Tennessee State vs. Western Illinois prediction: Why Tennessee State is favored to win men's college basketball matchup [1/8/2026]

Men's college basketball action continues on Thursday at 8:30 PM ET as the favored Tennessee State locks horns with Western Illinois in men's college basketball action at LeRoy A. Ufkes Court at Western Hall.

Based on the latest simulation results, Dimers' proven college basketball model projects Tennessee State as the most likely winner of the Tennessee State vs. Western Illinois game.

This article offers a closer look at Thursday's matchup, including an expanded look at the predicted score, best bets and picks.

Tennessee State vs. Western Illinois prediction: Who will win and cover?

Using powerful machine learning and data analysis, we have simulated the outcome of Thursday's NCAA basketball matchup between Tennessee State and Western Illinois 10,000 times as part of our men's college basketball predictions coverage.

Our independent predictive model gives Tennessee State a 69% chance of beating Western Illinois. Our predicted final score has Tennessee State winning 74-69.

According to our model, Western Illinois (+6.5) has a 58% chance of covering the spread, while the over/under total of 145.5 points has a 52% chance of staying under.

Tennessee State vs. Western Illinois odds

We have researched the best men's college basketball odds in America for this game, which are listed here:

All odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change.

Tennessee State vs. Western Illinois picks and best bet

After matching our probabilities against the best current odds, we can reveal our picks for each of the major markets. Plus, find our best bet for the game below: