Sam Houston State Bearkats vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Prediction, 2/20/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Sam Houston State Bearkats vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Date: Thursday, February 20, 2025

Location: E.A. Diddle Arena in College Park, MD

TV: ESPN+

The Sam Houston State Bearkats (9-16) are en route to E.A. Diddle Arena on Thursday where they will take on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (14-10).

The Sam Houston State Bearkats faced Jacksonville State and earned the victory with a final of 66-61 in their last contest. When talking about personal fouls, the Bearkats ended up finishing with 9 while Jacksonville State finished the game with 15 personal fouls. They knocked down 9 out of their 25 tries from 3-point land. Jacksonville State finished shooting 57.1% at the free throw line by making 4 of their 7 shots. On top of that, Jacksonville State totaled 32 rebounds (6 offensive, 26 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Jacksonville State recorded 4 assists and had 7 steals in this matchup. With regard to the defense, Sam Houston State let their opponent shoot 42.1% from the field on 24 of 57 shooting. They also doled out 8 assists in this game in addition to creating 14 turnovers and getting 7 steals. With respect to hauling in rebounds, they collected a total of 27 with 2 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the free throw line, the Bearkats knocked down 13 of 16 shots for a percentage of 81.3%. Sam Houston State finished with a 45.1% FG percentage (23 of 51) and buried 7 of 18 shots from 3-point land.

Lamar Wilkerson is a player who was a factor for this game. He was able to score 29 points on 11 of 17 shooting. He was on the court for 35 minutes and grabbed 4 rebounds. He finished the contest at 64.7% from the field and also totaled 1 assist.

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Sam Houston State will play this game with a win-loss mark of 9-16 on the campaign. They are turning it over 13.0 times per game and as a unit they commit 18.1 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Sam Houston State is snagging 36.3 rebounds per game and has totaled 333 assists so far this season, which is 213th in the country in terms of passing the rock. The Bearkats are hitting 38.3% on three-point attempts (217 of 566) and 72.4% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 75.6 points per outing (145th in D-1) while connecting on 43.9% from the field.

On defense, the Bearkats have forced 12.8 turnovers per game and they draw 17.8 fouls. They rank 284th in college in giving up assists with 358 conceded this season. The Bearkats defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 44.7% (667 of 1,491) and they concede 35.3 boards per contest as a unit. They are relinquishing 34.3% from beyond the arc while they are 294th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (75.8).

When they last stepped on the court, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers took a loss by a score of 85-83 when they faced Jacksonville State. The Hilltoppers snagged 23 defensive boards and 3 offensive rebounds for a total of 26 for this game. They turned it over 10 times, while earning 8 steals in the game. Jacksonville State was called for 10 fouls in this game which took the Hilltoppers to the free throw line for 13 shots. They were able to convert 13 of the free throw tries for a clip of 100.0%. In reference to three-point attempts, Western Kentucky converted 12 out of 24 tries (50.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Hilltoppers ended up shooting 29 out of 56 from the field which had them shooting 51.8%. The Hilltoppers permitted Jacksonville State to convert 30 of their 60 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 50.0% for the contest. They shot 36.0% from beyond the arc by connecting on 9 out of 25 and finished the game at 16 out of 19 at the free throw line (84.2%). In relation to team rebounding, Western Kentucky permitted Jacksonville State to collect 30 in total (7 on the offensive side).

Khristian Lander ended up being a factor for the Hilltoppers for the matchup. He scored 30 points in his 34 minutes on the court and had 1 assist in this contest. He made 9 out of 13 in this game for a field goal percentage of 69.2%, and had 4 rebounds.

Western Kentucky has a mark of 14-10 this year. On the offensive side of the court, the Hilltoppers are hitting on 43.5% from the floor, which is 254th in the country. Western Kentucky has scored 1,867 points this year (77.8 per contest) and they grab 37.1 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 12.3 times per game (283rd in the nation) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.5 times per contest. The Hilltoppers are committing 18.0 personal fouls per contest and they go 73.9% from the charity stripe.

The Hilltoppers are ranked 279th in college in PPG allowed with 75.2. They are forcing 13.8 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 41.3% from the field (65th in Division 1). The Western Kentucky defense concedes 31.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter (201 of 647) and opponents are converting on 72.9% of their free throw attempts. They have conceded 13.7 dimes and 40.1 total boards per game, which ranks 240th and 358th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Sam Houston State

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