Tennessee State (10-13) vs Western Illinois (8-15)
February 6, 2025 at 08:00 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Tennessee State -8.5 — Over/Under: 140.5
The Western Illinois Leathernecks and the Tennessee State Tigers meet Thursday in college basketball action from the Gentry Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Western Illinois vs. Tennessee State prediction.
Western Illinois Recap
The Western Illinois Leathernecks come into this game looking to rebound from a 69-65 loss to SIU-Edwardsville last time out to fall to 8-15 on the year. After this game, Western Illinois will head on the road again to take on UT-Martin.
Leathernecks Lose 8th Straight
Marko Maletic leads the Leathernecks in scoring with 16.3 PPG along with 3.2 RPG while Ryan Myers has 12.9 PPG with 2.7 RPG and Sean Smith has 11.4 PPG with 5 RPG and a team-high 3.8 APG and 1.6 SPG to lead the Leathernecks in assists and steals and to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Western Illinois up to this point in the year. Julius Rollins has 8.9 PPG with 4.2 RPG while Tay Knox has 4 PPG and a team-high 5.6 RPG to lead the Leathernecks on the glass up to this point in the year. As a team, Western Illinois is averaging 66.8 PPG on 42.9% shooting from the field, 35.6% from behind the arc, and 69% from the foul line so far this season.
Why the Western Illinois Leathernecks will win
- The road team has won each of Western Illinois’ last four games.
Tennessee State Recap
The Tennessee State Tigers come into this game looking to bounce back from an 89-87 loss to Southeast Missouri State last time out to fall to 9-13 on the year. After this game, Tennessee State will welcome Lindenwood to town for a clash.
Tigers Looking To Rebound
Brandon Weston leads the Tigers in scoring with 16.3 PPG along with 4.9 RPG while Aaron Nkrumah has 10.8 PPG with a team-high 5 RPG to lead the Tigers on the glass as the only other double-digit scorer for Tennessee State so far this season. Travis Harper has 9.9 PPG with 3.9 RPG while Carlous Williams has 9.9 PPG as well with 4.4 RPG. Ronald Jessamy has 9.4 PPG with 5.6 RPG in 16 games while Justus Jackson has 8.3 PPG with 2.5 RPG and a team-high 3.4 APG to lead the Tigers in assists so far this season. As a team, Tennessee State is averaging 79.7 PPG on 46.2% shooting from the field, 31.4% from three, and 66.9% from the foul line this season.
Why the Tennessee State Tigers will win
- Western Illinois has lost each of its last eight games.
- Tennessee State has won each of its last eight games at Gentry Center after coming off overtime.
Total Points Facts
- Twelve of Tennessee State’s last 13 games at Gentry Center have produced a total of 143+ points.
- Each of Western Illinois’ last four games against Conference opponents has produced a total of 134 or fewer points.
Western Illinois vs. Tennessee State Prediction
I’m on Tennessee State here. I just think the Tigers are the better team in better form in this matchup. Western Illinois has been struggling mightily, and while Tennessee State isn’t the first team I’d think of laying this many points with on a normal day, the fact remains that Western Illinois has been so bad that I think that laying the points with Tennessee State is the only option in this game. Give me the Tigers laying the points.