UTEP men’s basketball opens crucial road swing at Middle Tennessee Thursday

EL PASO, Texas - The UTEP men’s basketball team (10-17, 6-10 CUSA) will begin its final roadswing of the regular season when it plays at Middle Tennessee (13-14, 7-9 CUSA) at 5:30 p.m. MT/6:30 p.m. CT Thursday.

The Miners will be vying to snap a mini two-game skid, in addition to attempting to complete a season sweep of the Blue Raiders.

UTEP outlasted MTSU, 83-80, in OT at the Don Haskins Center back on Jan. 8, which at the time was the first setback of the league slate for the Blue Raiders.

If the Miners can indeed emerge victorious, it would mark their first sweep of MTSU since 2019-20 (W, 67-66, in El Paso, 1/30/20, W, 60-56, in Murfreesboro, 3/4/20), and second all-time against the program.

That 60-56 road triumph in 2019-20 was also the last time the Orange and Blue picked up a triumph inside the Murphy Center.

UTEP is 2-9 on the road this season (2-6 CUSA) while the Blue Raiders are 9-4 at home (5-3 CUSA).

The Miners were clipped at I-10 rival NM State, 67-63, last time out.

The game is the second of three straight away from home, with the regular-season road finale set to be contested at WKU at 1 p.m. MT/2 p.m. CT on Saturday.

After enduring four in a row on the road (1-3), MTSU got back into the win column with a 78-66 home triumph against Delaware (2/21). It marked the first of three in a row in Murfreesboro for the Blue Raiders.

The game is important for both squads, with UTEP just one game back of MTSU in the standings.

The Blue Raiders are tied for seventh in CUSA while the Miners share eighth place with FIU and NM State. 

GET TO KNOW MIDDLE TENNESSEE (13-14, 7-9 CUSA)

Middle Tennessee went 6-5 in nonconference play and opened CUSA action at 3-0 before being dealt an 83-80 OT triumph at UTEP (1/8).

The Blue Raiders bounced back by winning two of the next three, including taking out NM State on the road (59-55, 1/10), but they then dropped five in a row and seven of the next eight.

Included in the skid were back-to-back setbacks in OT.

MTSU got back into the win column last time out with a 78-66 home vanquishing of Delaware, putting it at 13-14 (7-9 CUSA) heading in Thursday’s tilt with the Miners.

The Blue Raiders like to shoot the 3-ball with 27.7 attempts per game (second CUSA/45th NCAA), helping them make 9.3 treys per contest (third CUSA/71st NCAA).

They are also in the CUSA leaders and top-100 nationally for blocks per game (4.4-fourth/53rd).

Other top-four league spots for the Blue Raiders include assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.32-second) and fewest turnovers per contest (11.0-fourth). MTSU does not get to the line often (12.5 FTM/game-303rd) on 18.2 FTA/contest (285th), and its effort of 68.8 percent is 288th in the nation. Four different players account for at least 8.0 ppg.

They are in the form of Kamari Lands (13.6 ppg-17th CUSA), Torey Alston (13.2 ppg-18th), Jahvin Carter (10.0 ppg), Sean Smith (9.8 ppg) and Alec Oglesby (8.6 ppg). Both Smith (3.7 apg-fifth CUSA) and Carter (3.6 apg-ninth CUSA) share the ball effectively while Alston (7.6 rpg-fifth CUSA) is the top rebounder on the squad. Defensively, Smith comes up with 1.4 spg (eighth CUSA) while Alston and Chris Loofe are tied for 10th in the conference for blocks per contest (1.19). Oglesby (2.12-eighth CUSA) and Lands (2.11-ninth CUSA) both make multiple triples per tilt. Notable university alumni include Kelly Holcomb (NFL QB, including with the Cleveland Browns, from 1995-2007) and James McGill Buchanan (Nobel Prize Winner).

SERIES HISTORY: MIDDLE TENNESSEE LEADS, 13-8

Middle Tennessee has a 13-8 cushion in the series with UTEP, but the Miners snapped a three-contest skid against it with an 83-80 OT victory earlier this season (1/8). It marked the third time in the past four meetings between those programs that OT was required. The programs have been playing close matchups of late, with the past four contests decided by a combined 13 points. (L, 96-90, 2OT, 2/17/24, L, 71-68, 2/1/25 and L, 76-75, OT, 3/1/25). UTEP is in search of its first victory in Murfreesboro since the 2019-20 season and third all time (2-8). All 21 matchups between the programs have occurred since the Blue Raiders joined Conference USA for the 2013-14 campaign. With UTEP departing for the Mountain West next year, Thursday’s matchup could be the last between the programs for the foreseeable future unless they run into each other at the CUSA Tournament.

LAST GAME (AT NM STATE 67, UTEP 63, 2/21/26)

Jamal West Jr. tallied a game-high 22 points while Caleb Blackwell poured in 18 points, aided by drilling four 3-pointers, but UTEP was held off at I-10 rival NM State, 67-63, on Feb. 21. The Miners jumped to an early 8-2 lead before the Aggies kicked things into gear on the way to putting UTEP down by 10 (35-25) at the break. The Miners battled over the final 20 minutes of action. They eventually climbed within two (63-61) with 51 seconds to play only to have the home side hold on.