UTEP plays Rice following Hardy's 22-point outing

Published Dec. 30, 2022 2:42 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Rice Owls (10-3, 1-1 C-USA) at UTEP Miners (8-5, 1-1 C-USA)

El Paso, Texas; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: UTEP hosts the Rice Owls after Tae Hardy scored 22 points in UTEP's 79-73 overtime loss to the UAB Blazers.

The Miners have gone 8-1 in home games. UTEP scores 70.5 points while outscoring opponents by 3.7 points per game.

The Owls are 1-1 in conference play. Rice ranks ninth in C-USA allowing 73.1 points while holding opponents to 44.7% shooting.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Hardy averages 1.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Miners, scoring 13.5 points while shooting 27.9% from beyond the arc. Shamar Givance is shooting 36.7% and averaging 9.6 points over the last 10 games for UTEP.

Quincy Olivari is scoring 18.5 points per game with 5.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the Owls. Travis Evee is averaging 15.5 points over the past 10 games for Rice.

LAST 10 GAMES: Miners: 6-4, averaging 69.4 points, 35.0 rebounds, 12.8 assists, 8.5 steals and 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 44.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.4 points per game.

Owls: 9-1, averaging 88.6 points, 37.2 rebounds, 20.2 assists, 6.1 steals and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 51.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.5 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.