Rice Owls (15-13, 7-9 C-USA) at UTEP Miners (16-12, 9-7 C-USA)
El Paso, Texas; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: UTEP takes on the Rice Owls after Souley Boum scored 26 points in UTEP's 69-66 loss to the UAB Blazers.
The Miners are 9-6 in home games. UTEP is 3-2 in one-possession games.
The Owls are 7-9 in conference games. Rice scores 75.8 points while outscoring opponents by 1.7 points per game.
The teams square off for the second time in conference play this season. UTEP won the last meeting 72-70 on Feb. 5. Jamal Bieniemy scored 36 points points to help lead the Miners to the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bieniemy is averaging 15.2 points, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals for the Miners. Boum is averaging 20.2 points and 1.7 steals over the past 10 games for UTEP.
Carl Pierre is shooting 41.2% from beyond the arc with 3.0 made 3-pointers per game for the Owls, while averaging 14.9 points. Travis Evee is shooting 41.7% and averaging 11.0 points over the past 10 games for Rice.
LAST 10 GAMES: Miners: 6-4, averaging 65.1 points, 28.0 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 6.1 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.2 points per game.
Owls: 4-6, averaging 74.1 points, 29.2 rebounds, 17.1 assists, 5.8 steals and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 79.1 points.
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