Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs FIU Panthers Prediction, 3/2/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs FIU Panthers

Date: Saturday, March 2, 2024

Location: Ocean Bank Convocation Center in Miami, FL

TV: ESPN+

Ocean Bank Convocation Center is the site where the FIU Panthers (9-19) will go up against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (19-9) on Saturday.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers took the court against Louisiana Tech and ended up losing by a score of 90-84 in their last contest. When discussing fouls, the Hilltoppers left the arena with 22 while Louisiana Tech finished the game with 21 fouls. They also knocked down 11 of 20 shots from beyond the arc. Louisiana Tech finished the game shooting 78.1% when shooting free throws by knocking down 25 of their 32 attempts. Furthermore, Louisiana Tech grabbed 34 boards (7 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Louisiana Tech doled out 13 dimes and had 7 steals in this game. Concerning the defense, Western Kentucky allowed their opponent to shoot 48.2% from the floor on 27 out of 56 shooting. They also recorded 12 dimes in the game in addition to forcing the opposition into 12 turnovers and getting 6 steals. With respect to pulling down boards, they collected 25 with 5 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Hilltoppers knocked down 18 of their 25 shots for a percentage of 72.0%. Western Kentucky finished with a 43.5% field goal percentage (27 out of 62) and converted 12 out of their 31 3-point attempts.

Teagan Moore is a guy who was a major contributor for the contest. He was able to score 22 points on 6 out of 12 shooting. He saw the court for 24 minutes and also pulled down 4 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 50.0% from the floor and dished out 1 assist.

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Western Kentucky will take the court with a win-loss mark of 19-9 so far this season. They are turning it over 13.9 times per contest and as a group are committing 18.6 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Western Kentucky is snagging 40.0 rebounds per game and has earned 380 assists so far this year, which is 162nd in the nation in terms of passing. The Hilltoppers are hitting 33.7% from downtown (192 of 569) and 71.3% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 80.2 points per game (43rd in Division 1) while hitting 46.6% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Hilltoppers are able to force 14.0 turnovers per game while drawing 18.0 personal fouls. They are 157th in college basketball in allowing assists with 356 surrendered on the season. The Hilltoppers are allowing a shooting percentage of 41.0% (732 of 1,786) and they concede 37.0 rebounds per game as a unit. They surrender 30.6% on shots from downtown while they are 260th in the country in opponents points per game (74.4).

For their last game, the FIU Panthers went home defeated by a final of 77-75 against Jacksonville State. The Panthers were able to collect 23 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards totaling 27 in this matchup. They turned it over 14 times, while getting 9 steals in the matchup. Jacksonville State had 20 personal fouls for this contest which got the Panthers to the charity stripe for a total of 22 attempts. They were able to bury 16 of those for a clip of 72.7%. In terms of shooting from beyond the arc, FIU made 7 out of their 22 tries (31.8%). When the final whistle blew, the Panthers ended up going 26 for 51 from the floor which had them at 51.0%. The Panthers allowed Jacksonville State to convert 25 of 58 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.1% in the game. They finished 54.5% from distance by going 6 of 11 and finished the contest at 21 out of 30 from the free throw line (70.0%). In reference to how they attacked the glass, FIU permitted Jacksonville State to collect 37 in total (14 offensive).

Arturo Dean ended up having an impact for the Panthers in the matchup. He made 7 of 14 for this game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and tallied 7 rebounds. He accumulated 19 points in his 33 mins of playing time and accumulated 3 assists for the game.

FIU has a win-loss record of 9-19 so far this year. The Panthers are responsible for committing 18.3 fouls per contest and they go 67.5% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 14.4 times per game (110th in college basketball) and they turn it over 13.9 times per contest. FIU has totaled 2,063 pts so far this year (73.7 per contest) and they pull in 32.3 boards per contest. When it comes to offense, the Panthers are hitting on 43.4% from the floor, which is ranked 259th in college basketball.

The FIU defense surrenders 39.7% on three-point shots (231 of 582) and their opponents are connecting on 71.7% of their foul shots. They have allowed 14.6 dimes and 38.3 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 312th and 336th in those defensive categories. The Panthers on the defensive end are ranked 303rd in college basketball in points given up per game with 76.3. They have forced 17.9 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 47.4% from the field (352nd in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take FIU

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