UTEP Miners vs Northern Kentucky Norse Prediction, 11/2/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UTEP Miners vs Northern Kentucky Norse

Date: Monday, November 2, 2026

Location: Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, SD

TV: YouTube

Sanford Pentagon is the site where the Northern Kentucky Norse (20-14 last year) will attempt to defeat the UTEP Miners (11-20 last season) on Monday.

The UTEP Miners faced off with Jacksonville State and took a loss by a score of 64-61 in their last game. In the matter of personal fouls, the Miners ended up finishing with 14 while Jacksonville State totaled 14 personal fouls. They knocked down 7 out of their 16 attempts from 3-point land. Jacksonville State finished 68.2% from the charity stripe by burying 15 of 22 shots. On top of that, Jacksonville State snagged 31 rebounds (9 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Jacksonville State doled out 9 dimes and had 7 steals for the game. Concerning defending, UTEP allowed their opponent to shoot 41.2% from the field on 21 out of 51 shooting. They also distributed 8 assists in the game while forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and having 9 steals. Pertaining to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 28 with 4 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Miners made 16 of 22 attempts for a rate of 72.7%. UTEP wrapped up the contest having earned a 41.7% FG percentage (20 of 48) and converted 5 of their 18 3-point shots.

Jamal West Jr. is someone who came through for the matchup. He finished shooting 50.0% from the field and earned 1 assist. He played for 29 mins and collected 11 rebounds. He notched 19 points on 6 out of 12 shooting.

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UTEP enters this matchup after finishing with a mark of 11-20 last year. They turned it over 11.7 times per contest and as a group committed 18.4 personal fouls per contest. As a group, UTEP collected 32.5 boards per game and accumulated 364 dimes last year, which was 336th in college in terms of passing. The Miners shot 33.8% on 3-point shots (228 of 675) and 70.0% from the charity stripe. They averaged 69.3 points per game (325th in the nation) while hitting 42.7% from the field.

On defense, the Miners forced their opponents into 12.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.2 personal fouls. They conceded 34.2% on shots from downtown and they were 132nd in the nation in PPG allowed (72.4). The Miners gave up and opponent field goal percentage of 44.6% (755 of 1,692) and they relinquished 36.3 boards per game as a squad. They were ranked 81st in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 405 surrendered over the course of last season.

In their last game, the Northern Kentucky Norse took a loss by a final score of 103-90 against Wright State. The Norse corralled 18 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds for a total of 31 for this contest. They also turned the ball over 15 times, while recording 6 steals for the matchup. Wright State committed 23 fouls in this matchup which got the Norse to the charity stripe for a total of 30 shots. They were able to make 23 of those for a percentage of 76.7%. Concerning shooting from distance, Northern Kentucky converted 9 of 23 tries (39.1%). At the conclusion of this game, the Norse went 29 for 64 from the field which gave them a rate of 45.3%. The Norse allowed Wright State to convert 33 of their 59 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 55.9% in the matchup. They wrapped up this game 42.9% from 3-point land by connecting on 9 of 21 and finished the game at 28 out of 33 at the free throw line (84.8%). Concerning rebounding, Northern Kentucky allowed Wright State to grab 29 in total (5 on the offensive glass).

Kael Robinson was important for the Norse in this game. He racked up 24 points in his 31 mins of playing time, but finished this game without an assist. He made 6 of 11 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 54.5%, and accounted for 4 rebounds.

Northern Kentucky had a win-loss mark of 20-14 last year. The Norse committed 18.4 personal fouls per contest and they shot 71.4% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates was at 15.8 times per game (71st in the country) and they turned the ball over 11.8 times per contest. Northern Kentucky earned 2,827 pts over the course of last season (83.1 per contest) and they collected 35.4 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Norse hit 46.7% from the field, which ranked them 80th in college.

The Northern Kentucky defense conceded 35.4% on shots from beyond the arc (277 of 783) and opponents converted on 71.2% of their free throw attempts. They allowed 15.7 dimes and 34.8 total boards per game, which was ranked 238th and 210th in Division 1. The Norse defensively were ranked 278th in college in PPG given up with 77.5. They forced their opponents into 13.8 TO's per game and allowed teams to shoot 45.8% from the field (268th in the country).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UTEP

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