Western Kentucky vs Jacksonville State Prediction 12/29/2025 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks meet Monday in college basketball action from Pete Mathews Coliseum. Here’s a Western Kentucky vs Jacksonville State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Western Kentucky vs Jacksonville State pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Betting Preview

The Hilltoppers won their first four outings this year versus Tennessee Tech, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee State and Bethel TN. Since then it’s been a 3-4 run with losses to Vanderbilt, South Florida, Marshall and Tulsa among wins over Wichita State, Evansville and Campbellsville. That gives the Hilltoppers a 7-4 overall record across their first 11 games of the year.

In the Tulsa matchup back on December 19, the Hilltoppers entered the break with a seven-point edge. Western Kentucky was outscored 52-44 the rest of the way and lost 82-81 in a tough outcome. Grant Newell led the team in the losing effort with 28 points and nine boards. Armelo Boone doubled up on 16 points with 12 rebounds and Teagan Moore had 15 points with nine rebounds.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks Betting Preview

Over on the Jacksonville State side, they won their first three games of the season then hit a four-game losing streak versus South Alabama, Arkansas State, North Dakota State and North Alabama. The Gamecocks are 2-2 since then with wins over Auburn-Montgomery and East Tennessee State around losses to Georgia State and Eastern Kentucky. That gives the Gamecocks a 5-6 overall record this year.

Back on December 20 versus East Tennessee State, the Gamecocks trailed by three points at halftime. Jacksonville State came back on a 50-41 run in the second and took the win 81-75 in the end, though. AC Bryant put up 29 points while Mostapha El Moutaouakkil had 19 points with seven boards. Emondrek Erkins-Ford added 17 points with eight rebounds as well.

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers @ Jacksonville State Gamecocks Betting Trends: December 29, 2025

Why the Jacksonville State Gamecocks will win

• Jacksonville State has won 11 of its last 12 Monday night games at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
• Western Kentucky has lost three of its last four games against the Conference USA.

Why the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers will win

• Jacksonville State has lost each of its last four night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Western Kentucky has won three of its last four night games against the Conference USA.
• Jacksonville State has lost the first half in each of its last three games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Western Kentucky vs Jacksonville State Prediction

I’ll lean toward Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers lost steam in the second half of their latest game versus Tulsa, eventually shooting 41 percent from the field with a 38-30 rebounding edge and 24 points in the paint. That gives Western Kentucky a 1-2 run over the last three games, with only a blowout win over Campbellsville to show for it. The Hilltoppers need a good effort in this one to bounce back.

As for Jacksonville State, they put up a solid game against a pretty good East Tennessee State team in their last outing. The Gamecocks ended up with 53.1 percent shooting and a 27-18 advantage on the boards, but did give up 53.7 percent shooting on defense. Jacksonville State has been below 67 points in two of the last four games (a 2-2 run) and six of the last eight (a 2-6 run), so it’d be nice to see another good total in this one.

Andrew Jett's Pick: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers -4.5