Utah Valley Wolverines vs Texas-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros Betting Pick & Prediction 1/13/24

Making on a bet on this NCAA game featuring the Wolverines versus the Vaqueros? Tip off is at at 7:30 ET, and you can watch it all unfold on ESPN+. The game will be played at UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg, TX. The Wolverines come into this Western Athletic conference matchup as the betting favorite. The over/under line currently sits at 147.5 points.

UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES VS TEXAS-RIO GRANDE VALLEY VAQUEROS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Texas-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros +3.5

This game will be played at UTRGV Fieldhouse at 7:30 ET on Saturday, January 13th.

WHY BET THE TEXAS-RIO GRANDE VALLEY VAQUEROS:

• We have this one finishing with a projected score of 76-69 in favor of the Vaqueros.
• Not only will Texas-Rio Grande Valley pick up the win, but look for them to cover at +3.5.
• The over/under is currently sitting at 147.5 points, and we like the under with a projected 145 points.

Will Utah Valley Shock Everyone at UTRGV Fieldhouse?

Utah Valley is 8-8 overall and 3-2 in Western Athletic Conference play. On the road, the Wolverines are just 2-6, and they have lost five straight away from home. Their average scoring margin on the road is -9.2, and they are coming off an 83-69 loss to UT Arlington.

So far this season, Utah Valley has been the favorite in two games and has won both of them. Overall, the Wolverines have a record of 4-8 when they are the underdog.

Utah Valley has an ATS record of 8-6 this season, including a mark of 4-4 on the road. Over their last three road games, the Wolverines are 1-2 vs. the spread and are 6-4 in their last 10 road games. As the favorite, Utah Valley is 2-0 vs. the spread this year and has an ATS record of 8-2 in their last 10 games as the favorite.

Utah Valley’s over/under record for the season is 6-8 and today’s line of 147.5 is higher than the average over/under line in their games (139). So far, 12 of their games have finished with fewer points than today’s line. Over their last three games, the average scoring total is 138 points and their OU record over their last 10 games is 5-5.

In their recent game, the Wolverines’ offense concluded with 69 points, consistent with their ongoing season average of 68.4 points per contest. The team’s top scorer is Caleb Stone-Carrawell, who enters today’s matchup with an average of 11.9, while Drake Allen also carries a PPG average of 12.1 into the game.

Coming into today’s game, the Utah Valley defense is giving up an average of 69.2 points per contest. In their most recent game, the Utah Valley defense struggled to defend the three-point line, as UT Arlington knocked down 11 three-pointers on their way to 83 points.

Will the Vaqueros Make it Happen at Home?

Through 16 games, Texas-Rio Grande Valley has a record of 5-11. They are 0-3 in Western Athletic Conference play compared to 5-8 in non-conference games. At home, the Vaqueros are 1-6, and their average scoring margin in those games is -11.6 points per game. Overall, they have been the underdog in 10 of their 16 games, going 1-9 in those contests. So far, they have been favored in just two games, going 1-1.

Most recently, Texas-Rio Grande Valley lost to Stephen F. Austin by a score of 85-78. Over their last 10 home games, they have gone 4-6, and over their last five at home, they are 2-3. For the year, their record at home is 1-6.

As the underdog this season, Texas-Rio Grande Valley has gone 5-5 vs. the spread. Over their last 10 games as the underdog, the Vaqueros have an impressive ATS mark of 7-3.

On the season, the over/under record for Texas-Rio Grande Valley games is 6-6. So far, the average scoring total in their games is 151.3 points. Today’s over/under line of 147.5 is lower than the average OU line in their games this year (152.5). Over their last three games, the over/under record is 3-0 with an average scoring total of 167 points.

In their recent game, the Vaqueros’ offense concluded with 78 points, consistent with their ongoing season average of 75.4 points per contest. Ahren Freeman led the team in scoring, putting up 26 points. Additionally, Hasan Abdul-Hakim contributed 18 points for the Vaqueros.

Coming into the game, Texas-Rio Grande Valley will be looking to improve their defense, as they are currently giving up 80.3 points per game (313rd). On average, opposing teams are hitting 5.5 threes per game vs. Utah Valley. This has come on three-point shooting percentage of 28.2%.