Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Michigan Wolverines Prediction, 12/29/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Michigan Wolverines

Date: Sunday, December 29, 2024

Location: Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI

TV: BTN

Crisler Center is where the Michigan Wolverines (9-3) will attempt to beat the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (9-3) on Sunday.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers stepped onto the hardwood against Kentucky Wesleyan and notched a win by a score of 91-71 in their last contest. Western Kentucky ended with a 49.3% FG percentage (34 out of 69) and knocked down 13 of their 31 three-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Hilltoppers buried 10 of their 13 attempts for a rate of 76.9%. In relation to rebounding, they earned a total of 27 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 16 dimes in the game in addition to forcing the other team into 18 turnovers and having 14 steals. In the matter of defense, Western Kentucky allowed the other team to shoot 50.9% from the field on 29 of 57 shooting. Kentucky Wesleyan distributed 21 dimes and had 3 steals for this contest. Moreover, Kentucky Wesleyan collected 31 rebounds (9 offensive, 22 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Kentucky Wesleyan finished the game at 66.7% at the charity stripe by converting 2 of 3 tries. They also buried 11 of 27 shots from 3-point land. In relation to personal fouls, the Hilltoppers ended up with 6 while Kentucky Wesleyan accumulated 12 personal fouls.

Don McHenry is a guy who was a major contributor in this contest. He accumulated 29 points on 10 of 20 shooting. He was on the court for 30 mins played and also totaled 3 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 50.0% from the field and also dished out 1 assist.

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Western Kentucky enters this matchup with a mark of 9-3 for the campaign. They average 82.0 points per game (56th in the country) while going 45.0% from the floor. The Hilltoppers are shooting 37.2% on shots from beyond the arc (111 of 298) and 73.4% from the free throw line. As a team, Western Kentucky is grabbing 39.4 boards per game and has 161 dimes on the season, which is 248th in D-1 in terms of passing. They lose possession via turnover 11.4 times per contest and as a squad they commit 17.6 personal fouls every game.

Defensively, the Hilltoppers are forcing 14.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.0 personal fouls. They are ranked 233rd in Division 1 in giving up assists with 169 relinquished for the season. The Hilltoppers defense is allowing a FG percentage of 39.1% (294 of 751) and they surrender 40.1 rebounds per contest as a team. They surrender 29.5% from 3-point land and they rank 230th in college hoops in PPG allowed (73.2).

In their last game, the Michigan Wolverines went home victorious with a score of 89-58 when they played IPFW. With respect to attacking the glass, Michigan allowed IPFW to snag 10 in all (2 offensive). They shot 21.1% from downtown by shooting 8 out of 38 and walked away from this one shooting 8 of 9 at the charity stripe (88.9%). The Wolverines allowed IPFW to knock down 21 of their 65 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 32.3% for the contest. At the conclusion of this game, the Wolverines finished 37 for 59 from the floor which had them sitting at 62.7%. In regard to shots from beyond the arc, Michigan knocked down 10 out of their 21 attempts (47.6%). They were able to convert 5 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 83.3%. IPFW committed 12 fouls in this contest which got the Wolverines to the charity stripe for 6 tries. They coughed up the ball 18 times, while earning 3 steals in the matchup. The Wolverines recorded 38 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 46 in the matchup.

Tre Donaldson was important for the Wolverines in this matchup. He converted 6 of 10 for this game giving him a rate of 60.0%, and earned 6 rebounds. He had 16 points in his 23 minutes on the court and had 3 dimes for this game.

Michigan has a win-loss mark of 9-3 this year. The Wolverines are committing 16.5 fouls per contest while shooting 70.2% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 17.2 times per contest (38th in Division 1) and they cough up possession 15.1 times per game. Michigan has accounted for 980 pts so far this year (81.7 per game) and they average 38.7 boards per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Wolverines are connecting on 51.1% from the floor, which ranks them 8th in the country.

The Wolverines are ranked 74th in college hoops in points given up per game with 66.8. They have forced 14.0 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 38.7% from the field (27th in college hoops). The Michigan defense allows 30.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (86 of 282) and their opponents are connecting on 73.2% of their free throw shots. They concede 8.8 assists and 31.5 boards per contest, which is ranked 7th and 54th in college.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Western Kentucky

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