Conference USA foes will collide when the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (5-12) face off against the UTEP Miners (11-9) at Reed Green Coliseum. Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Thursday, Jan. 28.
The Golden Eagles are hoping to rebound after their 70-59 loss to Louisiana Tech in their last matchup. Khari Price was the team’s leading scorer with 17 points. The Miners, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 79-69 loss against FIU in their last game. Lee Moore led the game in scoring with 21 points.
UTEP is a slim two-point favorite over Southern Miss. The Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 132 points for this matchup. The Golden Eagles come into this game 5-12 Straight Up (SU) and 8-6 Against The Spread (ATS).
As for their opponent, the Miners have 11-9 SU and 7-8-1 ATS records. Defensive rebounding is an area where UTEP has excelled. The Miners average 24.3 defensive rebounds per game, making them one of the best in the nation.
These conference foes meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. Southern Miss won the last game in the matchup, bumping its SU record to 6-4 over UTEP in their most recent meetings. With a 7-3 record, the Golden Eagles also have the advantage ATS. Over the last five matchups, Southern Miss held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers two times. UTEP performed this feat once.
Predictions: SU Winner – UTEP, ATS Winner – UTEP, O/U – Over
Notes
Southern Miss is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games.
Southern Miss is 5-13 SU in its last 18 games.
Southern Miss is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Southern Miss’s last 10 games when playing Texas El Paso.
Southern Miss is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Texas El Paso.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Southern Miss’s last 7 games when playing at home against Texas El Paso.
Southern Miss is struggling at 2-4 SU in its conference, while UTEP sits at 3-4 SU.
UTEP scores 73.7 points per away game (ranked 87th). Southern Miss ranks a poor 194th in points allowed at home, allowing 69.2 points.
UTEP beats Southern Miss in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Miners average 72.8 possessions and 1.028 points per possession, while the Golden Eagles average 63.7 possessions with .935 points per possession.
Southern Miss has an average effective field goal percentage of 46.3%. UTEP is an abysmal 2-7 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles attempt 22.0 three point field goals per game and the UTEP Miners attempt 19.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, both teams have losing records; Southern Miss is 2-8 and UTEP is 3-5.
UTEP ranks 61st in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.26. Southern Miss is ranked lower at 307th with an A/TO of .83.
The UTEP Miners average 5.6 steals per game. When giving up 5 or more steals, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles have an underachieving record (2-8) this season.
