Surprising teams have advanced to the 2024 Conference USA Tournament final as the third-seeded Western Kentucky Hilltoppers will take on the fifth-seeded UTEP Miners on Saturday. UTEP has pulled off back-to-back upsets in the CUSA bracket, beating Liberty and top-seeded Sam Houston to advance to the final. WKU, meanwhile, has yet to be tested, beating New Mexico State by 20 in the quarterfinals and MTSU by 31 in the semifinals.
Tipoff is 8:30 p.m. ET in Huntsville, Ala., on CBS Sports Network. The latest SportsLine consensus UTEP vs. Western Kentucky odds list the Hilltoppers as 2.5-point favorites, while the over/under is 144.5. Before entering any Western Kentucky vs. UTEP picks, you'll want to see the college basketball predictions from SportsLine's proven model.
The model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters 2024 conference championship week on a 145-104 roll on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to last season, returning more than $1,700 for $100 players. It also has a strong 28-18 (+820) record on top-rated spread picks this season. Anyone following has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on UTEP vs. WKU. You can head to SportsLine to see the picks. Here are several college basketball betting lines for the game:
- Western Kentucky vs. UTEP spread: Western Kentucky -2.5
- Western Kentucky vs. UTEP over/under: 144.5 points
- Western Kentucky vs. UTEP money line: Western Kentucky -144, UTEP +121
- Western Kentucky vs. UTEP picks: See picks here
What you need to know about Western Kentucky
WKU shot 24% better than MTSU on Friday and came away with the 85-54 blowout in the semifinals in the highest win margin of the season for the Hilltoppers. Western Kentucky's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Brandon Newman led the charge by scoring 15 points. Khristian Lander was another key contributor, scoring 15 points.
The Hilltoppers saw their side of the Conference USA Tournament bracket open up when MTSU took out No. 2 seed Louisiana Tech on Thursday. Don McHenry is the team's leading scorer at 14.9 points per game, while Newman averages 10.3 points. See which team to back at SportsLine.
What you need to know about UTEP
The Miners have become upset specialists late in the season. They've won five straight and four of them have been outright upsets. Perhaps the most impressive one came Friday when they overcame a big deficit to beat Sam Houston 65-63 despite entering that game as a 5-point underdog.
WKU has better offensive numbers, but UTEP gives up just 68.8 points per game. The Miners, however, have been comfortable winning some high-scoring games as well, such as when they knocked off the Hilltoppers 93-87 on Jan. 20. Tae Hardy led the way with 27 points in the game, while Corey Camper Jr. (19 points) and Zid Powell (17 points) also had big days. See which team to back at SportsLine.
How to make Western Kentucky vs. UTEP picks
The model has simulated Western Kentucky vs. UTEP 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over, and it also says one side of the spread hits more than 60% of the time. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
Who wins UTEP vs. WKU, and which side of the spread hits more than 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to find out, all from the model that's 28-18 on top-rated CBB spread picks this season.
