UTEP releases 2016-17 men’s basketball schedule

EL PASO, Texas – The UTEP men’s basketball team will participate in the Gildan Charleston Classic the week before Thanksgiving and renew a long-standing rivalry with the New Mexico Lobos, highlighting a 2016-17 schedule that was announced on Wednesday.

The Miners will play a total of 18 home games, including two exhibitions, and will host four of the top-five teams from last year’s C-USA standings – UAB (Feb. 2), Middle Tennessee (Feb. 4), LA Tech (Feb. 9) and Old Dominion (March 2).

“We’re looking forward to the season,” UTEP coach Tim Floyd said. “The Washington State series was put off a year. They’ll be coming to El Paso next season. For some reason we couldn’t reach an agreement on a return date. We’re excited about starting a new series with New Mexico. They’ll be at our place a year from now as well.

The Sun Bowl Tournament features one of the better mid-major teams in the country in Akron, as well as UC Irvine that won it last year. We’ve always enjoyed participating in the ESPN exempt tournaments and the Charleston Classic has put together an outstanding field, including defending national champion Villanova.”

The season will get underway with the sixth annual Orange & White Scrimmage on Saturday, Oct. 22. The Miners will take on Southeastern Oklahoma State (Oct. 30) and Alaska Fairbanks (Nov. 5) as they complete the exhibition portion of their slate.
The regular season opener is at home versus Louisiana College on Nov. 12.

The Miners will participate in an ESPN in-season event for the fifth time in six years when they take part in the Gildan Charleston Classic Nov. 17-20 in Charleston, S.C. Joining UTEP in the field will be Boise State, College of Charleston, Mississippi State, UCF, Villanova, Wake Forest and Western Michigan. The tournament bracket will be announced later this summer.

Following a pair of home matchups with Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 23) and Northwestern State (Dec. 3), the Miners will play back-to-back rivalry games at New Mexico (Dec. 7) and versus NM State (Dec. 13). The rematch with the Aggies is on Dec. 30 in Las Cruces. The Miners and Lobos will battle for the first time since March of 2011, and for the first time in regular season play since January of 2009. UTEP and New Mexico have met 141 times in their basketball history, while UTEP and NM State have squared off on 211 occasions.

UTEP will wrap up the pre-Christmas portion of its schedule at home versus Northern Arizona (Dec. 17) and in the WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational (Dec. 21-22), which will pit the Miners against Maryland Eastern Shore and either Akron or UC Irvine. The latter two teams posted 26 and 28 victories respectively in 2015-16.

The Miners will tip off C-USA action on Jan. 1 at UTSA, two days after playing in Las Cruces. UTEP will be on the road for its first three league games, including at LA Tech (Jan. 5) and Southern Miss (Jan. 7). It marks the first time since 1981 that the Miners will play their first three conference games on the road.

The C-USA schedule looks different from past years, with UTEP playing three straight league road games Jan. 1-7 and four consecutive Feb. 16-25. That is balanced out with a three-game homestand Jan. 12-21, and a four-game homestand Feb. 2-11.

For the second straight year, the Miners will play a home-and-home with FIU and Florida Atlantic. UTEP will make a trek to the Sunshine State for the third consecutive season. UTEP will also face LA Tech, Southern Miss and UTSA twice each in league action. The Miners will meet Charlotte, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, UAB and WKU once.
The Conference USA Championships will be in Birmingham for a third straight year March 8-11.

The Miners return three starters (Dominic Artis, Omega Harris, Terry Winn) and seven letterwinners from last year’s 19-win squad. UTEP season tickets are on sale now by calling (915) 747-6150.

2016-17 UTEP Men’s Basketball Schedule
Date……….. Opponent
Oct. 22…………….. Orange & White Scrimmage
Oct. 30…………….. Southeastern Oklahoma State (EXB)
Nov. 5…………….. Alaska Fairbanks (EXB)
Nov. 12…………….. Louisiana College
Nov. 17…………….. TBA^
Nov. 18…………….. TBA^
Nov. 20…………….. TBA^
Nov. 23…………….. Southeastern Louisiana
Dec. 3…………….. Northwestern State
Dec. 7…………….. at New Mexico
Dec. 13…………….. NM State
Dec. 17…………….. Northern Arizona
Dec. 21…………….. Maryland Eastern Shore+
Dec. 22…………….. Akron/UC Irvine+
Dec. 30…………….. at NM State
Jan. 1…………….. at UTSA*
Jan. 5…………….. at LA Tech*
Jan. 7…………….. at Southern Miss*
Jan. 12…………….. FIU*
Jan. 14…………….. Florida Atlantic*
Jan. 21…………….. UTSA*
Jan. 26…………….. at WKU*
Jan. 28…………….. at Marshall*
Feb. 2…………….. UAB*
Feb. 4…………….. Middle Tennessee*
Feb. 9…………….. LA Tech*
Feb. 11…………….. Southern Miss*
Feb. 16…………….. at North Texas*
Feb. 18…………….. at Rice*
Feb. 23…………….. at Florida Atlantic*
Feb. 25…………….. at FIU*
March 2…………….. Old Dominion*
March 4…………….. Charlotte*
March 8-11…………….. at Conference USA Championships#
^ Gildan Charleston Classic (Charleston, S.C.)
+ WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational (El Paso, Texas)
* Conference USA game
# Birmingham, Ala.
All times Mountain and subject to change