UTEP Miners vs UAB Blazers Prediction, 2/5/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: UTEP Miners vs UAB Blazers

Date: Friday, February 5, 2021

Location: Bartow Arena in Birmingham, AL

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: UTEP (+8.5)

The UAB Blazers (14-2) play the UTEP Miners (8-8) at Bartow Arena on Friday. UTEP opens this game as 8.5-point underdogs. The O/U has been set at 134.

UTEP will enter this contest with a win-loss mark of 8-8 so far this year. They turn the ball over 10.8 times per contest and as a squad are committing 18.1 personal fouls every game. As a team, UTEP is snagging 34.8 boards per contest and has accounted for 194 assists for the campaign, which ranks 185th in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. The Miners are connecting on 32.3% on 3-point shots (115 of 356) and 74.0% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 72.3 pts per contest (163rd in D-1) on 42.8% from the field. On the defensive end, the Miners are able to force 12.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.0 personal fouls. The Miners defense is allowing a FG percentage of 43.5% (393 of 904) and they relinquish 36.0 boards per game as a unit. They rank 132nd in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 176 relinquished for the year. They are conceding 34.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 188th in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (70.4).

The UTEP Miners played the UTSA Roadrunners and walked away with a win by a score of 69-51 in their last contest. UTEP walked away from the contest having earned a 44.6% FG percentage (25 out of 56) and made 3 of 12 shots from distance. At the charity stripe, the Miners buried 16 of their 18 attempts for a rate of 88.9%. In terms of pulling down boards, they compiled 45 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 5 assists in the game as well as earning 2 steals and 3 blocked shots. Concerning defense, UTEP allowed the other team to go 44.6% from the floor on 25 out of 56 shooting. UTSA distributed 1 assists and had 6 steals in the game. On top of that, the Roadrunners grabbed 27 rebounds (7 offensive, 20 defensive) and got 3 blocks. UTSA finished the contest at 72.2% at the free throw line by converting 13 of their 18 shots. They converted 2 of their 17 shots from 3-point land.

Souley Boum is a player who was a contributor in the game. He recorded 20 points on 7 of 17 shooting. He played 39 minutes and also pulled down 2 rebounds. Boum shot 41.2% from the floor and also dished out 2 assists. One more player that had an impact in this contest for the Miners was Jamal Bieniemy. He collected 10 rebounds and collected 2 assists. He walked away from this one shooting 50.0% from the floor in this matchup by going 6-of-12 (16 points). When all was said and done, Bieniemy was on the hardwood for 39 minutes.

UAB has a mark of 14-2 for the campaign. The Blazers are committing 15.4 personal fouls every game while shooting 71.1% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 11.6 times per game (282nd in Division 1) and they are giving up possession 10.0 times per game. UAB has totaled 1,188 pts so far this season (74.3 per game) and they grab 36.9 boards per game. As an offensive team, the Blazers are connecting on 45.7% from the field, which has them ranked 101st in D-1. The Blazers are ranked 3rd in D-1 in points given up per game with 58.1. They are able to force 17.9 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 38.8% from the floor (13th in the country). The UAB defense concedes 29.8% on 3-point attempts (95 of 319) and their opposition makes 66.5% of their foul shots. They have allowed 9.6 dimes and 35.1 rebounds per game, which is 13th and 177th in college basketball.

When they last played, the UAB Blazers walked away with a victory by a final of 63-52 against the MTSU Blue Raiders. The Blazers snagged 29 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 38 for the game. They also turned away 6 shots while getting 5 steals for this game. The Blue Raiders had 15 fouls in this contest which took the Blazers to the free throw line for 21 shots. They were able to make 18 of those for a rate of 85.7%. In the matter of shooting from distance, UAB converted 5 of their 14 tries (35.7%). When this game wrapped up, the Blazers finished 20 for 52 from the field which gave them a rate of 38.5%. The Blazers permitted the Blue Raiders to convert 21 out of 58 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 36.2% in the matchup. They went 23.8% from 3-point land by shooting 5 out of 21 and ended up shooting 5 out of 11 from the free throw line (45.5%). When it comes to how they cleaned up the glass, UAB permitted MTSU to collect 29 in all (8 on the offensive side).

Trey Jemison ended up having an impact for the Blazers for this game. He converted 6 of 8 for the game for a field goal percentage of 75.0%, which earned him 12 points. Jemison collected 6 boards in his 36 minutes and earned 2 assists for this game. Another guy that ended being a contributor for UAB was Michael Ertel. He notched 12 points in his 32 minutes played via 2 out of 8 from the floor in the game. Ertel walked away from this one going 25.0% from the field while collecting 4 assists and 5 rebounds.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UTEP (+8.5)

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