UTEP vs McNeese State 12/16/21 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
McNeese State Cowboys (3-7) vs. UTEP Miners (5-4)
December 16, 2021 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: UTEP Miners -15 ; Over/Under: 136.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The McNeese State Cowboys and the UTEP Miners meet Thursday in college basketball action from Don Haskins Center. McNeese is sitting at 3-7 this year. The Cowboys are coming off a loss to Louisiana. As for UTEP, they’re 5-4 so far. The Miners took out New Mexico in their last game. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
McNeese State started out the year at 3-3, taking out Champion Christian, Carver and St. Francis BK. Since then it’s been four straight losses, however. Those defeats came to Samford, Seattle, Wyoming and Louisiana in succession.
Last week versus Louisiana, the Cowboys were outscored 45-35 in the first half and 38-33 in the second on the way to an 83-68 defeat. Leading scorer Myles Lewis put up 14 points, and both Kellon Taylor and Collin Warren added 11 points apiece.
Over on the UTEP side, they beat Western Michigan, Northern Michigan, Pacific and Florida A&M to start at 4-2 though six games. The Miners lost their next pair to New Mexico State and Kansas, but then took out New Mexico back on Sunday.
In the New Mexico matchup, UTEP had a slim three-point lead at the break and ultimately hung on for a 77-69 win. Souley Boum led the way on 26 points, and Keonte Kennedy notched 22 points with eight rebounds for the Miners.
UTEP is 1-3-1 ATS in their last five Thursday games and 6-2 ATS in the last eight at home. The Miners are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 overall.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys are 2-6 ATS in the last eight Thursday games and 0-3-1 ATS in their last four road games. McNeese is 0-3-1 ATS in the last four overall.
PICK: I’m going with UTEP here. The Miners were out-rebounded 41-34 in their last outing and had just eight team assists, but made up for it with a decent 43.1 percent from the field and 22-of-29 free throws made. It was a nice bounce-back effort after a couple of tricky matchups against New Mexico State and Kansas.
As for McNeese State, they’ve had trouble keeping up with several teams so far this year. The Cowboys have been at 68 points or fewer in each of their last three games. It’s probably going to take more than that to cover in this one.
