UTEP Miners (13-8, 6-3 C-USA) at Rice Owls (13-8, 6-4 C-USA)
Houston; Saturday, 3 p.m. EST
LINE: Rice -2.5; over/under is 141.5
BOTTOM LINE: UTEP plays the Rice Owls after Souley Boum scored 32 points in UTEP's 79-68 victory against the Florida International Panthers.
The Owls have gone 8-2 at home. Rice is ninth in C-USA with 30.2 points per game in the paint led by Mylyjael Poteat averaging 2.1.
The Miners have gone 6-3 against C-USA opponents. UTEP ranks third in C-USA giving up 65.0 points while holding opponents to 43.4% shooting.
The Owls and Miners face off Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Carl Pierre averages 3.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Owls, scoring 15.3 points while shooting 44.7% from beyond the arc. Travis Evee is shooting 44.0% and averaging 9.4 points over the last 10 games for Rice.
Boum is shooting 37.9% and averaging 19.8 points for the Miners. Jamal Bieniemy is averaging 2.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for UTEP.
LAST 10 GAMES: Owls: 6-4, averaging 71.7 points, 32.2 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 4.6 steals and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.9 points per game.
Miners: 6-4, averaging 67.5 points, 29.6 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 7.1 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 41.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.6 points.
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