Jacksonville State vs UTEP Prediction 1/23/25 College Basketball Picks

The Jacksonville State Gamecocks and the UTEP Miners meet Thursday in college basketball action from Don Haskins Center. Here’s a Jacksonville State vs UTEP prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Jacksonville State vs UTEP pick. We will examine:

The Jacksonville State Gamecocks’ recent form and player performance

The UTEP Miners’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Jacksonville State Gamecocks

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the UTEP Miners

Recent betting trends in games played between Jacksonville State and UTEP

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Jacksonville State vs UTEP game

Jacksonville State Gamecocks Betting Preview

The Gamecocks have had a few pretty solid runs of play this year, but overall they’ve been quite the choppy team in the record column. Jacksonville State opened on a 4-1 stretch with wins over LaGrange, Georgia State, Coastal Carolina, and East Carolina. A 2-4 run came next with wins over Columbia International and Utah Valley amid losses to Toledo, James Madison, South Alabama, and Missouri. Since then Jacksonville State has improved 5-2 with losses to only Kennesaw State and Middle Tennessee. The wins otherwise have come versus Eastern Kentucky, Fort Valley State, Western Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, and Sam Houston in that time for an 11-7 overall record through the first 18 games of the year for the Gamecocks.

In the Saturday matchup versus Sam Houston, Jacksonville State posted a 32-26 deficit by the break. The Gamecocks hit a 44-30 run the rest of the way, cruising to the comeback win 70-62 in the end. Jaron Pierre led the team on his 20 options with two steals and three rebounds. Quel’Ron House added 19 points with four rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Michael Houge had 10 points and 11 boards off the bench for a double-double in 26 minutes.

UTEP Miners Betting Preview

Over on the Miners’ side, they posted a spotty run through their first five games but they’ve been doing great since then. UTEP fell to Utah Valley and San Jose State with wins otherwise over Sul Ross State, UT Permian Basin, and UC Santa Barbara during a 3-2 opening stretch. The Miners fell to only Louisville in their next 10 games, with wins otherwise over Long Beach State, UNC Greensboro, Seattle U, Tarleton State, Jackson State, Yale, Northern New Mexico, Louisiana Tech, and Sam Houston. Following another loss to New Mexico State, the Miners took wins over Liberty and FIU, giving them a 14-4 overall record this season so far.

Matched up against Florida International in the Saturday outing, the Miners held a 44-36 edge at the break. UTEP hit a 37-37 run the rest of the way, resulting in an 81-73 victory by game’s end. The Miners’ top scorer was Otis Frazier with 22 points, four rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Ahamad Bynum added 18 points with four assists and three steals off the bench, while Kevin Kalu had 11 bench points with four rebounds in the victory.

Why the UTEP Miners will win

• UTEP has won 10 of its last 11 games at Don Haskins Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Jacksonville State has lost eight of its last 10 road games against Conference opponents.
• Jacksonville State has lost the first half in each of its last four games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Jacksonville State Gamecocks will win

• Jacksonville State has won four of its last five night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Jacksonville State vs UTEP Prediction

I’m going to stay with UTEP. The Miners are on a great run these days, and coming off another nice win over a struggling FIU squad. UTEP posted 53.8 percent shooting in that one but did get outmuscled on the boards 32-29 and had 13 turnovers for 15 Panthers points. Still, the Miners are scoring great right now; they’ve hit 70 or more points in six of the last seven games (all victories during a 6-1 run).

As for Jacksonville State, they’re generally a pretty solid scoring team themselves but they’ve been a mixed bag lately. The Gamecocks have also been giving up some pretty sizable points totals to capable offenses, so I think UTEP has a solid shot in this one.