Old Dominion Monarchs vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Prediction, 3/5/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Old Dominion Monarchs vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Date: Friday, March 5, 2021

Location: E.A. Diddie Arena in Bowling Green, KY

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Old Dominion (+7.5)

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (17-5) host the Old Dominion Monarchs (14-6) at E.A. Diddie Arena on Friday. Western Kentucky opens this game as 7.5-point favorites. The O/U opens at 137.5.

Old Dominion steps onto the court with a mark of 14-6 so far this year. They are turning it over 13.0 times per game and as a group are committing 15.6 fouls every game. As a unit, Old Dominion is pulling in 36.7 boards per game and has accounted for 259 dimes this year, which is 226th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Monarchs are hitting 28.4% on 3-pointers (98 of 345) and 69.4% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 69.4 pts per contest (231st in Division 1) while hitting 45.1% from the field. When they are on defense, the Monarchs are forcing their opponents into 13.1 turnovers per game while drawing 16.8 personal fouls. The Monarchs defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 42.5% (490 of 1,153) and they concede 33.6 boards per game as a basketball team. They are ranked 161st in college basketball in allowing assists with 270 surrendered this year. They relinquish 34.9% on shots from distance and they rank 121st in college basketball in PPG allowed (68.3).

The Old Dominion Monarchs faced off with the MTSU Blue Raiders and notched a win by a score of 73-60 in their last game. Old Dominion ended the contest with a 51.6% field goal percentage (32 of 62) and made 6 of 20 shots from downtown. At the free throw line, the Monarchs converted 3 of their 7 attempts for a percentage of 42.9%. In relation to hauling in rebounds, they compiled 35 with 6 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 16 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and having 7 steals. With respect to the defense, Old Dominion allowed the other team to go 33.3% from the floor on 20 of 60 shooting. MTSU totaled 15 dimes and had 5 steals in this contest. On top of that, MTSU pulled down 35 boards (10 offensive, 25 defensive) and had 4 blocks. MTSU shot 78.6% at the charity stripe by making 11 of 14 shots. They also made 9 out of their 30 attempts from beyond the perimeter.

A.J. Oliver is one guy who was a factor for this contest. He ended up with 16 points on 7 out of 16 shooting. He saw the court for 30 mins played and collected 2 rebounds. Oliver shot 43.8% from the floor and earned 1 assist. Another guy that played a role in this contest for the Monarchs was Malik Curry. He collected 2 rebounds in his 13 min on the hardwood. He finished the contest at 50.0% from the field for this game by hitting 4-of-8 (10 points). When this game wrapped up, Curry had 1 assist.

Western Kentucky has a record of 17-5 this season. The Hilltoppers commit 14.4 fouls every game and they go 78.6% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 13.4 times per contest (161st in college basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 14.9 times per game. Western Kentucky has 1,644 points on the campaign (74.7 per game) and they collect 38.4 boards per contest. In terms of offensive execution, the Hilltoppers are shooting 46.3% from the floor, which ranks them 78th in the nation. The Hilltoppers are ranked 141st in D-1 in PPG given up with 69.0. The Western Kentucky defense allows 35.9% on shots from 3-point land (192 of 535) and opponents are knocking down 74.2% of their free throw shots. They surrender 12.5 dimes and 30.7 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 135th and 24th in D-1. They have forced 13.7 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 42.2% from the field (121st in college basketball).

When they last stepped on the court, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers got the victory with a final of 71-59 against the FIU Panthers. The Hilltoppers corralled 29 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 40 for this contest. They also coughed it up 17 times, while getting 4 steals in this contest. The Panthers were called for 13 personal fouls for this contest which took the Hilltoppers to the charity stripe for a total of 10 shots. They were able to convert 8 of them for a percentage of 80.0%. In relation to 3-pointers, Western Kentucky converted 5 out of their 16 tries (31.3%). When all was said and done, the Hilltoppers went 29 out of 56 from the field which had them shooting 51.8%. The Hilltoppers permitted the Panthers to convert 23 out of their 64 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 35.9% for the game. They wrapped up this game 27.3% from three-point range by shooting 9 out of 33 and finished the game at 4 out of 8 from the charity stripe (50.0%). When talking about how they attacked the glass, Western Kentucky allowed FIU to get 26 in all (10 offensive).

Charles Bassey ended up having an impact for the Hilltoppers in this game. He buried 9 out of 13 in this game for a field goal percentage of 69.2%, and had 15 rebounds. Bassey recorded 22 points in his 32 minutes on the court, but wasn't able to earn an assist. One more player who was a determining factor for Western Kentucky was Taveion Hollingsworth. He came away with 2 dimes in his 37 minutes played, and he converted 9 of 14 from the floor. Hollingsworth walked away from this one going 64.3% from the field as well as earning 20 points and 7 total rebounds.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Old Dominion (+7.5)

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