Middle Tennessee vs Western Kentucky 2/26/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders host the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in college basketball action from the Murphy Athletic Center on Saturday.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers will look to build on their seven-game win streak after a 73-64 win over Old Dominion last time out. Dayvion McKnight leads the Hilltoppers in scoring and assists with 15.9 PPG with 5.6 RPG and a team-high 5.9 APG while Jairus Hamilton has 13 PPG with 5.6 RPG. Camron Justice has 14.7 PPG with 3.2 APG and Josh Anderson has 12.3 PPG to make up the group of double-digit scorers for WKU this season. Luke Frampton has 9.1 PPG and Jamarion Sharp also has a team-high 7.1 RPG for the Hilltoppers this season. As a team, Western Kentucky is averaging 76.5 PPG on 47.6% shooting from the field, 36.5% from three and 72.1% from the foul line while allowing 69.5 PPG on 41.7% shooting from the field and 33.8% from three this year.

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders will try to build on their own seven-game win streak after a 74-65 win over Marshall last time out. Josh Jefferson leads Middle Tennessee with 14.9 PPG and Donovan Sims has 11 PPG with a team-high 2.7 APG to lead the Blue Raiders in assists while Eli Lawrence has 10.6 PPG with 4.3 RPG, rounding out the trio of double-digit scorers for MTSU so far this season. Deandre Dishman also has 8.6 PPG and a team-high 4.6 RPG as well this season. As a team, Middle Tennessee is averaging 75.1 PPG on 45.4% shooting from the field, 33% shooting from three and 75.7% from the foul line while allowing 67 PPG on 42.7% shooting from the field and 31.5% from three this season.

Western Kentucky is 23-9 ATS in their last 32 games as a road underdog and 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 games against a team with a winning record while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 road games against a team with a winning home record. Middle Tennessee is 10-2-2 ATS in their last 14 home games and 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as a favorite while the over is 4-0 in their last 4 Saturday games.

I get the case to be made for the Hilltoppers here, but I’m simply sticking with the adage of if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Middle Tennessee continues to find ways to cover numbers and the Blue Raiders have been one of the more consistent cover teams in the country this season. It may make us sweat, but I think we have to side with the Blue Raiders at home.