C-USA Championship Betting Preview: Jacksonville State Vs. Western Kentucky

Jacksonville State’s odds are favorite by -3.5 points over Western Kentucky.
Western Kentucky struggles as a road team underdog.
Western Kentucky defeated Jacksonville State in the regular season.

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – The stage is set for the Conference USA Championship game as the Jacksonville State Gamecocks will host the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

It is Jacksonville State who opened up as a slight 3.5-point favorite on legal sports betting sites being that they are playing this game on their home field.

Western Kentucky Vs. Jacksonville State

Moneyline: Western Kentucky (+155) vs. Jacksonville State (-180)
Spread: Jacksonville State -3.5
Total: 59 Points

🏆 CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUP SET 🏆@JaxStateFB 🆚 @WKUFootball
📅- Friday, Dec. 6
🕕- 6 p.m. CT
🏟️- AmFirst Stadium | Jacksonville, AL#NoLimitsOnUs | https://t.co/cK7Sby2NPw pic.twitter.com/BE3Wd1oBNf

— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) December 1, 2024

Season Betting Trends

On the season, both teams have been somewhat mediocre from a betting standpoint. Western Kentucky went 7-5 against the spread and 5-7 Over/Under in points while Jacksonville State holds a 6-6 ATS record and 7-5 O/U.

Although CFB sportsbooks saw the Hilltoppers have the better record against the spread, they did so with just a +0.1 cover margin while Jax State finished at a much more respectable +2.8 cover margin.

In game situations as an outright favorite, Jacksonville State led the conference with a 5-5 record against the spread and went 6-4 Over/Under. As a home team favorite, the Gamecocks also led the conference at a 4-2 ATS record with a 14.2 winning margin and went 3-3 O/U.

As for Western Kentucky, in six games as an underdog this season, they went 4-2 against the spread, however, they lose games by an average of 12.5 points and went 2-4 Over/Under. Things take a slight turn when the Hilltoppers are road team underdogs with a 2-2 record ATS and 16-point losing margin.

Regular Season Matchup

Jacksonville State and Western Kentucky closed out the regular season against one another in Week 14 of the season on the Hilltoppers home field. Jacksonville State was a 1-point favorite in the game and there was a 62.5-point Over/Under set. Western Kentucky came away with a 19-17 win.

Season Stats

These are two of the top scoring teams in Conference USA. Jacksonville State leads the conference at 35.4 ppg which is nearly 9 ppg more than Western Kentucky who averages 26.7 points weekly.

Western Kentucky though does have the edge on defense though as their opponents are being held to 22.6 ppg while Jacksonville State allows 27 ppg to their opponents.

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Sam Profeta

Samuel has been writing professionally for 4 years. He comes from a sports writing background where he enjoys writing mostly about basketball and football both professional and collegiate. He is a recent graduate of Florida State University where he majored in Editing, Writing and Media with a minor in Communications. During his free time, you can find him watching or playing sports as well as playing videogames and listening to music.