Liberty Flames vs UTEP Miners Prediction, 2/15/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Liberty Flames vs UTEP Miners

Date: Saturday, February 15, 2025

Location: Don Haskins Center in Bowling Green, KY

TV: ESPN+

Don Haskins Center is the location where the UTEP Miners (16-7) will meet the Liberty Flames (19-5) on Saturday.

The Liberty Flames faced Sam Houston State and walked away with a win by a score of 64-61 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Flames ended up with 19 while Sam Houston State finished the game with 21 personal fouls. They made 5 of 19 attempts from 3-point range. Sam Houston State shot 73.7% from the free throw line by knocking down 14 of their 19 attempts. Moreover, Sam Houston State collected 31 boards (8 offensive, 23 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Sam Houston State recorded 11 dimes and had 8 steals in the matchup. When talking about defending, Liberty allowed the other team to go 40.4% from the field on 21 of 52 shooting. They also recorded 12 assists for this contest as well as forcing 15 turnovers and having 5 steals. In reference to pulling down rebounds, they collected 24 with 4 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the free throw line, the Flames converted 13 of their 16 shots for a rate of 81.3%. Liberty walked away from the game having earned a 43.8% field goal percentage (21 out of 48) and converted 9 of their 28 3-pointers.

Kaden Metheny is a guy who was important in this matchup. He ended up shooting 52.9% from the floor and also distributed 1 assist. He saw the court for 36 minutes played and also grabbed 7 rebounds. He ended up with 26 points on 9 out of 17 shooting.

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Liberty enters this matchup with a win-loss record of 19-5 on the campaign. They average 77.0 points per game (104th in D-1) while shooting 49.1% from the floor. The Flames are shooting 38.0% on shots from downtown (249 of 656) and 65.6% from the charity stripe. As a team, Liberty is grabbing 33.5 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 404 dimes on the year, which ranks 31st in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 10.0 times per contest and as a team they are committing 12.9 personal fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Flames are forcing their opponents into 13.0 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 13.8 personal fouls. They rank 3rd in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 213 surrendered on the year. The Flames are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 39.8% (551 of 1,383) and they concede 34.3 rebounds per contest as a team. They are giving up 27.6% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 8th in college hoops in PPG allowed (61.8).

The last time they took the hardwood, the UTEP Miners got the victory with a final of 66-63 when they played New Mexico State. The Miners were able to corral 27 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards totaling 36 in this contest. They also coughed up the ball 11 times, while recording 8 steals for this contest. New Mexico State was called for 20 fouls in the matchup which took the Miners to the charity stripe for 29 tries. They were able to bury 19 of those for a rate of 65.5%. When it comes to shots from downtown, UTEP made 5 of 21 attempts (23.8%). When all was said and done, the Miners finished the game shooting 21 out of 52 from the field which gave them a percentage of 40.4%. The Miners permitted New Mexico State to knock down 17 out of their 56 tries from the field which left them shooting 30.4% in this contest. They finished 23.3% from three-point range by connecting on 7 out of 30 and finished the contest at 22 out of 31 at the free throw line (71.0%). Concerning how they rebounded, UTEP allowed New Mexico State to get 35 in total (11 on the offensive side).

Devon Barnes ended up being important for the Miners in the matchup. He buried 4 of 14 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 28.6%, and had 4 rebounds. He earned 18 points in his 33 mins on the hardwood and had 2 assists in this matchup.

UTEP has a record of 16-7 for the year. As an offensive unit, the Miners are connecting on 45.2% from the floor, which ranks 165th in college. UTEP has accumulated 1,676 points on the year (72.9 per contest) and they pull in 29.9 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 13.7 times per game (178th in college hoops) and they turn the ball over 12.4 times per contest. The Miners commit 18.7 fouls per game while shooting 71.8% from the free throw line.

The Miners are ranked 76th in college in points per game surrendered with 68.4. They are forcing their opponents into 17.3 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 43.7% from the floor (187th in Division 1). The UTEP defense surrenders 30.9% on three-point shots (151 of 488) and opponents are converting on 73.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They surrender 13.3 dimes and 36.0 boards on a nightly basis, ranking them 203rd and 277th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Liberty

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