Liberty Flames vs UTEP Miners Prediction, 2/3/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Liberty Flames vs UTEP Miners

Date: Saturday, February 3, 2024

Location: Don Haskins Center in El Paso, TX

TV: ESPN+

The UTEP Miners (11-10) are hosting the Liberty Flames (13-8) at Don Haskins Center on Saturday.

The Liberty Flames faced off with Jacksonville State and ended up losing by a score of 73-62 in their last game. Liberty finished having earned a 41.5% field goal percentage (22 of 53) and knocked down 9 of their 28 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Flames buried 9 of their 17 attempts for a percentage of 52.9%. Pertaining to pulling down boards, they earned a total of 22 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 12 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing 9 turnovers and getting 3 steals. With respect to the defense, Liberty allowed the other team to go 62.2% from the floor on 28 of 45 shooting. Jacksonville State earned 12 dimes and had 2 steals in this contest. Furthermore, Jacksonville State grabbed 34 rebounds (4 offensive, 30 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Jacksonville State finished the game shooting 63.2% from the charity stripe by converting 12 of 19 attempts. They made 5 out of their 12 attempts from beyond the arc. In relation to personal fouls, the Flames finished with 20 and Jacksonville State totaled 21 personal fouls.

Colin Porter is one guy who came through for the game. He accounted for 15 points on 4 of 10 shooting. He was on the court for 30 mins but concluded the game with no rebounds. He ended up going 40.0% from the field and distributed 5 assists.

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Liberty will enter this game with a win-loss mark of 13-8 so far this year. They are giving up possession 9.3 times per game and as a squad are committing 14.5 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Liberty is snagging 35.6 rebounds per game and has earned 361 assists for the campaign, which is 18th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Flames are shooting 36.9% on shots from 3-point land (228 of 618) and 65.4% from the free throw line. They are averaging 75.8 pts per contest (144th in the country) while connecting on 46.6% from the field.

On defense, the Flames are forcing 11.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 15.2 personal fouls. They are 9th in D-1 in allowing assists with 197 relinquished on the year. The Flames are giving up a field goal percentage of 42.7% (491 of 1,149) and they concede 32.9 rebounds per contest as a group. They give up 30.9% on 3-point attempts while they are 17th in college hoops in opponents PPG (63.8).

In their last game, the UTEP Miners went home defeated by a final of 60-56 against Sam Houston State. The Miners collected 20 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards totaling 29 for the matchup. They coughed up the ball 15 times, while getting 13 steals in this matchup. Sam Houston State was called for 15 personal fouls in the game which took the Miners to the charity stripe for a total of 17 attempts. They were able to convert 10 of those for a percentage of 58.8%. Concerning three-point shots, UTEP buried 4 out of their 16 tries (25.0%). In all, the Miners walked away from this one shooting 21 for 58 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 36.2%. The Miners permitted Sam Houston State to convert 26 of 64 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 40.6% for the game. They finished 23.1% from beyond the arc by connecting on 3 of 13 and ended up going 5 of 10 from the free throw line (50.0%). In reference to attacking the glass, UTEP permitted Sam Houston State to snag 49 overall (20 offensive).

Kevin Kalu pitched in for the Miners in the matchup. He made 3 out of 4 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 75.0%, and added 5 rebounds. He tallied 6 points in his 16 minutes on the hardwood, but didn't get an assist.

UTEP has a win-loss record of 11-10 so far this season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Miners are shooting 45.0% from the field, which has them ranked 164th in the nation. UTEP has totaled 1,545 points on the year (73.6 per contest) and they pull in 32.4 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 13.0 times per contest (205th in the nation) and they are turning it over 14.9 times per game. The Miners are committing 19.8 personal fouls per game and they go 69.2% from the free throw line.

The UTEP defense gives up 31.3% on 3-pointers (114 of 364) and opponents are converting on 71.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have given up 11.0 dimes and 34.8 boards every game, which has them ranked 48th and 179th in those defensive categories. The Miners on the defensive side of the court are 113th in the country in PPG given up with 69.3. They are forcing 19.4 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 45.2% from the floor (287th in the nation).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take UTEP

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