UTEP Miners vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Prediction, 2/28/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UTEP Miners vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026

Location: E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, KY

TV: ESPN+

The UTEP Miners (10-18) are hitting the road to E.A. Diddle Arena on Saturday where they will go up against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (17-11).

The UTEP Miners faced off with MTSU and ended up losing by a score of 77-67 in their last contest. When talking about personal fouls, the Miners finished with 21 and MTSU totaled 15 personal fouls. They converted 8 of 24 attempts from distance. MTSU went 77.3% when shooting free throws by burying 17 of their 22 attempts. In addition, MTSU snagged 33 rebounds (11 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't notch a block. MTSU totaled 11 assists and had 6 steals in the game. When talking about defense, UTEP allowed the other team to go 44.8% from the field on 26 of 58 shooting. They also dished out 8 dimes in the game in addition to forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and getting 8 steals. Pertaining to hauling in rebounds, they collected 22 with 3 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Miners made 12 of their 17 tries for a percentage of 70.6%. UTEP finished with a 48.9% FG percentage (23 of 47) and made 9 of their 20 three-point shots.

Kaseem Watson is a guy who was a contributor in this contest. He finished shooting 77.8% from the field and also earned 1 assist. He played for 37 mins played and snagged 4 boards. He accumulated 24 points on 7 out of 9 shooting.

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UTEP will take the court with a win-loss mark of 10-18 this season. They are averaging 69.5 points per game (321st in the country) while shooting 43.0% from the field. The Miners are hitting 34.0% on shots from beyond the arc (207 of 608) and 69.9% from the free throw line. As a unit, UTEP is grabbing 32.5 rebounds per game and has accounted for 335 dimes for the season, which has them ranked 327th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 11.6 times per contest and as a group they are committing 18.2 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Miners are forcing 12.7 turnovers per game while drawing 16.0 personal fouls. They are giving up 34.4% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 121st in college hoops in points per game allowed (71.9). The Miners defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 44.7% (680 of 1,522) and they concede 35.9 rebounds per game as a squad. They currently rank 110th in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 362 relinquished on the season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers got the victory with a final of 93-70 against New Mexico State. The Hilltoppers were able to snag 33 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 in this game. They also coughed up the ball 9 times, while getting 9 steals in the matchup. New Mexico State committed 21 personal fouls in the game which got the Hilltoppers to the charity stripe for 31 tries. They were able to make 22 of those for a percentage of 71.0%. Regarding 3-pointers, Western Kentucky knocked down 11 of their 25 tries (44.0%). When this game wrapped up, the Hilltoppers shot 30 out of 59 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.8%. The Hilltoppers allowed New Mexico State to convert 20 of 61 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 32.8% for this contest. They finished 16.7% from 3-point land by shooting 5 of 30 and ended up going 25 of 34 from the charity stripe (73.5%). When it comes to cleaning the glass, Western Kentucky allowed New Mexico State to pull down 40 overall (11 offensive).

Teagan Moore ended up having an impact for the Hilltoppers in this matchup. He tallied 23 points in his 29 minutes of playing time and accounted for 2 assists in this matchup. He converted 8 of 13 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 61.5%, and had 7 rebounds.

Western Kentucky has a record of 17-11 for the year. The Hilltoppers are committing 19.9 personal fouls every game and they go 76.3% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 13.4 times per contest (226th in college) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 10.4 times per contest. Western Kentucky has accumulated 2,212 pts for the year (79.0 per contest) and they average 39.8 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Hilltoppers are shooting 40.7% from the field, which is 352nd in college hoops.

The Western Kentucky defense surrenders 33.5% on shots from beyond the arc (232 of 693) and their opposition knocks down 69.3% of their free throw shots. They have given up 14.3 dimes and 37.7 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 253rd and 336th in Division 1. The Hilltoppers are ranked 215th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 74.9. They have forced 12.7 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.6% from the field (87th in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Western Kentucky

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