Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Marquette Golden Eagles Prediction, 3/22/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Marquette Golden Eagles

Date: Friday, March 22, 2024

Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Western Kentucky (+16)

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (22-11) are traveling to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday where they will try to defeat the Marquette Golden Eagles (25-9) in the NCAA Tournament. Western Kentucky opens this matchup as 16-point underdogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The total has been set at 158.5.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers faced UTEP and earned the victory with a final of 78-71 in their last game. When discussing personal fouls, the Hilltoppers walked away with 19 and UTEP finished the game with 23 personal fouls. They also buried 9 out of their 24 attempts from 3-point land. UTEP finished the contest at 72.7% when shooting free throws by making 16 of 22 attempts. In addition, UTEP pulled down 32 rebounds (8 offensive, 24 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. UTEP dished out 13 assists and had 9 steals in the matchup. In the matter of the defense, Western Kentucky allowed their opponent to shoot 38.3% from the field on 23 out of 60 shooting. They also recorded 10 assists in this contest while forcing the other team into 18 turnovers and having 15 steals. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they earned 36 with 10 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Hilltoppers knocked down 21 of 27 shots for a percentage of 77.8%. Western Kentucky walked away from the contest with a 46.6% field goal percentage (27 out of 58) and converted 3 of their 16 3-pointers.

Don McHenry is one guy who was a major factor for this contest. He finished with 25 points on 9 out of 16 shooting. He played 35 mins played and also pulled down 5 rebounds. He went 56.3% from the floor and also totaled 1 assist.

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Western Kentucky steps onto the hardwood with a mark of 22-11 this year. They average 80.6 points per contest (31st in the country) while shooting 46.8% from the field. The Hilltoppers are shooting 34.0% on shots from 3-point land (225 of 662) and 71.9% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Western Kentucky is snagging 39.8 rebounds per game and has accumulated 437 dimes this year, which is 157th in the country in terms of passing. They lose possession via turnover 13.7 times per game and as a unit are committing 18.5 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Hilltoppers are able to force 14.2 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.2 personal fouls. They give up 31.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 252nd in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (74.1). The Hilltoppers defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 41.3% (856 of 2,075) and they surrender 36.5 boards per contest as a squad. They currently rank 199th in the country in giving up assists with 421 relinquished on the season.

For their last game, the Marquette Golden Eagles walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 73-57 when they played Connecticut. The Golden Eagles snagged 25 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards for a total of 29 for this game. They turned it over 10 times, while earning 7 steals in this game. Connecticut was called for 13 personal fouls in this game which got the Golden Eagles to the charity stripe for a total of 11 attempts. They were able to make 9 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 81.8%. When it comes to shots from beyond the perimeter, Marquette knocked down 6 out of their 18 attempts (33.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Golden Eagles finished the game shooting 21 out of 54 from the field which gave them a percentage of 38.9%. The Golden Eagles permitted Connecticut to convert 26 out of 57 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.6% in the matchup. They went 29.2% from beyond the arc by shooting 7 of 24 and ended up going 14 of 17 at the free throw line (82.4%). Concerning how they rebounded, Marquette permitted Connecticut to grab 37 in all (7 offensive).

Kameron Jones ended up having an impact for the Golden Eagles in the game. He converted 5 out of 17 in the game for a field goal percentage of 29.4%, and accounted for 8 rebounds. He racked up 13 points in his 36 minutes on the court and accounted for 4 dimes in this game.

Marquette has a win-loss record of 25-9 so far this year. When it comes to offense, the Golden Eagles are hitting on 47.8% from the field, which ranks 28th in D-1. Marquette has tallied 2,662 points this year (78.3 per game) and they collect 32.8 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 15.8 times per game (36th in college basketball) and they cough up possession 9.9 times per game. The Golden Eagles are responsible for committing 15.4 fouls per contest and they hit 71.5% from the charity stripe.

The Golden Eagles are ranked 105th in college basketball in points allowed per contest with 69.7. They are able to force 14.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.4% from the field (102nd in college hoops). The Marquette defense concedes 33.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter (284 of 846) and opponents are converting on 75.3% of their foul shots. They have conceded 14.5 assists and 35.6 total boards per game, which ranks them 305th and 233rd in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Marquette (-16)

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