Louisiana Tech Bulldogs vs UTEP Miners Prediction, 1/2/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs vs UTEP Miners

Date: Thursday, January 2, 2025

Location: Don Haskins Center in El Paso, TX

TV: ESPN+

Don Haskins Center is the site where the UTEP Miners (10-3) will try to defeat the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (11-2) on Thursday.

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs took the court against Rust College and walked away with a win by a score of 108-60 in their last game. When it comes to personal fouls, the Bulldogs ended up walking away with 4 and Rust College totaled 7 personal fouls. They knocked down 12 of their 36 tries from three-point range. Rust College shot 50.0% at the charity stripe by converting 2 of 4 attempts. Additionally, Rust College grabbed 22 boards (4 offensive, 18 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Rust College recorded 14 assists and had 7 steals for this contest. Pertaining to defending, Louisiana Tech allowed the other team to go 33.3% from the floor on 23 out of 69 shooting. They also dished out 33 assists in this matchup as well as forcing the opposition into 12 turnovers and earning 10 steals. When discussing rebounding, they earned 55 with 15 of them being on the offensive end. From the charity stripe, the Bulldogs converted 9 of 10 tries for a percentage of 90.0%. Louisiana Tech ended the game having earned a 56.4% FG percentage (44 of 78) and buried 11 of 35 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Daniel Batcho is one player who was a contributor for the game. He finished the contest at 76.9% from the field and recorded 1 assist. He was on the court for 22 mins played and also pulled down 11 boards. He ended up with 27 points on 10 out of 13 shooting.

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Louisiana Tech steps onto the court with a mark of 11-2 for the campaign. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.9 times per game and as a group they are committing 14.1 personal fouls per contest. As a unit, Louisiana Tech is collecting 37.7 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 231 assists on the campaign, which is 23rd in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Bulldogs are shooting 36.6% on three-point attempts (107 of 292) and 75.2% from the charity stripe. They average 80.5 points per contest (79th in college) while connecting on 50.9% from the floor.

On defense, the Bulldogs are forcing their opponents into 12.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 15.5 personal fouls. They give up 30.4% from 3-point land while they are 80th in the country in opponents PPG (67.0). The Bulldogs are allowing a shooting percentage of 39.8% (319 of 801) and they surrender 32.5 rebounds per contest as a team. They are 196th in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 169 surrendered for the year.

The last time they took the court, the UTEP Miners walked away with a victory by a final of 79-60 against Northern New Mexico. In the matter of cleaning up the glass, UTEP permitted Northern New Mexico to snag 36 overall (11 on the offensive glass). They shot 26.7% from three-point range by going 4 out of 15 and finished the game at 14 out of 18 from the free throw line (77.8%). The Miners permitted Northern New Mexico to convert 21 out of their 59 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 35.6% for the game. When all was said and done, the Miners finished the game shooting 27 for 61 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.3%. In reference to shooting from distance, UTEP converted 8 out of their 26 tries (30.8%). They were able to make 17 of those for a percentage of 65.4%. Northern New Mexico had 18 fouls for this game which took the Miners to the free throw line for a total of 26 shots. They turned it over 19 times, while recording 18 steals for the game. The Miners corralled 24 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards totaling 35 in this game.

Corey Camper Jr. ended up having an impact for the Miners in the game. He converted 7 out of 12 in this contest for a rate of 58.3%, and added 3 rebounds. He had 15 points in his 23 minutes on the hardwood and added 3 dimes in this contest.

UTEP has a mark of 10-3 on the campaign. The Miners are responsible for committing 20.5 personal fouls per game and they go 70.1% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 13.9 times per contest (202nd in college) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.9 times per game. UTEP has earned 968 points on the season (74.5 per contest) and they average 29.6 boards per contest. When it comes to offense, the Miners are hitting on 47.0% from the field, which has them ranked 104th in the nation.

The UTEP defense concedes 31.0% on shots from 3-point land (80 of 258) and opponents are knocking down 74.1% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 13.0 dimes and 35.7 total boards per game, ranking them 187th and 240th in D-1. The Miners on the defensive end are ranked 56th in college hoops in points given up per game with 65.9. They are able to force 19.2 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 41.7% from the floor (118th in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Louisiana Tech

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