Conference USA action continues on Thursday night as the UTSA Roadrunners gear up to take on the Rice Owls. UTSA enters this conference clash at 7-19 (8-14-2 ATS) while Rice is currently 16-9 (12-9-1 ATS). Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 ET from the Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, TX.
It’s been a horrible run for UTSA, who have now dropped 14 of their last 15 games. They’re holding down the cellar at 1-14 in Conference USA. The woes continued on Saturday afternoon when the Roadrunners hosted the UTEP Miners, as the former lost 77-66 on their home court. From a gambling perspective, UTSA was catching 6.0 points and failed to cover. The 143 combined points were enough for over bettors to go home happy as that number broke through the 136.5-point threshold set by the oddsmakers. As for individual efforts, Japhet Medor led the way in points (20), assists (4), and steals (4). Two other Roadrunners notched double digits, including Jacob Germany (14) and Christian Tucker (11).
U16 | Low-scoring first couple of minutes as Josh Farmer has UTSA's only basket.
UTEP leads, 7-2.#BirdsUp ?? | #RunnersPACE pic.twitter.com/kZofIeRolD
— UTSA Basketball (@UTSAMBB) February 11, 2023
Saturday’s performance was a pretty typical outing for Medor, who leads the team in points (12.9 PPG), assists (3.5 APG), and steals (1.3 SPG). Germany has also made his presence known, scoring 12.2 points per contest and leading the program in rebounds (8.0 RPG) and blocks (0.8 BPG).
UTSA’s struggles have translated to basketball analytics, where they’re 323rd in the KenPom rankings with a -12.97 adjusted efficiency margin. The biggest issue has been the defense, which is allowing 113.2 points per 100 possessions (333rd). As for the offense, the Roadrunners are scoring 67.1 points per game and shooting 39.8% from the field as a team.
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