Eastern Kentucky vs Western Kentucky 11/10/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the Eastern Kentucky Colonels meet Thursday in college basketball action from EKU Alumni Coliseum. This will be Western Kentucky’s season opener. The Hilltoppers went 19-13 overall last year. As for Eastern Kentucky, they have a Monday win in the books versus Miami Middletown. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Western Kentucky had their ups and downs in 2021-22, going 19-13 overall with a 11-7 record in Conference USA play. The Hilltoppers finished in second place in the East Division with that result, just behind Middle Tennessee at 13-5. 

Western Kentucky came out of non-conference play at 8-5 overall, then promptly lost six of their first eight matchups in the Conference USA slate. The Hilltoppers’ season came to an end in the first round of the conference tourney with a loss to Louisiana Tech. 

Over on the Eastern Kentucky side, they didn’t have a great run last season with a 13-18 overall record and a 5-11 mark in the ASUN Conference. Eastern Kentucky finished just one spot out of the basement (ahead of North Alabama) in the West Division. 

The Colonels kicked off their year with a matchup versus Miami Middletown. That game didn’t prove to be difficult for EKU, as they jumped out to a 59-31 halftime lead en route to a 137-52 blowout win. John Ukomadu and Turner Buttry each scored 19 points to lead the team. 

PICK: I might take a stab on Eastern Kentucky here. Probably staying away from it, though; the Colonels did great in their first outing of the year but it wasn’t exactly against top-shelf competition. In any case, Eastern Kentucky had seven double-digit scorers (and two more with eight points) in a total-roster effort versus Miami Middletown back on Monday. Granted, facing Western Kentucky will be a different animal, but the big win should serve to give the Colonels some confidence.