Wichita State Shockers vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Picks and Prediction for Friday, November 28, 2025

The Wichita State Shockers play the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Friday for seventh place in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in Nassau, Bahamas. Wichita State lost to Colorado State 76-70 in the second round of the tournament on Thursday after losing to St Mary's 70-65 in the opening round. Wichita State has lost three of its last four. Western Kentucky opened the tournament with an 83-78 loss to Vanderbilt, followed on Thursday with a 97-91 overtime loss to South Florida. The Hilltoppers have lost two straight since opening the season with four consecutive wins. Make sure to read this in-depth Wichita State Shockers vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers prediction. Stay ahead of the tournament curve with our NCAAB picks for Wichita State Shockers vs Western Kentucky prediction.

Wichita State needs to shoot better

The Wichita State Shockers shot just 44% in Thursday’s loss to Colorado State. The Shockers shot 20% from 3-point territory, making just five of 25 attempts. The poor shooting carried over to free throws as the Shockers were 9-for-15 (60%) from the charity stripe. Wichita State grabbed 39 rebounds in its loss and had a strong night on the offensive glass with 20 boards, but still could not overcome poor shooting.

Wichita State had three players score in double figures in Thursday’s loss. Kenyon Giles led with 18, followed by Karon Byrd with 14 and Will Berg with 10. Boyd was the leading rebounder with 11, and Dre Kindell came off the bench to hand out a team-best 5 assists. On the season, Wichita State scores an average of 77.7 points per game on 44.6% shooting overall and 34.5% from 3-point territory. The Shockers allow an average of 65.7 points per game, holding opponents to 40.2% shooting overall and 31% from 3-point territory.

Injuries: Wichita State's Joy Ighovodja is questionable

Western Kentucky needs to protect the boards and commit fewer turnovers

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers shot 45% overall and 38% from 3-point territory in their overtime loss to South Florida on Thursday. The Hilltoppers gave up too many rebounds as they were out-rebounded by the Bulls 50-45. Western Kentucky allowed South Florida to have 17 offensive rebounds, giving the Bulls too many second-look opportunities. The Hilltoppers committed 19 turnovers, which resulted in 26 points for South Florida.

Western Kentucky had three players score in double figures on Thursday, led by Teagan Moore with 27 points, followed by Ryan Myers with 14 and Armelo Boone with 13. Moore was the leading rebounder with nine and handed out a team-high five assists. On the season, Western Kentucky is scoring an average of 88.3 points per game on 44.6% shooting overall and 30.7% from 3-point territory. Western Kentucky allows an average of 79.8 points per game, as opponents shoot 41.6% overall and 32.9% from 3-point territory

Injuries: Western Kentucky does not have any players listed on its injury report

Wichita State Shockers vs Western Kentucky Pick

Spread Pick for Wichita State Shockers vs Western Kentucky

• Wichita State Shockers -4.5 (4 units)

The Wichita State Shockers rely on a solid defense that is holding opponents to 65.7 points per game. The Shockers hold opponents to 40.2% shooting overall and 31.0% shooting from 3-point territory. Wichita State is averaging 37.4 rebounds per game and holding opponents to an average of 28.4, which gives the Shockers more second-look opportunities and will face a Western Kentucky team that gave up 17 offensive rebounds to South Florida in Thursday’s loss, while Wichita State grabbed 20 offensive boards on Thursday in its loss to Colorado State. Wichita State has covered the spread in six of its first seven games this season, and when tagged as the favorite, the Shockers have covered the spread in five straight games.

Over/Under Pick for Wichita State Shockers vs Western Kentucky

• Over 154.5 (4 units)

The matchup will be a clash in styles of play as Wichita State is slower paced with an adjusted tempo per KenPom of 68.4, which is 238th, while Western Kentucky has one of the highest adjusted tempos in the country, at 74.2, which is 12th. Although Wichita State is likely to control the tempo and pace, enough points will be scored between the two to push the total over. The total has finished over in three of Western Kentucky's last four games and in three of Wichita State’s last six games.