Tennessee Tech (9-9) vs Little Rock (10-7)
Game Info: Saturday, January 18, 2025 at 4:00 pm (Hooper Eblen Center)
The Line: Betting Odds: Tennessee Tech +1 — Over/Under: 138.5
The Little Rock Trojans and the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles meet Saturday in college basketball action from Eblen Center. Here’s a Little Rock vs Tennessee Tech prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Little Rock vs Tennessee Tech pick. We will examine:
The Little Rock Trojans’ recent form and player performance
The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Little Rock Trojans
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
Recent betting trends in games played between Little Rock and Tennessee Tech
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Little Rock vs Tennessee Tech game
Little Rock Trojans Betting Preview
The Trojans opened up the year on a pretty shaky run, but to their credit, they’ve been able to straighten things out since late November. Little Rock hit a 3-4 stretch out of the gate, losing to Winthrop, Arkansas State, Arkansas, and Illinois among wins over Arkansas Baptist, UTSA, and Tulsa. A 5-1 run came next with a lone loss to UIC in OT among wins versus MD Eastern Shore, Central Arkansas, Ouachita Baptist, SIU Edwardsville, and Tennessee-Martin. Following two more consecutive losses versus Tennessee and Morehead State, the Trojans took wins over Southern Indiana and Southeast Missouri State for a 10-7 overall record so far this year.
In the Southeast Missouri State game on Tuesday, the Trojans came out of halftime with a 37-29 edge. Little Rock had to hang on in the second with a 42-36 deficit but eventually came out on top in the end 73-71. Leading the way in scoring was Johnathan Lawson with 28 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Isaiah Lewis added 17 points, three rebounds, and two steals, while Tuongthach Gatkek put up 11 points with seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles Betting Preview
Over on the Tennessee Tech side, they’ve had a couple of good stretches in the win column so far this year, but overall it’s been a middling campaign. The Eagles came out of the gate on a 4-3 run with wins over Bryant TN, West Georgia, VMI, and Presbyterian among losses to Georgia, UT Rio Grande Valley, and UCF. After a losing streak versus Vanderbilt, North Alabama, West Georgia, and Western Illinois, Tennessee Tech beat Lindenwood, Milligan, Southern Indiana, Morehead State, and Eastern Illinois. Since then it’s been losses to SIU Edwardsville and Southeast Missouri State for a .500 overall run through 18 games so far.
Matched up against SEMO in their Thursday outing, the Golden Eagles hit a 47-26 deficit in the first half. Tennessee Tech fought back on a 44-30 run from there but it wasn’t enough during a 77-70 defeat. Jaylon Johnson put up 21 points with five rebounds and two assists. Ola Ajiboye added 13 points, three rebounds and three assists off the bench in 22 minutes as the only other player on the team to reach double-figures in scoring during the loss.
Why the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles will win
- Tennessee Tech has won seven of its last eight games at Hooper Eblen Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Little Rock has lost three of its last four day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Little Rock has lost the first half in four of its last five road games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Why the Little Rock Trojans will win
- Little Rock has won six of its last seven road games against Conference opponents.
Little Rock vs Tennessee Tech Prediction
I’ll stay with Little Rock. These teams have a common opponent in their latest outings (SEMO) and only the Trojans were able to notch a win in that one. Little Rock shot 49 percent from the field in that one but did notch 17 turnovers for 20 Redhawks points in the two-point road victory. That makes 73 or more points in consecutive games and three of the last four (a 2-2 run) overall.
As for Tennessee Tech, they couldn’t overcome a limp first half in their home loss to SEMO. The Eagles haven’t scored too badly as of late, however, posting 68 or more points in eight of their last nine games. So long as Little Rock can get off to a good start here, however, I like the Trojans to control this matchup.