UTEP Miners vs St. Mary's Gaels Prediction, 12/8/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: UTEP Miners vs St. Mary's Gaels

Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Location: University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, CA

TV: ESPN3

Odds/Point Spread: UTEP (+13.5)

The St. Mary's Gaels (4-1) play the UTEP Miners (2-0) at University Credit Union Pavilion on Tuesday. The odds on this contest have St. Mary's as 13.5-point favorites. The O/U opens at 130.5.

UTEP enters this contest with a record of 2-0 on the season. They turn it over 11.5 times per contest and as a group they commit 11.0 fouls per game. As a team, UTEP is grabbing 40.0 boards per game and has tallied 43 assists on the year, which has them ranked 159th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Miners are connecting on 38.0% on shots from 3-point land (19 of 50) and 71.9% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 92.0 points per contest (20th in D-1) on 50.4% from the field. On the defensive end, the Miners are forcing 16.5 turnovers per game and they draw 17.0 fouls. They rank 60th in college hoops in giving up assists with 26 conceded this season. The Miners defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 43.4% (56 of 129) and they surrender 35.0 rebounds per game as a unit. They surrender 36.8% on shots from distance and they are ranked 190th in college basketball in PPG allowed (73.0).

The UTEP Miners played the Sul Ross State Lobos and went home with a win by a final score of 84-65 in their last game. UTEP wrapped up the game with a 47.7% FG percentage (31 out of 65) and converted 9 of their 23 three-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Miners made 13 of their 13 shots for a rate of 100.0%. Pertaining to rebounding, they collected 36 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 23 dimes in this game in addition to getting 9 steals and 4 blocks. Regarding defense, UTEP let their opponent shoot 47.7% from the field on 31 out of 65. Sul Ross State distributed 12 dimes and 6 steals in the game. In addition, the Lobos pulled down 28 rebounds (4 offensive, 24 defensive) and had 4 blocks. Sul Ross State walked away from this one shooting 60.0% from the free throw line by making 3 of 5 shots. They also knocked down 10 out of their 28 attempts from distance.

Souley Boum is someone who was important for the contest. He racked up 34 points on 8 out of 15 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 39 minutes played and also collected 5 boards. Boum finished the contest at 53.3% from the floor and also distributed 11 assists. One more player that was a determining factor in this matchup for the Miners was Bryson Williams. He grabbed 13 boards and had 2 assists. He finished 68.4% from the floor in the game by going 13-of-19 (26 points). When the final whistle blew, Williams played for 35 minutes.

St. Mary's has a mark of 4-1 this year. The Gaels are responsible for committing 15.0 personal fouls every game while shooting 73.1% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.0 times per game (134th in college hoops) and they turn the ball over 12.0 times per game. St. Mary's has totaled 349 points so far this year (69.8 per contest) and they average 36.2 boards per game. As an offense, the Gaels are connecting on 44.2% from the field, which is 208th in D-1. The Gaels are ranked 74th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 63.2. They have conceded 7.2 dimes and 29.8 rebounds every game, which ranks 16th and 29th in college hoops. The St. Mary's defense gives up 36.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter (26 of 71) and opponents are making 64.8% of their free throw attempts. They are forcing 11.4 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 43.0% from the floor (175th in college basketball).

The last time they took the court, the St. Mary's Gaels took home the win by a final score of 82-70 when they played the Texas Southern Tigers. The Gaels were able to collect 19 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards for a total of 28 in the game. They blocked 5 shots while earning 5 steals in the matchup. The Tigers had 13 fouls in this contest which took the Gaels to the free throw line for a total of 9 shots. They were able to convert 6 of the free throws for a rate of 66.7%. In relation to 3-point attempts, St. Mary's converted 16 of their 34 tries (47.1%). Overall, the Gaels finished 30 for 56 from the floor which had them shooting 53.6%. The Gaels allowed the Tigers to bury 25 out of 49 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 51.0% in the game. They finished 44.4% from distance via 4 out of 9 and walked away from this one shooting 16 out of 20 at the free throw line (80.0%). Concerning rebounding, St. Mary's permitted Texas Southern to collect 20 in total (5 offensive).

Tommy Kuhse ended up playing a lot for the Gaels in this matchup. He buried 4 of 9 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 44.4%, which had him finishing with 8 points. Kuhse grabbed 2 rebounds in his 32 minutes and had 10 assists in the matchup. An additional guy who saw a lot of court time for St. Mary's was Jabe Mullins. He totaled only 5 points in his 26 minutes played by going 2 of 6 shooting for the contest. Mullins ended the game having shot 33.3% from the field while also earning 2 assists and 4 boards.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take St. Mary's (-13.5)

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