UTEP stopped the bleeding and ended a three-game losing skid after they escaped with a victory against Florida International, 72-68, on Saturday. But conference play is getting in the thick of things, and the Miners will begin a three-game road trip starting on Jan. 20 in San Antonio when they face UTSA at 6:30 p.m.
The Miners (7-11, 2-4 Conference USA) might want history to repeat itself. Last season, UTEP beat FIU on a Dominic Artis buzzer beater, 88-87 in double overtime, and after that, UTEP went on to win 11 out of their next 13 games—a huge reason the Miners locked up a first-round bye in the conference tournament after a 2-13 start.
Fast forward back to this season, UTEP may not be at 2-13 like they were at this point last season but still, the team hasn’t quite lived up to expectations. In the preseason polls, UTEP was projected to finish fifth in the conference, but right now they sit in the 11th spot—only above Charlotte, Rice and Louisiana Tech.
Another midseason turnaround could be just what the Miners need. They’ll try to get things going against a UTSA team that is 9-10 and also 2-4 in conference games so far.
While UTEP ended their losing streak, UTSA will be riding a three-game losing streak of their own when they host the Miners.
The Miners will be looking for their first road win of the season (0-3 on the road), and UTSA will look to pick up their seventh win at home this year.
Last season, in the midst of UTEP’s 12-game losing streak, UTSA took advantage of an ailing Miners team in San Antonio, beating them 67-55. But the second time around in El Paso, UTEP held the Roadrunners to a season-low 39 points in UTEP’s 59-39 triumph over UTSA.
In the season series split last year, UTEP’s Omega Harris scored 28 points in two games, Paul Thomas scored 19 points, while Lucas Bryan from UTSA scored 20 points combined in both matchups.
While the Miners lost Artis from last season—who led UTEP in assists per game, rebounds per game and was second in scoring—UTSA has lost even more firepower. Both of the Roadrunners’ top two scorers from last season, Jeff Beverly (15.8 points per game) and Nick Billingsley (11.1 points per game), are no longer on the team.
UTSA’s scoring now comes from their duo of freshman guards. The six-foot freshman guard Jhivvan Jackson is fifth in Conference USA averaging 18.9 points per game, and is the Roadrunners’ biggest threat from 3-point range, as he leads the team with 51 made three’s this year.
UTSA’s other freshman standout is 6-foot-3 Keaton Wallace. Wallace puts up 12.4 points per game, is second on the team with 47 total assists, and averages the most minutes on the Roadrunners (28.4 minutes played per game). He also has made 41 3-pointers.
Speaking of the 3-point shooting, UTSA leads C-USA in 3-pointers made with 197 made from long range, while UTEP doesn’t have as many threats from beyond the arc, as they have only connected on 129 3-pointers.
In fact, UTSA has three players on their roster who have made 40 or more three-pointers this season, compared to no one on UTEP’s roster who has hit over 40 long-range shots.
UTSA has no problem putting the basket through the hoop. The Roadrunners average over 83 points per game—a mark the Miners have only scored three this season—while UTEP puts up 69.9 points per game.
In eight games this year, UTSA has put up 85 or more points, UTEP has only reached that amount of points scored in three games.
With a high-power offense that UTSA brings, UTEP’s leading scorer Keith Frazier (13.4 points per game) will be needed. The last couple of weeks, Frazier has been out for “personal matters” and has not been clocking in many minutes since he’s come back.
If UTEP’s 6-foot-9 freshman forward Tirus Smith is still unable to play against UTSA due to his knee injury, the Miners will need a huge game from their starting center Matt Willms. UTSA is grabbing a conference-best 40.6 rebounds per game, while UTEP is second to last in that category (34.6 rebounds per game).
The advantage UTEP does hold over UTSA is their ability to play defense at a more efficient rate. The Miners are giving up 70 points per game to their opponents, while UTSA has the second worst defense in C-USA, giving up 77 points per game.
After UTSA, UTEP will hit a part of their schedule in what might be their toughest set of games yet in conference. First, UTEP will travel to Birmingham, Alabama, on Jan. 25 to battle against a UAB team (13-5, 4-1 C-USA) that is currently third in conference. Then, the Miners will face the conference leader Middle Tennessee (13-4, 5-0 C-USA) two days later on Jan. 27.
