UTEP Miners (18-15) vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (20-11)
March 16, 2024 8:30 pm EDT
The Line: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers -3.5; Over/Under: +146
(Get latest betting odds)
The UTEP Miners and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers meet Saturday in the college basketball Conference USA Tournament Championship at the Propst Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a UTEP vs. Western Kentucky Prediction.
UTEP Team Preview
The UTEP Miners come into the conference championship after knocking off Sam Houston State 65-63. Tae Hardy leads the Miners in scoring with 15.2 PPG along with 2.8 RPG and 2.6 APG while Zid Powell has 11 PPG with 4.9 RPG and a team-high 3.2 APG to lead UTEP in assists this season. Otis Frazier III has 11.1 PPG with 4.7 RPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for UTEP so far this season. As a team, UTEP is averaging 73.2 PPG on 44.8% shooting from the field, 32% from three and 68.4% from the foul line this season.
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Western Kentucky Team Preview
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers booked their spot in the title game after an 85-54 rout of Middle Tennessee last time out. Don McHenry leads the Hilltoppers in scoring and assists with 14.8 PPG and 2.5 APG along with 3.2 RPG while Brandon Newman has 10.2 PPG and a team-high 5.7 RPG to lead the Hilltoppers in rebounding and Rodney Howard has 10.3 PPG with 4.8 RPG to round out the group of double-digit scorers for WKU so far this season while Tyrone Marshall has 8.6 PPG with 4.5 RPG and Khristian Lander has 8.8 PPG. As a team, Western Kentucky is averaging 80.5 PPG on 46.7% shooting from the field, 33.8% from three and 71.2% from the foul line this season.
UTEP vs. Western Kentucky Prediction
I’m on Western Kentucky here. UTEP’s found a way to burn me the last couple of days, but as tempting as it is to go back to them in an underdog role, Western Kentucky’s been too dominant over the course of the conference tournament to just simply ignore. The Hilltoppers have stepped it up at the right point in the year and I think they keep it rolling with a win and cover in the conference championship. Give me WKU.
