Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs UNI Panthers Prediction, 11/25/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs UNI Panthers

Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Location: Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, SD

TV: ESPNU

Odds/Point Spread: Western Kentucky (-2.5)

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (20-10 last season) are headed to Sanford Pentagon on Wednesday where they'll take on the UNI Panthers (25-6 last year). Western Kentucky opens this contest as 2.5-point favorites. The total has been set at 145.5.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers took the court against the FIU Panthers and earned the victory with a final of 91-85 in their last game of the season. Western Kentucky walked away from the game having earned a 54.2% FG percentage (32 of 59) and knocked down 9 out of their 24 shots from beyond the arc. From the free throw line, the Hilltoppers knocked down 18 of their 20 shots for a rate of 90.0%. In reference to rebounding, they collected 35 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 13 dimes for this game as well as getting 5 steals and 2 rejections. In reference to defense, Western Kentucky allowed the other team to shoot 54.2% from the floor by hitting 32 out of 59. FIU doled out 19 assists and 5 steals for this contest. Moreover, the Panthers had 31 rebounds (11 offensive, 20 defensive) and added 2 rejections. FIU finished the game at 76.2% from the charity stripe by knocking down 16 of 21 shots. They also buried 11 of 33 attempts from three-point range. Jordan Rawls is someone who played a lot for this game. He finished with 14 points on 4 of 12 shooting. He was on the court for 34 mins and pulled down 3 rebounds. Rawls finished shooting 33.3% from the floor and totaled 2 assists. An additional guy that was a determining factor in the matchup for the Hilltoppers was Jared Savage. He pulled down 5 boards and also accounted for 2 assists. He finished 62.5% from the field for this game by connecting on 5-of-8 (11 points). When all was said and done, Savage played for 34 minutes.

Western Kentucky will take the court after finishing with a win-loss record of 20-10 last year. They averaged 76.6 pts per game (39th in D-1) while connecting on 45.7% from the floor. The Hilltoppers connected on 33.8% on shots from beyond the arc (212 of 627) and 78.9% from the charity stripe. As a group Western Kentucky pulled in 33.8 rebounds per game and accumulated 334 dimes last year, which ranked 323rd in the country in terms of passing. They gave up possession 12.3 times per game and as a group committed 13.8 fouls on a nightly basis. On the defensive end the Hilltoppers were able to force 13.6 turnovers per game and they drew 18.4 personal fouls. They were ranked 169th in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 390 surrendered over the course of last season. The Hilltoppers allowed an opponent shooting percentage of 44.1% (828 of 1,879) and they surrendered 36.0 rebounds per game as a unit. They surrendered 30.0% on 3-pointers and they ranked 250th in D-1 in PPG allowed (72.0).

When they last stepped on the court, the UNI Panthers took a loss by a final score of 77-56 against the Drake Bulldogs. The Panthers were able to snag 19 defensive boards and 13 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 for the game. They also turned away 4 attempts while recording 3 steals for this contest. The Bulldogs had 18 fouls in this matchup which took the Panthers to the free throw line for 13 tries. They were able to make 9 of the free throw tries for a rate of 69.2%. Regarding three-point attempts, UNI buried 5 of 25 attempts (20.0%). Overall, the Panthers shot 21 for 68 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 30.9%. The Panthers permitted the Bulldogs to bury 27 out of their 54 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 50.0% for the contest. They finished 47.1% from 3-point land by going 8 out of 17 and ended up shooting 15 out of 19 from the charity stripe (78.9%). In relation to team rebounding, UNI allowed Drake to get 40 overall (6 offensive). Spencer Haldeman ended up seeing a lot of time on the hardwood for the Panthers in this matchup. He knocked down 2 of 9 in this game for a field goal percentage of 22.2%, which got him 9 points. Haldeman pulled down 4 boards in his 38 minutes and accumulated 3 dimes for the game. An additional guy who saw a lot of action for UNI was AJ Green. He finished with 19 points in his 37 minutes played by way of 8 out of 25 shooting for the matchup. Green wrapped this one up going 32.0% from the field while earning 3 assists and 3 rebounds.

UNI had a record of 25-6 last season. UNI earned 2,330 pts over the course of last season (75.2 per game) and they grabbed 37.5 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offense the Panthers connected on 47.5% from the floor, which was ranked 16th in the country. The Panthers were responsible for committing 14.3 fouls every game and they shot 75.9% from the charity stripe. They assisted teammates 12.2 times per game (249th in college basketball) and they gave up possession 12.0 times per contest. The Panthers on the defensive side of the court were 50th in college hoops in PPG surrendered with 64.7. They gave up 10.5 dimes and 30.4 boards per game, which ranked them 36th and 13th in the nation. The UNI defense from outside the perimeter gave up 33.3% on shots from beyond the arc (223 of 669) and opponents knocked down 68.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They were able to force 10.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and let teams shoot 41.8% from the field (111th in college basketball).

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UNI (+2.5)

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