Western Kentucky vs Louisiana Tech Prediction 1/23/25 College Basketball Picks

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs meet Thursday in college basketball action from Thomas Assembly Center. Here’s a Western Kentucky vs Louisiana Tech prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Western Kentucky vs Louisiana Tech pick. We will examine:

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers’ recent form and player performance

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

Recent betting trends in games played between Western Kentucky and Louisiana Tech

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Western Kentucky vs Louisiana Tech game

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Betting Preview

The Hilltoppers had a pretty solid run going in November and December but they’ve fallen on hard times since around the turn of the calendar year. Western Kentucky opened on a 3-3 stretch with losses to Wichita State, Grand Canyon, and Kentucky among wins over Campbellsville, Lipscomb, and Jackson State. A six-game win streak over Marshall, Evansville, Tennessee State, Murray State, Seattle U, and Kentucky Wesleyan came next. Since then however, the Hilltoppers have gone just 2-4 with wins over only Liberty and Kennesaw State among losses to Michigan, Florida International, Jacksonville State, and Middle Tennessee for an 11-7 overall record through the first 18 games of the season so far.

In the Middle Tennessee game over the weekend, the Hilltoppers came out of the gate with a slim 28-27 edge in the first half. Western Kentucky imploded after that, however, falling behind on a 44-29 run on the way to a 71-57 defeat. The only starter to finish in double-figures was Don McHenry with 16 points and four rebounds. Julius Thedford came off the bench for 10 points and one rebound in eight minutes of work as the second-highest scored in the loss.

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Betting Preview

Over on the Louisiana Tech side, they similarly put together a very nice run that lasted into late December. The Bulldogs have fallen on hard times as well over the last half-dozen outings, though. The year began on an 11-2 run with losses to only Southern and Memphis consecutively amid wins over LSU Alexandria, Texas-Arlington, UMass, Mississippi College, Southern Illinois, Richmond, Eastern Kentucky, Louisiana, Georgia Southern, Grand Canyon, and Rust in that time. Louisiana Tech has gone just 2-4 since then with wins over only Florida International and Liberty. Otherwise, it’s been losses to UTEP, New Mexico State, Jacksonville State, and Kennesaw State for a 13-6 record through 19 games this year.

Matched up against Kennesaw State on Saturday, the Bulldogs held a 33-30 deficit by halftime. Louisiana Tech posted a 46-45 run the rest of the way but couldn’t make the comeback in a 78-76 finish. Four starters finished in double-figures during the loss, including Daniel Batcho with 23 points, seven boards, and one assist. Devin Ree added 14 points with three boards and two steals in 28 minutes of work as well.

Why the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs will win

• Louisiana Tech has won each of its last six games at Thomas Assembly Center following a road loss.
• Western Kentucky has lost five of its last six road games against Conference opponents.

Why the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers will win

• Western Kentucky has won three of its last four night games following a road loss.
• Louisiana Tech has lost the first half in three of its last four night games at Thomas Assembly Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Western Kentucky vs Louisiana Tech Prediction

I’ll stick with Louisiana Tech. You could make a case either way here, though. The Bulldogs posted a pretty middling effort versus an okay Kennesaw State team in their last outing, shooting a tepid 41.9 percent from the field with 11 turnovers for 18 Owls points. The Bulldogs had been below 62 points in their previous three losses, so the higher points total there (76) was a bit of an anomaly. In any case, LA Tech should be competitive here if they can get the offense going and minimize the ball-control mistakes. Western Kentucky has been below 68 points in each of their four losses during this 2-4 stretch, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see both teams notch a fairly sizable total here. It should be a good one to watch.