UTEP Miners (13-14) vs. Florida Atlantic Owls (25-3)
February 25, 2023 2:00 pm EDT
The Line: Florida Atlantic Owls -14 / UTEP Miners +14 ; Over/Under: 136.5
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The UTEP Miners and the Florida Atlantic Owls meet Saturday in college basketball action from FAU Arena. UTEP enters this one following a Thursday game versus FIU. In that one the Miners powered out a five-point victory. As for Florida Atlantic, they played UTSA in their Thursday outing. The Owls ended up winning in blowout fashion. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
UTEP Miners
UTEP managed to stay above .500 over their first 20 games, posting an 11-9 record. The Miners hit the skids after that on a 1-6 run. The losses in that time were to North Texas, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Charlotte, UAB and North Texas again.
On Thursday versus FIU, the Miners posted a 40-32 edge by halftime. UTEP was outscored 50-47 from there but held on for the 87-82 win. Shamar Givance topped the team on 22 points with 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Florida Atlantic Owls
Over on the Florida Atlantic side, they rolled to a nice 19-1 run through their first 20 games. The Owls managed a 5-2 stretch in the next seven, featuring wins over Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Charlotte, Rice and Louisiana Tech.
In their Thursday game against UTSA, Florida Atlantic was up 45-32 by halftime. The Owls rolled on a 61-34 second half and took the win 106-66. Michael Forrest was tops on the Owls with 19 points and three assists in the victory.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll stick with FAU in this one. You could make a case for UTEP, but I don’t think the Miners will quite get there. The Owls bounced back well from their Middle Tennessee loss with a big win over UTSA on Thursday, and FAU has now won four of their last five with 90 or more points scored in three of the four wins (all at home). These teams last met up back on January 21 at Don Haskins Center. The Owls jumped out to a 37-24 halftime lead in that one and eventually took the win 67-59. I like Florid Atlantic to notch another high-scoring home effort here in a cover.
