Middle Tennessee vs UTEP Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 2/2/23

The UTEP Miners and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders meet Thursday in college basketball action from Murphy Center. UTEP is 11-10 so far this year. The Miners lost to North Texas in their last game. As for Middle Tennessee, they’re 13-9 on the season following a loss to FIU on Saturday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

UTEP Miners

UTEP lost to Texas, New Mexico State, DePaul, Kent State, UAB, Rice and LA Tech in their first 16 games this year. The Miners are 2-3 since then with losses to Rice, Florida Atlantic and North Texas in that time. 

Matched up against North Texas on Saturday, the Miners trailed 23-19 by halftime. UTEP didn’t end up getting any closer on a 29-23 second-half deficit and lost 52-42. Shamar Givance led the way on 12 points and six rebounds. 

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 

Over on the Middle Tennessee side, they lost to Winthrop, Missouri State, St. Bonaventure, Chattanooga, Charlotte, UTSA and North Texas in their first 16 games. The Raiders are 4-2 since then with losses to Florida Atlantic and FIU in their last pair. 

Back on Saturday versus FIU, the Raiders trailed 44-39 at halftime. Middle Tennessee managed a 38-35 second-half deficit and lost 82-74. Eli Lawrence was tops in scoring on 16 points and two rebounds. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll stay with Middle Tennessee. Probably staying away from this one, though. The Raiders couldn’t quite keep up with a decent FIU team in their last outing, however they’ve been playing pretty well overall. Middle Tennessee has hit 67 or more points in five of their last six games and should notch a reasonable total here. As for UTEP, they’ve hit 60 or fewer points in three of their last four so they’ll need a big push on offense in this one. I don’t think the Miners will quite keep the cover pace.