 shooting. They also recorded 7 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 8 turnovers and earning 6 steals. Concerning grabbing boards, they compiled 24 with 7 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Hilltoppers converted 16 of their 19 attempts for a percentage of 84.2%. Western Kentucky wrapped up the game with a 41.4% FG percentage (24 out of 58) and made 7 of their 25 shots from beyond the arc.

Jordan Rawls is one guy who played a role for this contest. He walked away from this one shooting 69.2% from the floor and also recorded 2 assists. He saw the court for 33 minutes and collected 1 rebound. He ended up scoring 25 points on 9 of 13 shooting.

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Western Kentucky heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 11-9 on the season. They currently have an average of 73.4 points per game (148th in the country) while connecting on 45.1% from the field. The Hilltoppers are shooting 38.0% on shots from beyond the arc (167 of 439) and 71.5% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Western Kentucky is pulling in 34.2 boards per game and is sitting with 283 assists this year, which ranks 137th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 11.0 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 15.2 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Hilltoppers are able to force 13.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 16.8 personal fouls. They are giving up 35.6% on shots from distance while they are 178th in the country in PPG allowed (69.2). The Hilltoppers defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 40.9% (492 of 1,203) and they surrender 37.5 boards per game as a squad. They currently rank 143rd in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 246 surrendered this season.

In their last game, the FIU Panthers took home the win by a final score of 77-72 when they faced UTSA. With respect to team rebounding, FIU permitted UTSA to get 49 overall (21 offensive). They shot 25.8% from distance by going 8 out of 31 and ended up going 14 out of 20 from the free throw line (70.0%). The Panthers permitted UTSA to make 25 of their 67 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 37.3% in the game. When the final whistle blew, the Panthers finished 28 out of 65 from the field which had them shooting 43.1%. Concerning shooting from distance, FIU buried 11 of 33 tries (33.3%). They were able to make 10 of those for a percentage of 90.9%. UTSA committed 12 personal fouls for this game which took the Panthers to the charity stripe for a total of 11 attempts. They turned the ball over 5 times, while earning 8 steals in this contest. The Panthers were able to snag 20 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 28 for the contest.

Denver Jones pitched in for the Panthers in this game. He tallied 27 points in his 32 minutes of playing time and totaled 1 assist for the matchup. He made 8 of 18 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 44.4%, and totaled 5 rebounds.

FIU has a win-loss record of 9-11 this season. As an offense, the Panthers are connecting on 46.2% from the field, which is 92nd in college basketball. FIU has 1,433 pts on the campaign (71.7 per contest) and they collect 32.3 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 12.5 times per game (250th in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 15.3 times per game. The Panthers have committed 16.4 personal fouls every game while shooting 68.6% from the charity stripe.

The Panthers are ranked 312th in the country in points given up per game with 74.6. They are forcing 16.4 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 44.0% from the floor (232nd in D-1). The FIU defense gives up 36.7% on shots from 3-point land (183 of 499) and their opposition makes 74.4% of their free throw shots. They allow 14.6 dimes and 37.9 boards per game, which is ranked 315th and 339th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Western Kentucky

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