Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Prediction, 1/19/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

Date: Thursday, January 19, 2023

Location: Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, LA

TV: Youtube TV

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (10-8) are welcoming the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (11-7) at Thomas Assembly Center on Thursday.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers faced Florida Atlantic and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 76-62 in their last game. Western Kentucky wrapped up the game with a 40.7% field goal percentage (22 of 54) and made 9 of 22 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the charity stripe, the Hilltoppers knocked down 9 of their 13 shots for a rate of 69.2%. With respect to pulling down boards, they earned a total of 24 with 4 of them being offensive. They also recorded 12 assists in the matchup as well as forcing the opposition into 18 turnovers and having 5 steals. When talking about defending, Western Kentucky allowed the other team to shoot 43.4% from the floor on 23 out of 53 shooting. Florida Atlantic distributed 13 dimes and had 9 steals for the matchup. Moreover, Florida Atlantic pulled down 38 rebounds (10 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Florida Atlantic walked away from this one shooting 73.1% when shooting free throws by making 19 of 26 tries. They made 11 of 28 attempts from downtown. With respect to personal fouls, the Hilltoppers finished with 16 while Florida Atlantic recorded 15 personal fouls.

Dayvion McKnight is a guy who was a major factor for the matchup. He ended up finishing with 15 points on 5 of 15 shooting. He played for 38 minutes and also collected 9 boards. He finished the game at 33.3% from the field and recorded 2 dimes.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Picks Tonight

Western Kentucky comes into this matchup with a record of 11-7 for the year. They lose possession via turnover 11.4 times per contest and as a group are committing 15.7 personal fouls per contest. As a unit, Western Kentucky is collecting 34.6 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 260 assists for the season, which has them ranked 128th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Hilltoppers are shooting 38.9% on 3-pointers (149 of 383) and 70.4% from the free throw line. They are averaging 73.5 pts per contest (147th in the country) while hitting 45.5% from the field.

Defensively, the Hilltoppers are forcing their opponents into 13.6 turnovers per game and they draw 17.1 fouls. They are giving up 34.8% on 3-point shots and they are 148th in college basketball in PPG allowed (68.0). The Hilltoppers are giving up a field goal percentage of 39.6% (429 of 1,084) and they surrender 37.6 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They rank 111th in college basketball in giving up assists with 213 conceded on the year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 81-74 when they played UAB. The Bulldogs recorded 23 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards for a total of 29 in the matchup. They also gave up possession 12 times, while recording 2 steals in this matchup. UAB committed 28 fouls in the matchup which took the Bulldogs to the free throw line for 33 tries. They were able to bury 22 of the free throws for a percentage of 66.7%. When talking about shooting from downtown, Louisiana Tech converted 10 of 25 attempts (40.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Bulldogs ended up going 21 for 48 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.8%. The Bulldogs permitted UAB to convert 23 out of 62 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 37.1% for the contest. They finished shooting 40.9% from beyond the arc by going 9 of 22 and finished the game at 26 of 35 at the free throw line (74.3%). With respect to attacking the glass, Louisiana Tech permitted UAB to grab 40 in total (19 offensive).

Cobe Williams ended up having an impact for the Bulldogs in the game. He converted 8 of 16 in this game for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and had 8 rebounds. He had 27 points in his 36 minutes on the court and accumulated 5 dimes for the contest.

Louisiana Tech has a win-loss mark of 10-8 for the year. The Bulldogs are responsible for committing 18.9 personal fouls per contest and they go 72.6% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 14.3 times per contest (110th in the country) and they turn it over 14.2 times per contest. Louisiana Tech has totaled 1,375 pts on the season (76.4 per game) and they pull down 34.6 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Bulldogs are shooting 46.1% from the field, which ranks them 101st in college basketball.

The Bulldogs on the defensive end are ranked 178th in the nation in points given up per game with 69.1. They are forcing 17.2 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.2% from the field (186th in college basketball). The Louisiana Tech defense gives up 36.6% from downtown (150 of 410) and their opponents are knocking down 68.8% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 14.6 assists and 32.3 rebounds per game, which ranks them 308th and 81st in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Louisiana Tech

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here