Who plays
UTEP Miners @ Louisville Cardinals
Current records: UTEP 6-2, Louisville 5-4
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What you should know
The UTEP Miners are taking a road trip to take on the Louisville Cardinals on Wednesday at 7:00 PM ET at KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals sneak into this matchup with three straight losses, while the Miners bounce back with three straight wins.
Last Saturday, UTEP strolled past Seattle by a point and won the game 88-72. With this win, the Miners increased their scoring average to 75.8 points per game.
Several players had solid performances to lead UTEP to victory, but perhaps none better than Otis Frazier III, who was 6-for-9 en route to 18 points and five assists. Frazier III had some trouble finding his footing against UNCG two weeks ago, so this was a nice turnaround. The team also received support from Ahamad Bynum, who was 7 for 9 on the way to 19 points.
Meanwhile, Louisville fell to Duke on Sunday, losing 76-65. The Cardinals took an early lead (plus-14 with 8:36 left in the first quarter), but unfortunately they couldn't maintain that momentum.
Despite their loss, Louisville had several players rise to the challenge and make notable plays. Terrence Edwards Jr., who had 21 points and two steals, was perhaps the best of them all. Edwards Jr.'s performance made up for the slower pace against Ole Miss last Tuesday. Khani Rooths was another key player, scoring ten points plus six rebounds.
UTEP's win was its fourth straight home win since last season, improving its record to 6-2. As for Louisville, the loss dropped their record to 5-4.
Keep an eye on the arc in Wednesday's game: UTEP has shot from deep this season, making 39.7% of its threes per game. However, things are different for Louisville as they have only made 28.2% of their threes this season. Given UTEP's significant advantage in this area, Louisville must find a way to close this gap.
UTEP hopes to beat the odds on Wednesday as experts believe they are headed for a loss. They could be worth a quick bet as they have covered the spread in their last three games.
Opportunities
According to the latest college basketball odds, Louisville is the heavy favorite against UTEP by 14.5 points.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the starting position, as the Cardinals were considered 15.5-point favorites at the start of the game.
The over/under is 144.5 points.
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