Rice Owls vs UTEP Miners Prediction, 1/8/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Rice Owls vs UTEP Miners

Date: Friday, January 8, 2021

Location: Don Haskins Center in El Paso, TX

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Rice (+7.5)

Don Haskins Center is the venue where and the UTEP Miners (5-3) will take on the Rice Owls (8-2) on Friday. UTEP opens this game as 7.5-point favorites. The O/U opens at 140.

Rice will enter this matchup with a mark of 8-2 on the campaign. They average 82.3 points per game (33rd in college basketball) while going 46.0% from the floor. The Owls are shooting 35.8% on shots from 3-point land (111 of 310) and 68.9% from the free throw line. As a team, Rice is grabbing 41.1 rebounds per game and has tallied 172 assists so far this season, which is 32nd in the country in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 14.1 times per contest and as a unit are committing 13.9 fouls on a nightly basis. On the defensive end, the Owls are forcing their opponents into 15.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.7 personal fouls. They are 285th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 144 surrendered for the campaign. The Owls are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 42.4% (272 of 641) and they relinquish 35.5 rebounds per game as a group. They surrender 32.8% on three-point shots and they are 188th in college hoops in points per game allowed (70.5).

The Rice Owls stepped onto the hardwood against the UTSA Roadrunners and walked away with a win by a score of 84-69 in their last game. Rice finished the game with a 56.4% field goal percentage (31 of 55) and made 11 out of their 28 shots from beyond the arc. When they shot from the free throw line, the Owls knocked down 11 of their 19 attempts for a rate of 57.9%. When it comes to pulling down rebounds, they compiled a total of 33 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 19 dimes for the contest while earning 6 steals and 3 rejections. In the matter of the defense, Rice allowed the other team to go 56.4% from the floor on 31 out of 55 shooting. UTSA earned 14 assists and had 5 steals in the matchup. On top of that, the Roadrunners collected 35 rebounds (15 offensive, 20 defensive) and had 3 blocks. UTSA finished 77.8% when shooting free throws by knocking down 14 of 18 attempts. They also made 5 out of their 21 tries from beyond the arc.

Chris Mullins is someone who was important for this game. He ended up scoring 20 points on 7 out of 10 shooting. He played for 32 minutes and also totaled 6 rebounds. Mullins ended up going 70.0% from the field and earned 3 assists. One more player that was a major factor in this matchup for the Owls was Max Fiedler. He collected 4 rebounds and also collected 4 dimes. He finished the game shooting 100.0% from the floor in this game by connecting on 8-of-8 (18 points). Overall, Fiedler played for 27 min.

UTEP has a win-loss mark of 5-3 this season. In terms of offensive execution, the Miners are shooting 44.5% from the field, which ranks them 183rd in college hoops. UTEP has scored 604 pts this season (75.5 per contest) and they collect 36.6 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 14.3 times per game (135th in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 10.8 times per game. The Miners are responsible for committing 16.5 personal fouls every game and they connect on 72.7% from the charity stripe. The Miners defensively are ranked 145th in D-1 in PPG surrendered with 68.3. The UTEP defense allows 29.1% on shots from distance (39 of 134) and opponents are converting on 77.5% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 10.0 assists and 36.5 total rebounds per game, ranking them 27th and 229th in college hoops. They are able to force 14.3 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 42.2% from the field (156th in D-1).

For their last game, the UTEP Miners got the victory with a final of 77-62 when they faced the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The Miners collected 13 defensive boards and 3 offensive rebounds totaling 16 in this contest. They also blocked 2 shots while getting 9 steals for the contest. The Golden Eagles were called for 16 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Miners to the charity stripe for 17 attempts. They were able to knock down 13 of the free throws for a percentage of 76.5%. In relation to 3-pointers, UTEP converted 10 of their 22 attempts (45.5%). When the game finished, the Miners went 27 out of 53 from the floor which gave them a rate of 50.9%. The Miners allowed the Golden Eagles to convert 21 of 39 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 53.8% in this contest. They went 42.9% from downtown by shooting 3 of 7 and finished the game at 17 of 22 at the free throw line (77.3%). When discussing cleaning up the glass, UTEP permitted Southern Miss to pull down 28 in all (5 offensive).

Jamal Bieniemy was important for the Miners for the contest. He converted 7 out of 11 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 63.6%, which earned him 20 points. Bieniemy grabbed 3 rebounds in his 37 minutes and totaled 7 dimes in the matchup. Another guy who came through for UTEP was Souley Boum. He notched 17 points in 37 minutes played by way of 4 of 10 shooting for this game. Boum finished going 40.0% from the field as well as contributing 4 dimes and 2 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UTEP (-7.5)

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