Rice Owls vs UTEP Miners Prediction, 3/3/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Rice Owls vs UTEP Miners

Date: Thursday, March 3, 2022

Location: Don Haskins Center in El Paso, TX

TV: CBSSN

The UTEP Miners (16-12) will compete against the Rice Owls (15-13) at Don Haskins Center on Thursday.

The Rice Owls played Southern Miss and earned the victory with a final of 77-72 in their last contest. Regarding personal fouls, the Owls walked away with 13 while Southern Miss racked up 24 personal fouls. They also made 5 of 19 tries from beyond the arc. Southern Miss shot 62.5% when shooting free throws by knocking down 5 of 8 tries. Additionally, Southern Miss pulled down 30 rebounds (5 offensive, 25 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Southern Miss recorded 14 assists and had 3 steals in this contest. In reference to defending, Rice allowed the other team to go 47.0% from the floor on 31 out of 66 shooting. They also doled out 20 dimes in the matchup while forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In relation to rebounding, they compiled 43 with 12 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Owls knocked down 20 of their 29 attempts for a percentage of 69.0%. Rice walked away from the game with a 38.7% FG percentage (24 out of 62) and converted 9 out of their 30 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Max Fiedler is a player who had an impact for the game. He finished 50.0% from the floor and also distributed 5 dimes. He played 38 minutes played and collected 14 boards. He accumulated 13 points on 3 of 6 shooting.

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Rice comes into this contest with a record of 15-13 this season. They average 75.8 points per contest (61st in the country) while shooting 46.0% from the field. The Owls are hitting 37.9% on shots from 3-point land (269 of 709) and 72.4% from the free throw line. As a team, Rice is pulling down 35.9 boards per contest and has racked up 454 assists this season, which has them ranked 42nd in college hoops in terms of passing. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.5 times per contest and as a unit they commit 14.0 fouls per game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Owls are forcing 10.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.5 personal fouls. They are ranked 262nd in D-1 in allowing assists with 400 relinquished for the campaign. The Owls defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 44.8% (801 of 1,789) and they concede 34.7 rebounds per game as a team. They give up 33.4% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 300th in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (74.1).

When they last stepped on the court, the UTEP Miners took a loss by a score of 69-66 against UAB. The Miners were able to snag 17 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards totaling 22 in the matchup. They coughed up the ball 8 times, while getting 6 steals in this matchup. UAB was called for 18 personal fouls for the game which got the Miners to the charity stripe for 16 attempts. They were able to knock down 9 of those for a rate of 56.3%. With respect to three-point shots, UTEP knocked down 7 of their 24 tries (29.2%). In all, the Miners finished shooting 25 out of 55 from the field which had them at 45.5%. The Miners allowed UAB to convert 24 of 57 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 42.1% in this contest. They went 42.3% from distance via 11 of 26 and walked away from this one shooting 10 of 12 at the charity stripe (83.3%). In relation to attacking the glass, UTEP permitted UAB to grab 37 overall (10 on the offensive side).

Souley Boum pitched in for the Miners for the matchup. He recorded 26 points in his 33 mins of playing time and added 2 assists in this contest. He knocked down 8 out of 12 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 66.7%, but didn't pull down a rebound.

UTEP has a mark of 16-12 for the year. The Miners commit 18.3 fouls per contest and they go 76.1% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 12.1 times per game (250th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 11.7 times per contest. UTEP has scored 1,930 pts for the campaign (68.9 per contest) and they average 31.8 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Miners are hitting on 42.4% from the floor, which has them ranked 270th in college basketball.

The Miners on the defensive side of the court are 100th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 66.6. They have forced 15.2 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 44.4% from the field (251st in D-1). The UTEP defense surrenders 34.8% on 3-point shots (172 of 494) and opponents are converting on 64.0% of their foul shots. They have given up 12.1 assists and 36.3 rebounds on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 137th and 281st in the nation.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Rice

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