Norfolk State Spartans vs UTEP Miners Prediction, 12/21/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Norfolk State Spartans vs UTEP Miners

Date: Sunday, December 21, 2025

Location: Don Haskins Center in El Paso, TX

TV: ESPN+

Don Haskins Center is where the UTEP Miners (3-6) will try to beat the Norfolk State Spartans (4-8) on Sunday.

The Norfolk State Spartans played Grambling and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 80-68 in their last contest. In relation to personal fouls, the Spartans ended up walking away with 20 and Grambling racked up 17 personal fouls. They converted 9 out of their 23 tries from long range. Grambling ended up going 77.3% from the charity stripe by converting 17 of 22 shots. Additionally, Grambling collected 29 rebounds (1 offensive, 28 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Grambling recorded 23 dimes and had 9 steals in this game. With regard to the defense, Norfolk State allowed the other team to shoot 48.2% from the field on 27 out of 56 shooting. They also doled out 10 dimes in this contest while forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In terms of pulling down boards, they compiled 41 with 14 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Spartans made 11 of 25 tries for a percentage of 44.0%. Norfolk State finished the contest having earned a 40.9% FG percentage (27 out of 66) and converted 3 of 15 shots from beyond the arc.

Elijah Jamison is one guy who was a contributor for the matchup. He finished with 26 points on 10 of 21 shooting. He played for 34 mins played and also pulled down 6 boards. He finished the game at 47.6% from the field and distributed 3 assists.

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Norfolk State enters this contest with a win-loss mark of 4-8 for the season. They are averaging 76.8 points per contest (202nd in the country) while shooting 46.5% from the floor. The Spartans are hitting 30.0% on 3-pointers (62 of 207) and 61.9% from the charity stripe. As a team, Norfolk State is pulling in 38.1 rebounds per contest and has racked up 134 dimes on the year, which ranks 327th in the country in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 11.3 times per game and as a group are committing 19.9 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Spartans have forced 13.0 turnovers per game while drawing 17.9 fouls. They are relinquishing 30.6% on shots from downtown and they rank 190th in college hoops in points per game allowed (73.3). The Spartans defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 43.0% (291 of 677) and they relinquish 34.3 boards per contest as a unit. They rank 286th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 173 relinquished on the campaign.

In their last game, the UTEP Miners took a loss by a score of 66-61 against Hawaii. The Miners recorded 26 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 34 for the game. They also gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while getting 3 steals for this game. Hawaii had 8 fouls in this matchup which took the Miners to the free throw line for a total of 10 shots. They were able to make 5 of the free throws for a percentage of 50.0%. In terms of shots from distance, UTEP knocked down 8 of 22 tries (36.4%). When all was said and done, the Miners ended up shooting 24 for 60 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.0%. The Miners permitted Hawaii to convert 21 of their 52 tries from the field which had them shooting 40.4% in this matchup. They finished the game shooting 31.6% from three-point range by shooting 6 out of 19 and walked away from this one shooting 18 of 22 from the free throw line (81.8%). Regarding how they cleaned up the glass, UTEP allowed Hawaii to pull down 31 in all (6 on the offensive side).

Jamal West Jr. ended up being a major contributor for the Miners for this contest. He racked up 12 points in his 35 mins on the court and accumulated 1 assist in this contest. He knocked down 6 of 11 in the game for a field goal rate of 54.5%, and accumulated 7 rebounds.

UTEP has a mark of 3-6 for the season. The Miners commit 20.9 fouls per contest and they hit 66.1% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 12.4 times per game (307th in college) and they are turning it over 12.4 times per contest. UTEP has totaled 649 pts for the year (72.1 per game) and they pull down 32.4 boards per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Miners are shooting 44.3% from the floor, which is 244th in college.

The UTEP defense concedes 35.9% on 3-pointers (65 of 181) and opponents are making 71.1% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 13.0 dimes and 36.7 boards per contest, which ranks them 162nd and 280th in college hoops. The Miners defensively are ranked 148th in college hoops in PPG given up with 71.7. They are able to force 15.6 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 44.0% from the floor (216th in college).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UTEP

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