UAB vs UTEP 12/30/21 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
UTEP Miners (7-5) vs. UAB Blazers (10-3)
December 30, 2021 7:30 pm EDT
The Line: UAB Blazers -13 / UTEP Miners +13; Over/Under: +136
(Get latest betting odds)
The UTEP Miners and the UAB Blazers meet in college basketball action from the Bartow Arena on Thursday night.
The UTEP Miners come into this game on the heels of a 73-66 loss at the hands of Bradley last time out. Souley Boum has 19.6 PPG with 2.5 APG in 8 games so far this season while Keonte Kennedy has 13.3 PPG and a team-high 5.9 RPG to lead the Miners on the glass. Jamal Bieniemy has 12.9 PPG with a team-high 2.8 APG to lead the Miners in the assist department and to round out the trio of double-digit scorers for UTEP up to this point in the season. As a team, UTEP is averaging 70 PPG on 41.2% shooting from the field, 32.3% from three and 75.4% from the foul line while allowing 65.1 PPG on 45.4% shooting from the field and 36.4% from three this season.
The UAB Blazers will look to add to a 100-58 win over Mississippi Valley State last time out. Jordan Walker leads UAB in scoring and assists with 15.9 PPG and 4.5 APG while Quan Jackson has 10.8 PPG with 4.5 RPG as the only other double-digit scorer for UAB up to this point in the season. Michael Ertel has 9.8 PPG and KJ Buffen has 9.7 PPG with 6.8 RPG and Trey Jemison has a team-high 8.1 RPG to lead the Blazers on the glass. As a team, UAB is averaging 82.2 PPG on 46.3% shooting from the field, 35.9% from three and 69.7% from the foul line while allowing 61 PPG on 38.9% shooting from the field and 33.5% from three this season.
UTEP is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall and 1-4-1 ATS in their last 5 Thursday games while the under is 5-1 in their last 6 games following an ATS loss. UAB is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games overall and 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games following an ATS win while the under is 19-6-1 in their last 27 games by a win of 20 or more points.
I get why UAB is favored at home, but I’m still not overly enthused with the idea of laying double-digits with the Blazers after letting me down in a solid home spot against West Virginia. UTEP is a better team than their record indicates in my opinion and they have had some stiff competition already this season. Not to mention the underdog’s pretty much owned this series in recent years, so give me UTEP and the points here.
