Florida International vs Western Kentucky 1/22/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the FIU Panthers meet in college basketball action from the Ocean Bank Convocation Center on Saturday night.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers will look to rebound from a 78-69 loss to FAU last time out.  Dayvion McKnight leads the Hilltoppers in scoring and assists with 14.8 PPG with 6.4 RPG and a team-high 6.3 APG while Jairus Hamilton has 13.9 PPG with 5.9 RPG. Camron Justice has 13.8 PPG with 3 APG and Josh Anderson has 11.5 PPG to make up the group of double-digit scorers for WKU this season. Luke Frampton has 8.7 PPG and Jamarion Sharp also has a team-high 7.3 RPG for the Hilltoppers this season. As a team, Western Kentucky is averaging 76.1 PPG on 47.4% shooting from the field, 34.5% from three and 70.9% from the foul line while allowing 68.7 PPG on 40.7% shooting from the field and 32.8% from three this year..

The FIU Panthers will look to build on their 70-66 win over Marshall last time out. Tevin Brewer leads FIU in scoring and assists with 15.2 PPG and 5.7 APG along with 4.1 RPG while and Denver Jones has 12.2 PPG with 3.9 RPG and 2.6 APG to cap off the scoring in double figures for FIU so far this season. Clevon Brown also has 8.3 PPG with a team-high 6.1 RPG to lead the Panthers on the glass this year. As a team, FIU is averaging 71.8 PPG on 42.4% shooting from the field, 33.8% from three and 69.3% from the foul line while allowing 67.2 PPG on 40% shooting from the field and 29.8% from three this season.

Western Kentucky is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 Saturday games and 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600 while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 games as a road favorite. FIU is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games following a win and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog while the over is 7-1 in their last 8 games against a team with a winning record.

I get why the Hilltoppers are favored on the road here but WKU is also winless on the road this season so it’s hard to make a case for them laying points in this spot. FIU hasn’t been great as of late, but they usually play their best ball at home and I just think that there’s value with the Panthers and the points in this one.