Western Illinois vs Tennessee Tech Prediction 2/27/25 College Basketball Picks

The Western Illinois Leathernecks and the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles meet Thursday in college basketball action from the Hooper Eblen 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 Tech prediction.

Matchup History

The Western Illinois Leathernecks won the first meeting between these two teams by a final score of 71-68 back on December 17th, 2024 at home and have won both all-time meetings against Tennessee Tech.

Western Illinois Recap

The Western Illinois Leathernecks come into this game looking to add to their 86-81 win over Lindenwood last time out to sit at 11-19 on the year. This is the season finale for Western Illinois as the Leathernecks have been eliminated from contention for the OVC tournament with only the top-8 teams making the field.

Leathernecks Trying To Finish Season On High Note

Marko Maletic leads the Leathernecks in scoring with 16.4 PPG along with 3.5 RPG while Ryan Myers has 12.9 PPG with 2.8 RPG and Sean Smith has 10.5 PPG with 4.7 RPG and a team-high 3.6 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 9.3 PPG with 4.2 RPG while Tay Knox has 4 PPG and a team-high 5.3 RPG to lead the Leathernecks on the glass up to this point in the year. As a team, Western Illinois is averaging 68.3 PPG on 43.7% shooting from the field, 37.2% from behind the arc, and 69.1% from the foul line so far this season.

Tennessee Tech Recap

The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles come into this game looking to add on to their 77-74 win over Tennessee State last time out to sit at 15-14 on the year. After this game, Tennessee Tech will play host to Lindenwood to close out the regular season. 

Golden Eagles Win Back-To-Back Games

Rodney Johnson Jr. leads the Golden Eagles in scoring with 13.5 PPG and 5.8 RPG while Jaylon Johnson has 13.3 PPG with 4.1 RPG and a team-high 4.8 APG to lead the Golden Eagles in assists so far this season. Daniel Egbuniwe has 10.3 PPG with a team-high 6.6 RPG to lead the Golden Eagles on the glass and to round out the trio of double-digit scorers for Tennessee Tech so far this season. Kyle Layton also chipped in 8.6 PPG with 2.4 RPG and 1.9 APG while Ray Glasgow has 7.4 PPG with 3.3 RPG as well on the year. JaJuan Nicholls also has 7.9 PPG and 4 RPG as well on the year. As a team, Tennessee Tech is averaging 72.3 PPG on 43.4% shooting from the field, 35.1% from three, and 69.7% from the foul line this season.

Why the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles will win

• The home team has won each of Western Illinois’ last seven games.
• Western Illinois has lost each of its last seven games following an overtime win.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Western Illinois’ last four night games against the Ohio Valley Conference has produced a total of 149+ points.
• Three of Tennessee Tech’s last four night games against non-AP-ranked opponents at Hooper Eblen Center have produced a total of 137 or fewer points.

Western Illinois vs. Tennessee Tech Prediction

I’m on Tennessee Tech in this game. I just think the Golden Eagles are the team with far more to play for at this point considering they’re trying to secure a top-4 spot in the OVC tournament and get a first-round bye in the conference tournament. Western Illinois is just playing out the string and has nothing but pride to play for at this point. I think Tennessee Tech puts a hurt on WIU here and gets the win and cover at home in this one.