Halftime Report
Only one more half stands between Western Kentucky and the win they were favored to collect coming into this evening. A victory is still up for grabs for either team after one quarter, but Western Kentucky is up 34-31 over UTEP.
If Western Kentucky keeps playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 13-8 in no time. On the other hand, UTEP will have to make due with a 15-6 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who’s Playing
UTEP Miners @ Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Current Records: UTEP 15-5, Western Kentucky 12-8
How To Watch
What to Know
After three games on the road, Western Kentucky is heading back home. They and the UTEP Miners will face off in a Conference USA battle at 8:00 p.m. ET on Thursday at E.A. Diddle Arena. Coming in fresh off a victory as the underdog, the Hilltoppers will stroll into this one as the favorite.
Last Saturday, Western Kentucky was able to grind out a solid win over Sam Houston, taking the game 75-66.
Braxton Bayless was the offensive standout of the match as he went 6 for 9 en route to 16 points plus five rebounds and two steals. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in offensive rebounds (three). Another player making a difference was Don McHenry, who scored 20 points.
Meanwhile, UTEP narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Kennesaw State 73-71.
UTEP can attribute much of their success to Otis Frazier III, who scored 17 points along with eight steals and five rebounds. Frazier III has been hot recently, having posted three or more steals the last three times he’s played. The team also got some help courtesy of Kevin Kalu, who went 6 for 7 en route to 14 points.
Western Kentucky’s win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 12-8. As for UTEP, they are on a roll lately: they’ve won nine of their last 11 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 15-5 record this season.
Thursday’s contest is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Western Kentucky has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 38.2 rebounds per game. It’s a different story for UTEP, though, as they’ve been averaging only 29.2. Given Western Kentucky’s sizable advantage in that area, UTEP will need to find a way to close that gap.
Western Kentucky beat UTEP 78-71 when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Does Western Kentucky have another victory up their sleeve, or will UTEP turn the tables on them? We’ll have the answer soon enough.
Odds
Western Kentucky is a slight 2.5-point favorite against UTEP, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Hilltoppers as a 3.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 147 points.
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Series History
Western Kentucky has won 9 out of their last 10 games against UTEP.
- Mar 16, 2024 – Western Kentucky 78 vs. UTEP 71
- Feb 15, 2024 – Western Kentucky 90 vs. UTEP 80
- Jan 20, 2024 – UTEP 93 vs. Western Kentucky 87
- Mar 08, 2023 – Western Kentucky 73 vs. UTEP 67
- Mar 02, 2023 – Western Kentucky 73 vs. UTEP 68
- Feb 04, 2023 – Western Kentucky 74 vs. UTEP 69
- Feb 13, 2020 – Western Kentucky 67 vs. UTEP 62
- Feb 02, 2019 – Western Kentucky 76 vs. UTEP 59
- Feb 01, 2018 – Western Kentucky 72 vs. UTEP 60
- Jan 26, 2017 – Western Kentucky 65 vs. UTEP 62