Memphis vs. UTEP March 5 Free Pick
With the Conference USA regular season title wrapped up, Memphis travels to El Paso to take on UTEP. The Miners sit at 9-5 in the conference, which is good enough for third place behind just the Tigers and Southern Miss. Memphis has its eyes set on a 16-0 conference record and opens as a four-point favorite on Tuesday night.
Free Pick
Don’t be fooled, the UTEP Miners can play a little basketball and The Dan Haskins center has been rather
kind to them this year. UTEP is 10-1
in its last 11 home games with that one loss being to UNLV by a basket – a game they also easily covered.
In addition, they destroyed a major conference team (although it was Nebraska) and won a triple overtime
thriller against the Oregon Ducks. They feature pretty balanced scoring with the trio of Julian Washburn, John
Bohannon and Konner Tucker all posting double-figure averages. With a tough defensive mindset instilled by Tim
Floyd, UTEP has managed to play up to competition – even taking Colorado State to the final whistle in
their own arena. Expect a valiant effort by this squad on Senior night in a game that can set the tone for a
potential rematch in the Conference USA tournament.
One game removed from a loss to Xavier that ended their 18-game winning streak, the Tigers were able to get on track on the road against Central Florida. This team is loaded with young talent that starts with Joe Jackson. A Junior, Jackson is actually one of the more experienced players on this Memphis roster and he is blossoming in his third season. Putting up just a hair under 14 points per game on 53.4% shooting makes Jackson one of the most overlooked elite point guards in the country, as he carries the torch in a line of great Memphis point guards of late. Adonis Thomas is a scary matchup for any team in the nation at 6’7″ with every move in the book. You could talk about the talent and potential of this Memphis team forever but the fact of the matter is that this team will need to create turnovers on UTEP’s home floor and get out in transition for easy buckets in order to win this game. If they are able to do this and take the crowd out of the game early, the Tigers cruise to a victory. This is not so easily done, however.
This is really UTEP’s cover to lost as I see it. If they are able to just control the ball and get close to as many shots as Memphis does, they should either win outright or at least keep it close. That being said, I expect Memphis to come out early and make the biggest adjustment in their next road opportunity since Xavier. Josh Posner will emphasize a strong start in this game and I look for Memphis to wreak havoc with their athleticism on the road.
Free Pick: Memphis 1H Moneyline -125