FIU Panthers vs UTEP Miners Prediction, 3/7/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: FIU Panthers vs UTEP Miners

Date: Thursday, March 7, 2024

Location: Don Haskins Center in El Paso, TX

TV: ESPN+

The FIU Panthers (10-19) are on their way to Don Haskins Center on Thursday where they will play the UTEP Miners (15-15).

The FIU Panthers played Western Kentucky and walked away with a win by a score of 85-83 in their last contest. Regarding personal fouls, the Panthers walked away with 18 and Western Kentucky recorded 15 personal fouls. They made 6 of their 18 tries from beyond the perimeter. Western Kentucky finished the game at 55.0% from the charity stripe by converting 11 of their 20 attempts. Moreover, Western Kentucky had 40 boards (13 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Western Kentucky earned 9 assists and had 8 steals for the contest. Concerning the defense, FIU allowed the other team to go 45.8% from the field on 33 out of 72 shooting. They also doled out 18 assists for this contest as well as forcing 11 turnovers and having 4 steals. In terms of getting rebounds, they earned 34 with 7 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Panthers made 9 of their 15 shots for a percentage of 60.0%. FIU walked away from the game having earned a 50.0% FG percentage (31 out of 62) and converted 14 out of their 28 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Javaunte Hawkins is a guy who came through for the contest. He ended up going 42.9% from the field and recorded 5 assists. He played 37 minutes and totaled 5 rebounds. He totaled 27 points on 9 out of 21 shooting.

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FIU steps onto the hardwood with a mark of 10-19 this season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 13.9 times per game and as a group they commit 18.3 personal fouls per game. As a unit, FIU is grabbing 32.4 boards per game and has 420 dimes on the campaign, which ranks 132nd in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Panthers are connecting on 33.7% on shots from beyond the arc (251 of 744) and 67.3% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 74.1 pts per contest (172nd in college hoops) on 43.6% from the floor.

Defensively, the Panthers have forced 17.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.0 fouls. They give up 39.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 303rd in college hoops in points per game allowed (76.6). The Panthers defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 47.4% (773 of 1,632) and they relinquish 38.5 boards per contest as a team. They rank 278th in the nation in allowing assists to their opponents with 418 conceded this year.

In their last game, the UTEP Miners took home the win by a final score of 67-51 against Liberty. The Miners were able to corral 19 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 26 for the matchup. They also turned it over 9 times, while getting 6 steals for the contest. Liberty had 12 personal fouls in this contest which got the Miners to the charity stripe for 9 shots. They were able to bury 5 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 55.6%. In terms of shooting from distance, UTEP converted 6 out of 15 attempts (40.0%). When the final whistle was blown, the Miners ended up going 28 out of 53 from the field which gave them a rate of 52.8%. The Miners allowed Liberty to make 18 out of 46 tries from the floor which left them shooting 39.1% for the game. They finished 28.0% from distance via 7 out of 25 and ended up shooting 8 out of 14 at the charity stripe (57.1%). In relation to how they attacked the glass, UTEP permitted Liberty to pull down 23 overall (7 offensive).

Corey Camper Jr. was important for the Miners for the matchup. He made 9 out of 15 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 60.0%, and tallied 6 rebounds. He scored 21 points in his 36 minutes on the court and had 1 assist for the game.

UTEP has a win-loss mark of 15-15 so far this year. As an offense, the Miners are connecting on 44.5% from the field, which is ranked 194th in college hoops. UTEP has scored 2,185 points on the year (72.8 per contest) and they grab 32.6 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 13.1 times per game (185th in college basketball) and they are giving up possession 14.3 times per contest. The Miners are committing 19.8 fouls per game and they go 68.8% from the free throw line.

The UTEP defense surrenders 32.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter (173 of 535) and their opposition knocks down 71.3% of their free throw shots. They have relinquished 11.1 assists and 34.8 boards per game, ranking them 47th and 182nd in those categories. The Miners defensively are ranked 97th in D-1 in PPG given up with 69.1. They are able to force 19.1 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.3% from the field (277th in college basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UTEP

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