UTEP Miners vs New Mexico State Aggies Prediction, 1/4/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

1/3/2024

Game: UTEP Miners vs New Mexico State Aggies

Date: Thursday, January 4, 2024

Location: Pan American Center in Las Cruces, NM

TV: ESPN+

Pan American Center is where the New Mexico State Aggies (6-9) will go up against the UTEP Miners (8-6) on Thursday.

The UTEP Miners stepped onto the hardwood against Seattle and went home with a loss by a final score of 73-61 in their last game. With respect to fouls, the Miners ended up walking away with 13 while Seattle racked up 18 fouls. They buried 9 of their 22 shots from distance. Seattle finished shooting 72.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 8 of their 11 tries. Furthermore, Seattle pulled down 38 boards (6 offensive, 32 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Seattle distributed 11 assists and had 3 steals in the game. In terms of the defense, UTEP allowed their opponent to shoot 50.0% from the floor on 28 of 56 shooting. They also dished out 6 dimes in this game while forcing 14 turnovers and earning 7 steals. Regarding rebounding, they earned 27 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the Miners knocked down 21 of 26 tries for a rate of 80.8%. UTEP walked away from the game having earned a 34.0% FG percentage (18 of 53) and made 4 of 20 3-pointers.

David Terrell Jr. is someone who was a factor for the matchup. He racked up 9 points on 2 out of 5 shooting. He saw the court for 16 minutes but finished the game without a rebound. He finished shooting 40.0% from the floor and dished out 1 assist.

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UTEP will take the court with a record of 8-6 this year. They average 76.7 points per outing (146th in the nation) while hitting 45.6% from the field. The Miners are hitting 28.6% on 3-point shots (72 of 252) and 68.9% from the charity stripe. As a team, UTEP is pulling down 35.2 rebounds per game and has earned 198 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 129th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They are losing possession via turnover 14.3 times per contest and as a unit are committing 21.5 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Miners are able to force 18.2 turnovers per game and they draw 21.0 fouls. They are currently ranked 75th in the country in allowing assists to the opposition with 146 surrendered so far this year. The Miners defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 42.9% (317 of 739) and they relinquish 34.0 rebounds per game as a group. They give up 31.3% from 3-point land and they are ranked 148th in college hoops in points per game allowed (69.8).

The last time they took the court, the New Mexico State Aggies got the victory with a final of 66-61 when they faced California Baptist. The Aggies collected 26 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 32 for this game. They coughed it up 12 times, while recording 6 steals for this contest. California Baptist was called for 18 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Aggies to the free throw line for a total of 20 tries. They were able to convert 12 of the free throws for a percentage of 60.0%. In terms of 3-point attempts, New Mexico State buried 6 out of 14 tries (42.9%). When the final whistle blew, the Aggies finished 24 for 59 from the floor which had them shooting 40.7%. The Aggies allowed California Baptist to convert 16 of their 52 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 30.8% in this contest. They finished shooting 20.0% from 3-point land via 5 of 25 and walked away from this one shooting 24 out of 30 at the charity stripe (80.0%). In relation to rebounds, New Mexico State allowed California Baptist to collect 35 overall (8 offensive).

Robert Carpenter was important for the Aggies for the matchup. He racked up 20 points in his 17 mins of playing time, but went home with no dimes. He knocked down 6 out of 11 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 54.5%, and had 7 rebounds.

New Mexico State has a mark of 6-9 this year. The Aggies are committing 21.5 fouls per contest and they connect on 69.9% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 13.1 times per game (233rd in the nation) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.5 times per game. New Mexico State has accumulated 1,063 pts on the season (70.9 per game) and they average 34.7 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Aggies are hitting on 43.4% from the field, which is ranked 258th in D-1.

The New Mexico State defense surrenders 33.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter (123 of 364) and their opponents are converting on 69.3% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 13.8 dimes and 34.6 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks 263rd and 165th in those categories on the defensive end. The Aggies on the defensive end are ranked 227th in the country in points allowed per contest with 72.8. They are forcing their opponents into 13.2 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.6% from the field (75th in college basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take UTEP

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