Florida International vs UTEP Prediction College Basketball Picks 3/7/24

The Florida International Panthers and the UTEP Miners meet Thursday in college basketball action from Don Haskins Center. FIU is 10-19 overall following a win over Western Kentucky. As for UTEP, they’re .500 through 30 games and coming off a win over Liberty. Let’s get into our FIU vs. UTEP prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Pick Dawgz.

FIU Panthers

Florida International kicked off their year with a spotty 7-11 run through the first 18 games. It hasn’t gotten any better since then with a 3-8 stretch. The losses in that time came versus Liberty, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, LA Tech, Sam Houston and Jacksonville State.

In the rematch with Western Kentucky on Saturday, the Panthers were able to get back into the win column. Florida International held a 44-31 edge by halftime and need up with the win 85-83 after a wild second. Javaunte Hawkins was the leading scorer on 27 points with five rebounds and five assists.

More College Basketball Picks: Milwaukee vs Green Bay Prediction!

UTEP Miners

Over on the UTEP side, they went 11-8 over their first 19 games. Losses to LA Tech, Sam Houston, Liberty, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, LA Tech and Sam Houston came over the next nine games, though. Since then it’s been wins over Jacksonville State and Liberty.

In their matchup with Liberty over the weekend, the Miners came out of the first half with a 35-23 edge. UTEP kept it up in the second with a 32-28 run and took the win 67-51. Corey Camper was the top scorer on the team with 21 points, six rebounds and a steal.

ANDREW’S FREE FIU VS UTEP PREDICTION

I’ll lean toward UTEP, but you could argue it either way. The Miners notched a nice road win over a decent Liberty team in their last outing, shooting 52.8 percent from the field with 23 points off 17 Flames turnovers. UTEP has held opponents below 66 points in four straight games—but they’ve only won two of those.

In the last meeting between these teams on January 13, the Miners took a 72-68 road loss. Both teams shot over 50 percent in that one (58.7 for UTEP, in fact), but there were a whopping 46 turnovers (25 for UTEP) in a sloppy game overall. I like the Miners to get some revenge in the rematch if all goes well, but it’s a dice roll.

Andrew Jett's Pick: UTEP Miners -8.5