Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs New Mexico State Aggies Prediction, 1/8/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs New Mexico State Aggies

Date: Thursday, January 8, 2026

Location: Pan American Center in Las Cruces, NM

TV: ESPN+

The New Mexico State Aggies (8-5) welcome the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (9-5) at Pan American Center on Thursday.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers took the court against Louisiana Tech and walked away with a win by a score of 66-61 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Hilltoppers finished with 17 while Louisiana Tech finished the game with 20 personal fouls. They knocked down 4 out of their 20 shots from 3-point land. Louisiana Tech walked away from this one shooting 47.4% at the charity stripe by converting 9 of their 19 shots. Additionally, Louisiana Tech had 40 boards (14 offensive, 26 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Louisiana Tech distributed 13 dimes and had 6 steals in the matchup. Regarding defending, Western Kentucky let their opponent shoot 38.1% from the field on 24 of 63 shooting. They also dished out 14 assists for the game while creating 9 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In regard to rebounding, they compiled a total of 36 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Hilltoppers made 20 of 25 shots for a percentage of 80.0%. Western Kentucky finished with a 32.1% FG percentage (17 of 53) and made 12 of 36 3-pointers.

Teagan Moore is one player who was a factor for the contest. He left the arena with 19 points on 5 out of 11 shooting. He played 33 minutes and totaled 9 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 45.5% from the floor and earned 4 assists.

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Western Kentucky heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 9-5 on the year. They have an average of 83.1 pts per contest (81st in the nation) while hitting 41.8% from the field. The Hilltoppers are shooting 33.9% from downtown (122 of 360) and 74.3% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Western Kentucky is collecting 42.6 rebounds per game and has earned 193 dimes on the campaign, which has them ranked 288th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They turn the ball over 11.0 times per game and as a group they are committing 19.7 personal fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Hilltoppers are able to force 13.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 20.2 fouls. They are currently ranked 240th in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 214 surrendered for the campaign. The Hilltoppers are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 42.3% (358 of 847) and they concede 38.4 rebounds per game as a team. They are surrendering 34.3% on three-point shots and they are 265th in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (76.8).

The last time they took the court, the New Mexico State Aggies took a loss by a score of 89-82 when they faced Missouri State. The Aggies earned 22 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards totaling 32 in this game. They turned the ball over 11 times, while earning 6 steals for this game. Missouri State had 17 fouls for this game which got the Aggies to the free throw line for a total of 23 shots. They were able to knock down 19 of the free throws for a clip of 82.6%. When discussing three-point attempts, New Mexico State knocked down 7 of their 18 attempts (38.9%). When all was said and done, the Aggies went 28 out of 61 from the field which gave them a percentage of 45.9%. The Aggies allowed Missouri State to convert 25 of 54 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 46.3% for this contest. They finished 47.6% from downtown by shooting 10 of 21 and finished the game at 29 out of 39 from the charity stripe (74.4%). In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, New Mexico State permitted Missouri State to collect 27 overall (10 offensive).

Julius Mims pitched in for the Aggies in this matchup. He had 22 points in his 30 mins on the court, but didn't record an assist. He made 9 of 13 in this game for a field goal rate of 69.2%, and had 14 rebounds.

New Mexico State has a mark of 8-5 on the campaign. The Aggies are committing 21.3 personal fouls per contest and they shoot 72.4% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 13.8 times per game (221st in D-1) and they are turning it over 11.8 times per contest. New Mexico State has totaled 1,009 pts so far this season (77.6 per contest) and they average 37.5 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Aggies are connecting on 44.8% from the field, which is 224th in D-1.

The New Mexico State defense gives up 30.0% on 3-point attempts (94 of 313) and their opponents are connecting on 75.1% of their foul shots. They surrender 10.5 assists and 33.5 total rebounds per game, which is 19th and 126th in college hoops. The Aggies are ranked 82nd in Division 1 in points allowed per game with 69.2. They are able to force 14.3 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 39.1% from the floor (27th in Division 1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take New Mexico State

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