Louisiana Tech Bulldogs vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Prediction, 2/22/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Date: Saturday, February 22, 2025

Location: E.A. Diddle Arena in Madison, WI

TV: ESPN+

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (17-9) are en route to E.A. Diddle Arena on Saturday where they will take on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (14-11).

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs faced off with Jacksonville State and took a loss by a score of 70-68 in their last game. When talking about personal fouls, the Bulldogs finished with 22 and Jacksonville State finished the game with 17 personal fouls. They converted 6 out of their 18 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Jacksonville State finished the contest at 86.7% from the charity stripe by burying 26 of their 30 tries. In addition, Jacksonville State had 29 rebounds (10 offensive, 19 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Jacksonville State earned 3 assists and had 5 steals for this contest. In the matter of the defense, Louisiana Tech allowed 40.4% from the field on 19 out of 47 shooting. They also recorded 11 dimes for the matchup as well as creating 11 turnovers and getting 6 steals. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 30 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Bulldogs knocked down 13 of 18 tries for a percentage of 72.2%. Louisiana Tech wrapped up the contest with a 42.9% field goal percentage (24 out of 56) and made 7 of their 17 shots from 3-point land.

Daniel Batcho is a player who was a major contributor for the contest. He walked away with 19 points on 7 out of 12 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 34 mins played and also pulled down 6 boards. He finished 58.3% from the field and earned 1 assist.

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Louisiana Tech enters this game with a mark of 17-9 for the season. They are turning it over 13.0 times per contest and as a team are committing 14.6 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Louisiana Tech is pulling down 36.6 boards per game and is sitting with 408 dimes on the campaign, which is 68th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Bulldogs are shooting 33.4% on shots from 3-point land (201 of 601) and 74.5% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 73.8 pts per contest (196th in the nation) while hitting 47.2% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Bulldogs are able to force 10.5 turnovers every game and they draw 15.5 personal fouls. They rank 104th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 324 surrendered for the season. The Bulldogs are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 41.4% (641 of 1,548) and they surrender 32.1 boards per game as a group. They are surrendering 31.6% on three-point shots while they are 78th in college hoops in points per game allowed (68.5).

When they last played, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 87-77 when they faced MTSU. In regard to how they attacked the glass, Western Kentucky permitted MTSU to collect 46 in total (12 offensive). They went 31.0% from distance by hitting 9 of 29 and finished the contest at 16 out of 22 from the free throw line (72.7%). The Hilltoppers allowed MTSU to knock down 31 of 70 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.3% in this game. When all was said and done, the Hilltoppers finished the game shooting 30 out of 79 from the field which had them at 38.0%. In regard to three-point attempts, Western Kentucky converted 8 of 28 tries (28.6%). They were able to convert 9 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 52.9%. MTSU was called for 14 personal fouls for this contest which got the Hilltoppers to the free throw line for a total of 17 tries. They turned the ball over 8 times, while getting 3 steals for the game. The Hilltoppers pulled down 25 defensive boards and 17 offensive rebounds for a total of 42 in the matchup.

Don McHenry ended up being a major contributor for the Hilltoppers in this game. He earned 20 points in his 33 mins of playing time and had 2 dimes in this matchup. He converted 7 of 17 for the contest giving him a rate of 41.2%, and earned 5 rebounds.

Western Kentucky has a record of 14-11 so far this year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Hilltoppers are shooting 43.2% from the floor, which ranks 269th in Division 1. Western Kentucky has tallied 1,944 points on the year (77.8 per contest) and they average 37.6 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 12.2 times per contest (286th in Division 1) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.4 times per contest. The Hilltoppers commit 18.0 fouls per contest while shooting 73.2% from the free throw line.

The Hilltoppers on the defensive side of the court are 288th in college hoops in PPG given up with 75.7. They are forcing their opponents into 13.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 41.4% from the floor (60th in college). The Western Kentucky defense concedes 31.1% on three-point shots (210 of 676) and their opponents are making 72.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 13.7 assists and 40.5 total rebounds per game, which ranks 244th and 361st in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Louisiana Tech

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