Louisiana Tech vs Western Kentucky 1/1/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (8-5) vs. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (10-3)
January 1, 2022 2:00 pm EDT
The Line: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs -5 / Western Kentucky Hilltoppers +5; Over/Under: -146.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs meet in college basketball action from the Thomas Assembly Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers will look to bounce back from their 95-60 loss to Kentucky last time out. Jairus Hamilton leads the Hilltoppers in scoring with 15.7 PPG along with 5.9 RPG while Dayvion McKnight has 13.5 PPG with 6.7 RPG and a team-high 6.2 APG. Camron Justice has 13.2 PPG with 2.8 APG and Josh Anderson has 11.7 PPG to make up the group of double-digit scorers for WKU this season. Luke Frampton has 9.2 PPG and Jamarion Sharp also has a team-high 7.7 RPG for the Hilltoppers this season. As a team, Western Kentucky is averaging 77.2 PPG on 47% shooting from the field, 32.1% from three and 70.9% from the foul line while allowing 67.9 PPG on 39.6% shooting from three and 32% from the foul line this season.
The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs will try to build on their 79-56 win over Marshall last time out. Kenneth Lofton Jr. leads the Bulldogs in scoring and rebounding with 17.2 PPG and 9.8 RPG while Amorie Archibald has 13.5 PPG and 3.2 RPG this season. Keason Willis has 11.4 PPG with 4.4 RPG for the Bulldogs to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for LA Tech so far this season while Cobe Williams has a team-high 3.8 APG as well on the year. As a team, LA Tech is averaging 80.5 PPG on 47.3% shooting from the field, 31.9% from three and 73,3% from the foul line while allowing 69.4 PPG on 40.9% shooting from the field and 31% from three this season.
Western Kentucky is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600 while the over is 5-2 in their last 7 games overall. 25-9-1 ATS in their last 35 games overall and 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 home games while the under is 6-1-1 in their last 8 games against a team with a winning record.
I get the case to be made either way here, Louisiana Tech’s at home, while Western Kentucky’s had success with a tougher schedule as of late. With that said, I think this total is just too high as I see this being a 74-69 kind of game whichever way you slice it. It may be a sweat late, but I think this one ends up coming in under the number.
