MTSU Blue Raiders vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Prediction, 2/3/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds
Game: MTSU Blue Raiders vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Date: Saturday, February 3, 2024
Location: E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, KY
TV: ESPN+
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (14-6) will try to beat the MTSU Blue Raiders (8-13) at E. A. Diddle Arena on Saturday.
The MTSU Blue Raiders played FIU and went home with a win by a final score of 79-61 in their last contest. In regard to personal fouls, the Blue Raiders ended up with 12 while FIU finished the game with 19 personal fouls. They also buried 7 out of their 23 attempts from 3-point range. FIU went 75.0% when shooting free throws by converting 6 of 8 attempts. In addition, FIU collected 29 rebounds (12 offensive, 17 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. FIU totaled 12 assists and had 9 steals for the matchup. With regard to defense, MTSU let their opponent shoot 41.4% from the floor on 24 of 58 shooting. They also dished out 14 assists for this game as well as forcing 15 turnovers and having 6 steals. In reference to hauling in rebounds, they collected a total of 33 with 11 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Blue Raiders buried 19 of 22 tries for a rate of 86.4%. MTSU ended the contest having earned a 47.2% FG percentage (25 out of 53) and knocked down 10 of their 22 shots from beyond the arc.
Jared Coleman-Jones is one guy who was important for this contest. He ended up going 42.9% from the floor and distributed 4 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 36 minutes and totaled 9 boards. He ended up walking away with 19 points on 6 of 14 shooting.
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MTSU steps onto the court with a record of 8-13 this season. They have an average of 63.8 pts per contest (350th in the country) while connecting on 40.9% from the field. The Blue Raiders are hitting 28.6% on shots from downtown (136 of 475) and 67.4% from the charity stripe. As a team, MTSU is snagging 35.0 boards per game and is sitting with 207 dimes on the year, which ranks 348th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 14.7 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 15.5 personal fouls every game.
Defensively, the Blue Raiders are forcing 12.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.7 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 27th in the nation in giving up assists with 216 surrendered this season. The Blue Raiders defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 43.2% (516 of 1,195) and they relinquish 34.8 rebounds per game as a group. They are conceding 31.5% on 3-pointers and they are 49th in college basketball in PPG allowed (66.3).
In their last game, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers went home victorious with a score of 105-91 against FIU. The Hilltoppers were able to corral 31 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive boards for a total of 36 for this contest. They turned the ball over 19 times, while getting 9 steals for the game. FIU committed 19 personal fouls in this contest which got the Hilltoppers to the free throw line for a total of 21 tries. They were able to knock down 17 of those for a clip of 81.0%. Regarding shooting from downtown, Western Kentucky made 10 of 17 attempts (58.8%). Overall, the Hilltoppers went 39 for 60 from the floor which gave them a rate of 65.0%. The Hilltoppers allowed FIU to knock down 30 out of their 74 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 40.5% for this game. They finished the game shooting 42.5% from 3-point land by hitting 17 out of 40 and finished the contest at 14 of 15 from the free throw line (93.3%). Regarding how they rebounded, Western Kentucky permitted FIU to grab 25 in all (9 on the offensive glass).
Dontaie Allen was important for the Hilltoppers for the matchup. He accumulated 30 points in his 33 mins on the court, but left the arena with no assists. He knocked down 9 out of 11 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 81.8%, and accumulated 1 rebound.
Western Kentucky has a win-loss mark of 14-6 on the year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Hilltoppers are hitting on 46.7% from the floor, which is ranked 80th in the nation. Western Kentucky has accounted for 1,611 points so far this year (80.6 per game) and they average 40.5 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 13.9 times per game (144th in the country) and they turn the ball over 14.5 times per game. The Hilltoppers are responsible for committing 19.1 fouls per contest and they shoot 68.4% from the charity stripe.
The Western Kentucky defense allows 30.6% on three-point shots (154 of 504) and opponents are knocking down 71.8% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 13.5 dimes and 37.2 boards per game, which ranks 235th and 294th in D-1. The Hilltoppers on the defensive side of the court are 270th in college basketball in points allowed per contest with 75.1. They are able to force 14.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 41.2% from the floor (64th in college basketball).
Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?
Tony Sink's Pick: Take MTSU
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Additional Resources:
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