Kennesaw State Owls vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Prediction, 1/11/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kennesaw State Owls vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Date: Saturday, January 11, 2025

Location: E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, KY

TV: ESPN+

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (10-5) host the Kennesaw State Owls (9-5) at E.A. Diddle Arena on Saturday.

The Kennesaw State Owls took the court against Jacksonville State and walked away with a win by a score of 83-71 in their last game. Kennesaw State walked away from the game with a 45.5% field goal percentage (30 out of 66) and converted 10 of 31 three-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Owls knocked down 13 of their 17 attempts for a rate of 76.5%. With regard to pulling down rebounds, they earned 40 with 13 of them being offensive. They also distributed 15 assists in this game while forcing 6 turnovers and having 6 steals. When discussing defending, Kennesaw State allowed their opponent to shoot 36.2% from the floor on 21 of 58 shooting. Jacksonville State doled out 8 assists and had 5 steals in this matchup. Additionally, Jacksonville State grabbed 24 rebounds (7 offensive, 17 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Jacksonville State ended up going 82.1% at the free throw line by knocking down 23 of their 28 shots. They knocked down 6 out of their 24 attempts from downtown. When talking about fouls, the Owls left the arena with 23 and Jacksonville State totaled 17 fouls.

Simeon Cottle is a guy who was a major factor for this game. He finished 42.9% from the field and recorded 2 assists. He saw the court for 35 minutes and also pulled down 3 rebounds. He finished with 28 points on 9 out of 21 shooting.

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Kennesaw State enters this game with a mark of 9-5 for the campaign. They are averaging 81.2 pts per game (60th in D-1) while shooting 43.1% from the field. The Owls are shooting 32.6% on shots from 3-point land (135 of 414) and 71.3% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Kennesaw State is pulling in 43.5 rebounds per game and has tallied 208 dimes for the season, which has them ranked 208th in the country in terms of passing the rock. They cough up possession 14.4 times per contest and as a team they commit 18.6 fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Owls have forced 11.8 turnovers every game and they draw 18.1 fouls. They are ranked 107th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 181 conceded so far this year. The Owls are giving up a shooting percentage of 40.3% (358 of 888) and they surrender 35.6 boards per game as a team. They are relinquishing 28.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 272nd in D-1 in points per game allowed (74.6).

For their last game, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers took a loss by a score of 85-66 against FIU. The Hilltoppers were able to corral 14 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 20 in this contest. They also gave up possession 20 times, while earning 20 steals in the matchup. FIU had 19 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Hilltoppers to the charity stripe for 24 tries. They were able to bury 20 of the free throw tries for a rate of 83.3%. When it comes to shooting from beyond the arc, Western Kentucky buried 4 of 22 tries (18.2%). Overall, the Hilltoppers finished shooting 21 for 57 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 36.8%. The Hilltoppers allowed FIU to bury 27 of their 58 tries from the field which had them sitting at 46.6% for the game. They finished 50.0% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 11 out of 22 and ended up going 20 of 25 from the free throw line (80.0%). Concerning cleaning the glass, Western Kentucky allowed FIU to snag 36 in total (12 on the offensive side).

Julius Thedford ended up being a major contributor for the Hilltoppers in the matchup. He tallied 18 points in his 25 mins on the court and had 1 assist for the contest. He buried 7 of 12 in the game for a rate of 58.3%, and had 4 rebounds.

Western Kentucky has a win-loss record of 10-5 on the campaign. The Hilltoppers are responsible for committing 17.7 personal fouls every game and they go 72.0% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 12.3 times per contest (299th in D-1) and they are turning it over 12.3 times per contest. Western Kentucky has totaled 1,185 points on the campaign (79.0 per game) and they average 38.1 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Hilltoppers are hitting on 43.9% from the floor, which ranks 241st in the country.

The Hilltoppers on defense are ranked 301st in D-1 in PPG given up with 76.3. They are able to force 14.9 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 40.7% from the floor (71st in college). The Western Kentucky defense allows 32.3% on three-point shots (135 of 418) and opponents are making 74.5% of their foul shots. They concede 14.7 assists and 40.7 total boards per game, ranking them 295th and 356th in college.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kennesaw State

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