UTEP vs. William & Mary: Key Game Insights

College basketball during the day always hits right, and the Jacksonville Classic gives us a matchup worth locking into as UTEP meets William & Mary in Florida. Both teams picked up wins in their previous games, but the paths could not have looked more different. UTEP needed overtime and a last second tip in to escape a division three opponent, while William & Mary rolled through Regent and handled Bowling Green earlier in the week. The contrast sets the stage for a real measuring stick game, and with a neutral court in play, we get a clean look at which team can carry its momentum into a tougher test.

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Last 7 Days: 7-12 (-2.9 Units)

2025-26 Season: 23-25 (-0.25 Units)

Early season woes. Auto fade me? You won’t.

UTEP vs. William & Mary Odds

Can the Tribe handle the Miners in Jacksonville?

Odds are courtesy of BetOnline, a longtime fixture among the top online sports betting sites. Check out our BetOnline sportsbook review, then bag a big bonus (100% if your first deposit is with Bitcoin, Ethereum, or another cryptocurrency) to bet on College Basketball games.

Spread

UTEP: +1 (-110)

W&M: -1 (-110)

Total

Over: 156 (-110)

Under: 156 (-110)

Moneyline

UTEP: -115

W&M: -105

UTEP vs. William & Mary Best Bet

We head down to Jacksonville, Florida where the UTEP Miners and the William and Mary Tribe meet in the Jacksonville Classic. Both teams are coming off wins in their previous matchups and are looking to keep that momentum rolling. We are just trying to sweat out college basketball games during the day, and this mid major showdown should deliver a fun matchup.

The line opened at essentially a pick ’em in favor of the Tribe and I pounced on their moneyline at $1.05. I have no lean on the total, as I have had this game circled since UTEP nearly embarrassed themselves in their previous outing.

UTEP Almost Lost to Who?

I am fading the daylights out of UTEP, as they are coming off an overtime win over St. Thomas Houston, a division three program in Texas. Reread that, please. The Miners nearly lost to a division three team in overtime, and they lucked into a tip in with under three seconds to play. It was honestly the most beautiful ending ever, because I was either going to take them in this spot or fade them. I am in a must fade after they clearly should have lost their tune up game against guys who will be setting up their Linkedin profiles in a few months.

On the other end, the Tribe are coming off a dominant win over Regent 104-57. They completely controlled that tune up game this past Friday. Before that, William & Mary took down Bowling Green 82-74 last Wednesday.

Trust the Tribe

Overall this season, the Tribe have been pretty solid. They excel at forcing turnovers, defending the perimeter, and getting to the line, all categories where they sit inside the top 100. They do struggle with fouling, rebounding, and taking care of the basketball. Luckily for us, the Miners are even worse on the glass and they own the 15th worst free throw percentage. On top of that, UTEP sits inside the bottom 20 in both offense and defense. Their interior defense is a revolving door, ranked tenth worst per Bart Torvik.

The Tribe should be able to score at will and with them running at a top 20 pace, they should be able to get out to an early lead and maintain it. With this game on a neutral court, William and Mary still hold the edge since they have already played more than half their games away from home this season. Meanwhile, this will only be UTEP’s second game outside their home gym.

The Tribe have the pace, perimeter defense, and overall efficiency to control this matchup from the start. UTEP’s issues on offense, the glass, and at the line are too much to ignore. On a neutral court, William and Mary should set the tone early and never let go of it.