Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs UTEP Miners Prediction, 3/2/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs UTEP Miners

Date: Thursday, March 2, 2023

Location: Don Haskins Center in El Paso, TX

TV: ESPN+

The UTEP Miners (13-16) will play the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (15-14) at Don Haskins Center on Thursday.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers faced off with UAB and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 72-60 in their last game. Western Kentucky wrapped up the contest having earned a 41.1% FG percentage (23 of 56) and buried 5 of their 20 shots from beyond the arc. At the charity stripe, the Hilltoppers converted 9 of 12 attempts for a rate of 75.0%. In the matter of grabbing boards, they earned 29 with 10 of them being offensive. They also doled out 13 assists in the game as well as forcing the other team into 5 turnovers and earning 1 steal. In reference to defense, Western Kentucky allowed their opponent to shoot 43.9% from the floor on 29 out of 66 shooting. UAB dished out 15 assists and had 10 steals in this matchup. In addition, UAB grabbed 31 boards (12 offensive, 19 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. UAB finished the game at 60.0% at the charity stripe by making 9 of their 15 attempts. They also converted 5 out of their 19 tries from three-point range. When discussing fouls, the Hilltoppers walked away with 13 and UAB had 13 fouls.

Jairus Hamilton is one guy who was important for the game. He walked away from this one shooting 63.6% from the floor but didn't record an assist. He played for 30 mins and also collected 5 rebounds. He walked away with 20 points on 7 out of 11 shooting.

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Western Kentucky enters this game with a win-loss record of 15-14 so far this season. They lose possession via turnover 11.3 times per game and as a squad they commit 15.0 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Western Kentucky is pulling down 35.0 rebounds per game and has 385 dimes on the season, which is 199th in college hoops in terms of passing. The Hilltoppers are shooting 36.8% on shots from 3-point land (231 of 627) and 73.5% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 73.3 pts per contest (144th in Division 1) while connecting on 44.7% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Hilltoppers are forcing their opponents into 12.4 turnovers per game and they draw 16.8 fouls. They relinquish 36.0% on shots from distance and they rank 207th in the nation in points per game from their opponents (70.8). The Hilltoppers defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 41.5% (733 of 1,767) and they concede 37.1 boards per game as a group. They are 167th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 373 conceded for the campaign.

In their last game, the UTEP Miners took a loss by a final score of 75-49 against Florida Atlantic. In reference to cleaning up the glass, UTEP allowed Florida Atlantic to grab 34 overall (9 on the offensive side). They shot 42.3% from three-point range by going 11 of 26 and finished the game at 10 out of 16 at the charity stripe (62.5%). The Miners allowed Florida Atlantic to bury 27 of 55 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 49.1% for the game. Overall, the Miners shot 18 for 54 from the field which gave them a percentage of 33.3%. When it comes to shots from downtown, UTEP made 1 of their 10 tries (10.0%). They were able to bury 12 of those for a percentage of 80.0%. Florida Atlantic earned 17 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Miners to the charity stripe for a total of 15 shots. They turned the ball over 13 times, while recording 6 steals in this contest. The Miners were able to collect 19 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards for a total of 30 for the matchup.

Calvin Solomon ended up being a major contributor for the Miners in this game. He recorded 13 points in his 25 minutes of playing time and had 1 assist for this contest. He knocked down 6 out of 10 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 60.0%, and had 5 rebounds.

UTEP has a win-loss mark of 13-16 so far this season. The Miners are responsible for committing 18.0 fouls every game while shooting 63.3% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 11.7 times per game (299th in the country) and they are turning it over 15.7 times per game. UTEP has earned 1,980 points for the campaign (68.3 per game) and they collect 35.1 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Miners are connecting on 44.7% from the floor, which is ranked 181st in college basketball.

The Miners defensively are ranked 129th in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 68.3. They have forced 16.9 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 44.3% from the field (222nd in college hoops). The UTEP defense gives up 33.2% on 3-point attempts (197 of 593) and their opposition knocks down 73.2% of their free throw shots. They give up 10.7 dimes and 32.8 boards per contest, which ranks them 36th and 99th in D-1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Western Kentucky

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