Something to Prove - UTEP Miners at Richmond Spiders

NCAA Basketball Sports Betting

Richmond Spiders(20-15 SU, 17-11 ATS)
Wednesday, March 25

BetUS NCAA Basketball Sports Betting Odds:  RICHMOND -1.5, Total 143.5

Here are some of the NCAA basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

• UTEP has won and covered four of its last five games
• UTEP has played five of its last six games OVER the total
• UTEP has covered eight of its last ten road games
• UTEP has won eight of its last 11 road games SU
• UTEP has played four of its last five road games OVER the total
• RICH has covered four of its last six games
• RICH has won five of its last six games SU
• RICH has played four of its last five games OVER the total
• RICH has covered five of its last seven home games
• RICH has won six of its last seven home games SU

Richmond has bounced back from a 37% shooting night in the Atlantic-10 tournament as it lost to Dayton, with two wins thus far in the CBI, beating St. John's (75-69) and the College of Charleston (74-72). In the latter contest the Spiders shot 54% from the field and managed to offset a 32-22 rebounding disadvantage. Such things are sometimes misleading, but Charleston grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, which is a concern. Richmond puts a rather svelte lineup out there; forwards Conor Smith and Jarhon Giddings are 210 and 225 pounds, respectively. No one averages as many as five rebounds per game. There is a potent guard combo, however, as Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez combine for 32.5 points a game, with Gonzalvez a particular three-point threat (40.5%).

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UTEP caught a bit of a break as its previous CBI game was moved from Boston to El Paso when Northeastern was reluctant to put forth the gate guarantee to the CBI organizers. The Miners had a pretty good game, shooting 49% as Northeastern made only THREE trips to the free throw line. Once again, Randy Culpepper came off the bench to produce, as he scored 21 points in 31 minutes. Culpepper gives coach Tony Barbee a luxury not a lot of teams have. Of course, it goes without saying that UTEP has the most potent offensive weapon in this game, as Stefon Jackson, who scored 26 against Northeastern, has 20 or more points in eleven consecutive games. Jackson is one of top scorers in the entire country (24.3 ppg).

There's also a bit more of an inside element that Richmond has. Arnett Moultrie, the 6'11" freshman recruit from Memphis, has contributed 40 points and 34 rebounds (not to mention seven blocked shots) in his last three outings, and this newcomer (fifth nationally among frosh in rebounds) will probably offer an edge that Richmond can't match. Also, he's not a bad counter for a Spider squad that likes to slow things down and play in the half-court.

Remember, UTEP, which does not sling a lot of three-pointers (just 5.5 per game) has scored some significant road victories, winning at the Pit in Albuquerque, not to mention Houston and Reno, where they beat Nevada to advance in this tournament. This is not to daunting a task when they have constant offense (Jackson) and instant offense (Culpepper) along with better balance. We're taking the points with the Miners, the 1.5-point dog in the BetUS Sportsbook.

JAY'S PLAY:  UTEP +1.5
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)