Jacksonville State Gamecocks vs UTEP Miners Prediction, 3/7/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Jacksonville State Gamecocks vs UTEP Miners

Date: Saturday, March 7, 2026

Location: Don Haskins Center in El Paso, TX

TV: ESPN+

The Jacksonville State Gamecocks (14-15) are headed to Don Haskins Center on Saturday where they will try to defeat the UTEP Miners (10-19).

The Jacksonville State Gamecocks played Liberty and went home with a loss by a final score of 81-78 in their last game. In regard to fouls, the Gamecocks ended up with 16 and Liberty totaled 17 fouls. They also knocked down 11 of 25 shots from 3-point land. Liberty shot 77.8% from the charity stripe by knocking down 14 of their 18 tries. Furthermore, Liberty snagged 21 rebounds (1 offensive, 20 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Liberty distributed 15 dimes and had 3 steals for the game. When talking about defending, Jacksonville State allowed 56.0% from the floor on 28 of 50 shooting. They also dished out 13 assists in this contest while forcing 8 turnovers and having 4 steals. When talking about hauling in boards, they earned a total of 26 with 4 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Gamecocks converted 14 of their 20 shots for a rate of 70.0%. Jacksonville State ended the game with a 50.9% FG percentage (28 out of 55) and converted 8 of their 18 shots from beyond the arc.

Mostapha El Moutaouakkil is a guy who was important for the contest. He finished the game at 35.3% from the field but had no assists when the time ran out. He played 26 minutes played and pulled down 6 boards. He accounted for 21 points on 6 of 17 shooting.

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Jacksonville State will enter this matchup with a record of 14-15 for the year. They have an average of 73.2 points per game (257th in Division 1) while hitting 44.2% from the field. The Gamecocks are hitting 36.1% on shots beyond the perimeter (232 of 642) and 69.3% from the charity stripe. As a team, Jacksonville State is grabbing 36.3 boards per game and has accumulated 359 dimes for the year, which ranks 326th in the country in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession via turnover 11.3 times per contest and as a team they commit 17.1 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Gamecocks are forcing 11.3 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.7 personal fouls. They are 35th in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 339 conceded for the year. The Gamecocks defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 41.1% (661 of 1,610) and they surrender 33.2 rebounds per game as a unit. They relinquish 31.4% from 3-point land and they are 48th in D-1 in PPG allowed (68.3).

When they last stepped on the court, the UTEP Miners took a loss by a final score of 97-65 against Western Kentucky. In regard to cleaning up the glass, UTEP permitted Western Kentucky to pull down 35 in total (4 on the offensive side). They finished 45.0% from distance by connecting on 9 out of 20 and ended up going 24 of 28 at the charity stripe (85.7%). The Miners permitted Western Kentucky to make 32 of their 54 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 59.3% for the game. Overall, the Miners finished the game shooting 19 out of 53 from the field which had them shooting 35.8%. Regarding shots from beyond the perimeter, UTEP buried 8 of 28 attempts (28.6%). They were able to convert 19 of those for a clip of 65.5%. Western Kentucky was called for 20 fouls in the game which got the Miners to the charity stripe for 29 attempts. They also gave up possession of the ball 12 times, while earning 6 steals in this contest. The Miners were able to collect 18 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 26 for this contest.

Jamal West Jr. ended up being a factor for the Miners in this matchup. He made 7 of 11 for the game giving him a rate of 63.6%, and earned 7 rebounds. He totaled 22 points in his 37 mins on the court and had 1 assist in the matchup.

UTEP has a record of 10-19 so far this season. The Miners commit 18.3 personal fouls per game and they shoot 69.7% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 11.9 times per contest (321st in college hoops) and they turn it over 11.7 times per contest. UTEP has totaled 2,010 pts for the year (69.3 per contest) and they pull in 32.4 boards per contest. As an offense, the Miners are connecting on 42.7% from the field, which ranks them 314th in D-1.

The Miners are ranked 149th in college hoops in points given up per game with 72.7. They are forcing 12.6 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 45.2% from the floor (251st in college hoops). The UTEP defense gives up 34.8% on 3-pointers (207 of 595) and opponents are connecting on 71.0% of their foul shots. They allow 13.3 dimes and 35.9 rebounds every game, which ranks 176th and 272nd in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Jacksonville State

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