Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs New Mexico State Aggies Prediction, 1/18/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs New Mexico State Aggies

Date: Thursday, January 18, 2024

Location: Pan American Center in Las Cruces, NM

TV: ESPN+

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (13-4) are on their way to Pan American Center on Thursday where they will attempt to defeat the New Mexico State Aggies (7-10).

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers faced Jacksonville State and earned the victory with a final of 80-69 in their last contest. When talking about fouls, the Hilltoppers ended up finishing with 17 and Jacksonville State finished the game with 22 fouls. They also buried 6 of their 18 tries from beyond the arc. Jacksonville State shot 57.9% from the free throw line by knocking down 11 of 19 attempts. Moreover, Jacksonville State totaled 26 rebounds (7 offensive, 19 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Jacksonville State recorded 9 dimes and had 9 steals for the game. When it comes to defending, Western Kentucky allowed 45.6% from the floor on 26 of 57 shooting. They also recorded 13 assists for the contest as well as forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and earning 6 steals. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 35 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Hilltoppers converted 18 of 25 tries for a rate of 72.0%. Western Kentucky walked away from the contest having earned a 49.1% field goal percentage (26 of 53) and converted 10 of their 20 3-point attempts.

Brandon Newman is someone who was a factor for this contest. He left the arena with 25 points on 8 out of 13 shooting. He played 35 minutes and also pulled down 4 rebounds. He ended up going 61.5% from the floor and totaled 4 dimes.

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Western Kentucky steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 13-4 on the campaign. They lose possession by turning the ball over 13.7 times per game and as a squad they commit 19.3 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Western Kentucky is collecting 41.2 boards per contest and has tallied 219 assists for the year, which has them ranked 231st in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Hilltoppers are shooting 32.7% on three-point attempts (116 of 355) and 68.4% from the free throw line. They have an average of 79.4 points per game (67th in college hoops) while shooting 45.0% from the field.

Defensively, the Hilltoppers are forcing 15.0 turnovers every game while drawing 18.1 fouls. They are 215th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 223 surrendered this season. The Hilltoppers are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 41.1% (443 of 1,078) and they relinquish 38.1 rebounds per game as a unit. They are surrendering 28.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 235th in D-1 in points per game allowed (73.3).

When they last stepped on the court, the New Mexico State Aggies went home defeated by a final of 77-67 when they faced FIU. In the matter of rebounding, New Mexico State permitted FIU to get 23 overall (1 on the offensive side). They shot 54.2% from 3-point land by hitting 13 out of 24 and finished the contest at 24 of 32 from the free throw line (75.0%). The Aggies allowed FIU to knock down 20 out of 42 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 47.6% in the matchup. At the conclusion of this game, the Aggies finished the game shooting 22 for 54 from the field which had them at 40.7%. Concerning shooting from 3-point land, New Mexico State knocked down 7 out of their 22 attempts (31.8%). They were able to make 16 of those for a percentage of 80.0%. FIU committed 15 fouls in this game which got the Aggies to the free throw line for 20 tries. They also turned it over 12 times, while getting 7 steals in the game. The Aggies snagged 25 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 in this game.

Femi Odukale ended up being a major contributor for the Aggies for this contest. He buried 6 of 11 in this game for a field goal rate of 54.5%, and had 6 rebounds. He recorded 16 points in his 31 mins of playing time and earned 2 dimes in this contest.

New Mexico State has a win-loss mark of 7-10 so far this season. The Aggies are committing 21.8 fouls per contest while shooting 70.8% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 12.8 times per game (237th in the nation) and they turn the ball over 13.7 times per contest. New Mexico State has accumulated 1,193 pts on the campaign (70.2 per game) and they pull in 34.7 rebounds per game. When it comes to offense, the Aggies are shooting 43.3% from the field, which is ranked 262nd in college hoops.

The New Mexico State defense gives up 34.6% on 3-pointers (141 of 407) and opponents are making 69.5% of their free throw attempts. They relinquish 13.5 dimes and 33.5 boards every game, which is 231st and 112th in those categories on the defensive end. The Aggies on defense are ranked 194th in college hoops in points given up per game with 71.9. They are forcing 13.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 40.9% from the field (68th in college hoops).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Western Kentucky

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