College Basketball Odds: UTEP Miners vs. UNLV Runnin’ Rebels

The UTEP Miners (2-4) and UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (9-2) are set to tip things off Wednesday night inside the Thomas & Mack Center.

UTEP Miners at UNLV Runnin’ Rebels

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels are caught in a scheduling trap in coming off a game against Wisconsin and looking ahead to Illinois

UTEP is set to face its toughest test of the season to date and comes off a 73-69 win over New Mexico State as six-point home underdogs.  The Miners haven’t played much of a schedule that has led to being ranked No. 330 in the RPI among 345 Division I teams.

The Miners are 0-2 on the road with losses to New Mexico State (89-73) on Nov. 19 and Oregon (64-59) on Nov. 29.  That puts them in a losing position when facing an opponent that possesses a perfect 6-0 mark inside tonight’s venue.

Wednesday night will be the 12th meeting in the series, with the Miners posting a 3-8 record, including an 0-3 mark in the Thomas and Mac Center.  UTEP dropped and 80-67 contest in the last meeting as 1.5-point favorites on Nov. 24, 2008.

Freshman forward Julian Washburn is the only player on the roster averaging double digits in scoring, putting up 10.3 points per game on 41.5 percent shooting.  He relies heavily on playing off Gabriel McCulley, who is the team’s lone senior.

“We just play with more confidence when we have Gabe in there with us,” commented Washburn.  McCulley posted career-highs for points (18) and rebounds) in his second game back in the lineup Sunday.

Bettors will find that the Miners are 1-4 ATS versus Mountain West Conference opponents the last two-plus years.

UNLV will be back on its true home court for the first time in 22 days due to the rodeo being in town, dropping a 62-51 decision to the Wisconsin Badgers as 9.5-point road underdogs last time out.  “I’m not pleased at all with our execution on either end of the floor,” commented first-year head coach Dave Rice.  “We’ve got to get tougher.”

The Runnin’ Rebels are led by four players that are averaging in double figures with Chace Stanback leading the way in scoring 15.2 points per game.  The main man on the glass is Mike Moser, who leads the country in averaging 12.4 rebounds per game.

Early success around this program isn’t very surprising when four starters returned to the lineup, bringing back 76.5 percent of its scoring and 70.9 percent of its rebounding.  UNLV is out-scoring its opponents by an average of 13.4 points per game.

The Runnin’ Rebels are 3-1 ATS as a home favorite of 12.5 or more points, while the ‘under’ is 2-1 in that particular situation.

Bettors will likely back the Miners due to their 7-1 ATS mark as an underdog of 13 or more points, while the Runnin’ Rebels are 3-9 ATS at home.

Recommendation:  UTEP Miners +18