Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Prediction, 2/7/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

Date: Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Location: Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, LA

TV: ESPN+

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (16-6) will take on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (15-7) at Thomas Assembly Center on Wednesday.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers took the court against MTSU and went home with a win by a final score of 88-65 in their last contest. When it comes to fouls, the Hilltoppers left the arena with 13 and MTSU recorded 15 fouls. They made 11 out of their 42 tries from beyond the perimeter. MTSU went 83.3% when shooting free throws by knocking down 10 of 12 attempts. Furthermore, MTSU pulled down 31 rebounds (8 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. MTSU recorded 8 assists and had 2 steals for the contest. Pertaining to defending, Western Kentucky allowed their opponent to shoot 33.3% from the floor on 22 out of 66 shooting. They also dished out 14 assists in the matchup in addition to forcing 11 turnovers and earning 3 steals. When talking about pulling down boards, they earned 35 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Hilltoppers made 18 of their 22 shots for a rate of 81.8%. Western Kentucky finished having earned a 50.0% field goal percentage (31 out of 62) and buried 8 out of their 19 3-pointers.

Don McHenry is one guy who was a major factor for this contest. He ended up going 53.8% from the field but wasn't able to get a dime. He was on the court for 28 mins and totaled 2 boards. He accumulated 22 points on 7 of 13 shooting.

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Western Kentucky enters this matchup with a mark of 15-7 for the campaign. They are averaging 80.7 pts per game (41st in the country) while connecting on 46.9% from the floor. The Hilltoppers are shooting 34.1% on shots beyond the perimeter (154 of 452) and 69.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, Western Kentucky is pulling in 40.0 rebounds per game and has accumulated 305 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 163rd in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 14.1 times per game and as a team are committing 18.5 fouls per contest.

When they are on defense, the Hilltoppers are able to force 14.5 turnovers every game and they draw 17.6 personal fouls. They give up 30.6% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 265th in the nation in opponents PPG (74.8). The Hilltoppers defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 41.1% (583 of 1,418) and they concede 37.1 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They rank 183rd in the country in allowing assists with 289 surrendered so far this season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs got the win with a final of 93-53 when they faced FIU. The Bulldogs collected 26 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 35 in the matchup. They also turned it over 14 times, while earning 12 steals in this game. FIU had 11 personal fouls in this game which got the Bulldogs to the free throw line for a total of 12 attempts. They were able to convert 12 of those for a percentage of 100.0%. In regard to shots from beyond the perimeter, Louisiana Tech converted 11 of their 21 attempts (52.4%). When the final whistle blew, the Bulldogs went 35 for 56 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 62.5%. The Bulldogs allowed FIU to convert 19 out of their 59 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 32.2% in the matchup. They shot 26.3% from distance by shooting 5 out of 19 and finished the game at 10 of 13 at the free throw line (76.9%). In relation to rebounds, Louisiana Tech allowed FIU to grab 17 overall (9 on the offensive side).

Tahlik Chavez ended up being important for the Bulldogs in this contest. He knocked down 9 of 14 for this game for a field goal rate of 64.3%, and accumulated 2 rebounds. He totaled 27 points in his 30 minutes on the court, but wasn't able to tally an assist.

Louisiana Tech has a win-loss record of 16-6 so far this year. On the offensive side of the court, the Bulldogs are shooting 46.0% from the field, which ranks 110th in the country. Louisiana Tech has earned 1,677 points so far this year (76.2 per contest) and they pull down 39.9 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 13.2 times per game (189th in the nation) and they are giving up possession 12.5 times per contest. The Bulldogs are responsible for committing 15.3 fouls per contest and they shoot 69.3% from the free throw line.

The Bulldogs are ranked 8th in the nation in points given up per game with 62.7. They have forced 13.0 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 38.3% from the field (6th in college basketball). The Louisiana Tech defense allows 32.2% on shots from distance (142 of 441) and opponents are making 69.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 10.0 assists and 33.1 boards every game, which ranks them 10th and 87th in D-1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Western Kentucky

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