South Dakota vs Western Illinois 12/31/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Western Illinois Leathernecks and South Dakota Coyotes meet Saturday in college basketball action at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. The Western Illinois Leathernecks look for their ninth win. The South Dakota Coyotes look for their seventh win.

The Western Illinois Leathernecks are averaging 76.7 points on 46.8 percent shooting and allowing 71.2 points on 44.5 percent shooting. Trenton Massner is averaging 15.9 points and 5.3 rebounds, while Alec Rosner is averaging 15.2 points and 2.9 rebounds. Jesiah West is the third double-digit scorer and Quinlan Bennett is dishing 0.9 assists. The Western Illinois Leathernecks are shooting 32.6 percent from beyond the arc and 72 percent from the free throw line. The Western Illinois Leathernecks are allowing 29.5 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 30.9 rebounds per game.

The South Dakota Coyotes are averaging 68.7 points on 42.2 percent shooting and allowing 73.6 points on 44.7 percent shooting. AJ Plitzuweit is averaging 12.3 points and 2.6 rebounds, while Kruz Perrott-Hunt is averaging 11.9 points and 2.4 rebounds. Tasos Kamateros is the third double-digit scorer, and Paul Bruns is grabbing 3.6 rebounds. The South Dakota Coyotes are shooting 40.1 percent from beyond the arc and 76.4 percent from the free throw line. The South Dakota Coyotes are allowing 35.6 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 31.1 rebounds per game.

The Leathernecks are 5-12-1 ATS in their last 18 road games and 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Coyotes are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 Saturday games and 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The under is 8-2 in Leathernecks last 10 road games. The over is 4-1 in Coyotes last 5 overall. The road team is 9-4-1 ATS in the last 14 meetings.

I guess the South Dakota Coyotes are getting the benefit of the doubt because they’re at home, but it’s the Western Illinois Leathernecks that’s playing the better ball. Western Illinois has a positive point differential on the season and is winning its last 5 games by an average of 11.2 points. South Dakota isn’t playing well at the moment and has had issues finishing games all year. I’ll take the road dog.