Little Rock (13-8) vs Tennessee State (9-12)
January 30, 2025 at 08:00 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Little Rock -7.5 — Over/Under: 130
The Tennessee State Tigers and the Little Rock Trojans meet Thursday in college basketball action from Jack Stephens Center Here’s a Tennessee State vs Little Rock prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Tennessee State vs Little Rock pick. We will examine:
The Tennessee State Tigers’ recent form and player performance
The Little Rock Trojans’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Tennessee State Tigers
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Little Rock Trojans
Recent betting trends in games played between Tennessee State and Little Rock
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Tennessee State vs Little Rock game
Tennessee State Tigers Betting Preview
The Tigers have had a rough year so far, but to their credit, they’re doing better lately. Tennessee State opened on a 3-3 run with wins over Fisk, Alabama A&M, and East-West U. A 1-7 run came next with a lone win over Johnson University TN amid losses to Chattanooga, Bryant, UNC Asheville, Western Kentucky, Southern Indiana, Morehead State, and Southeast Missouri State. Since then it’s been a solid 5-2 stretch for the Tigers. Tennessee State has losses to Lindenwood and SIU Edwardsville in that time. Otherwise, it’s been wins over Little Rock, Western Illinois, Eastern Illinois, TN-Martin, and Tennessee Tech. The result so far has been a 9-12 overall record through 21 games this year for the Tigers.
In their outing versus Tennessee Tech last Thursday, the Tigers posted a seven-point deficit by the break. Tennessee State made a great comeback in the second, notching a 49-30 run for an 89-77 win in the end. All five starters finished in double-figures, including team leader Brandon Weston with 21 points and five rebounds. Josh Ogundele added 16 points with seven boards as well, and Carlous Williams had 14 points with five rebounds in 28 minutes of work.
Little Rock Trojans Betting Preview
Over on the Little Rock side, they started out on a rough run but they’ve been better since late November or so. The Trojans lost four of their first seven games, falling to Winthrop, Arkansas State, Arkansas, and Illinois. A 5-1 run came next with a loss to UIC amid wins over MD Eastern Shore, Central Arkansas, Ouachita Baptist, SIU Edwardsville, and TN-Martin. Following losses to Tennessee State and Morehead State, Little Rock beat Southern Indiana, Southeast Missouri State, Tennessee Tech, Western Illinois, and Lindenwood before another loss to Eastern Illinois, giving the Trojans a 13-8 overall record this season so far.
Matched up against Eastern Illinois in their Monday game, the Trojans were looking up at a 23-21 advantage on the scoreboard by halftime. Little Rock was outscored 35-31 the rest of the way however, limping to a loss 56-54 in the end. Ante Beljan was the team’s leading scorer with 14 points and two assists. Isaiah Lewis added 11 points with four assists and three rebounds, while Tuongthach Gatkek doubled up on 10 points with four assists.
Why the Little Rock Trojans will win
- Little Rock has won each of its last 15 night games at Jack Stephens Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Tennessee State has lost six of its last eight night games.
Why the Tennessee State Tigers will win
- Tennessee State has won four of its last five games against the Ohio Valley Conference.
Tennessee State vs Little Rock Prediction
I’m going to try Little Rock here. The Trojans need a good bounce-back effort though, following their limp game versus EIU. In that one, Little Rock was out-rebounded 33-24 and had 14 turnovers for 16 Panthers points. The outside shooting (3-of-11) wasn’t great either. Prior to that the Trojans had won five straight though, scoring 73 or more points in four of those.
These teams last saw each other back on January 4 in a home win for the Tigers 95-86. Both teams were pretty sloppy with the basketball (16 turnovers apiece), but Little Rock posted a rough 20-of-30 from the line (66.7 percent) and gave up 46 percent shooting to the Tigers. This is a game the Trojans really need to have, and I think they’ll get it at home.