Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs UTEP Miners Prediction, 2/27/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs UTEP Miners

Date: Thursday, February 27, 2025

Location: Don Haskins Center in Richmond, VA

TV: ESPN+

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (15-12) are on their way to Don Haskins Center on Thursday where they will go up against the UTEP Miners (17-10).

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers stepped onto the hardwood against Louisiana Tech and went home with a win by a final score of 64-63 in their last game. Western Kentucky walked away from the game having earned a 45.6% field goal percentage (26 out of 57) and knocked down 5 out of their 16 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the free throw line, the Hilltoppers converted 7 of 7 shots for a rate of 100.0%. When discussing grabbing boards, they earned a total of 24 with 3 of them being offensive. They also doled out 13 assists for the contest while forcing 14 turnovers and having 8 steals. In regard to defense, Western Kentucky allowed 37.2% from the field on 16 of 43 shooting. Louisiana Tech earned 12 dimes and had 7 steals for the matchup. In addition, Louisiana Tech collected 28 rebounds (5 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Louisiana Tech walked away from this one shooting 92.0% from the charity stripe by knocking down 23 of their 25 tries. They converted 8 out of their 22 shots from beyond the perimeter. When it comes to fouls, the Hilltoppers ended up with 16 while Louisiana Tech finished the game with 16 fouls.

Braxton Bayless is one guy who was a major factor in this game. He finished 57.9% from the floor and recorded 4 assists. He played 38 mins and also grabbed 5 rebounds. He recorded 27 points on 11 out of 19 shooting.

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Western Kentucky comes into this contest with a record of 15-12 so far this season. They currently have an average of 76.7 points per contest (109th in college hoops) while hitting 42.9% from the floor. The Hilltoppers are hitting 34.1% on shots from beyond the arc (231 of 678) and 73.3% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Western Kentucky is collecting 37.2 boards per game and is sitting with 332 dimes this season, which has them ranked 308th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.3 times per contest and as a team they commit 17.8 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Hilltoppers are forcing their opponents into 13.3 turnovers per game and they draw 16.1 fouls. They rank 193rd in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 372 conceded so far this season. The Hilltoppers are allowing a shooting percentage of 41.5% (677 of 1,633) and they relinquish 40.2 boards per contest as a group. They relinquish 31.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 281st in college in points per game allowed (75.3).

For their last game, the UTEP Miners took a loss by a final score of 73-65 when they faced Jacksonville State. In the matter of rebounds, UTEP allowed Jacksonville State to get 38 in total (13 offensive). They shot 30.4% from three-point range by going 7 of 23 and finished the game at 16 of 22 from the free throw line (72.7%). The Miners permitted Jacksonville State to knock down 25 of their 60 tries from the field which had them at 41.7% in the matchup. Overall, the Miners ended up going 23 for 56 from the floor which gave them a rate of 41.1%. Pertaining to shots from distance, UTEP converted 4 of 13 tries (30.8%). They were able to make 15 of the free throws for a percentage of 51.7%. Jacksonville State had 19 fouls in this matchup which took the Miners to the free throw line for 29 shots. They gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while getting 8 steals for the contest. The Miners recorded 23 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 30 in this game.

Otis Frazier III ended up being a major contributor for the Miners in the matchup. He tallied 25 points in his 34 minutes of playing time and tallied 2 dimes for the game. He knocked down 8 of 14 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 57.1%, and had 10 rebounds.

UTEP has a mark of 17-10 so far this year. The Miners are committing 18.3 personal fouls every game and they connect on 70.7% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 13.8 times per game (173rd in college hoops) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.0 times per game. UTEP has scored 1,960 points for the year (72.6 per contest) and they pull in 30.5 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Miners are connecting on 45.1% from the field, which is 162nd in college.

The UTEP defense allows 32.0% on 3-point shots (188 of 588) and their opponents are making 72.3% of their foul shots. They have given up 13.8 assists and 36.1 boards per game, which ranks 246th and 282nd in those categories on the defensive end. The Miners defensively are ranked 94th in D-1 in points given up per game with 69.2. They are forcing 16.7 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.0% from the field (202nd in Division 1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UTEP

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