NMSU & UTEP’s Common Problem

For the NMSU and UTEP basketball teams, it’s crunch time. The two teams are heading in to the last third of their season, and these two teams have more in common then you would think. The Aggies are 13-8 and tied for second in the WAC. UTEP is 11-7 over all and tied for third in Conference USA.

“It’s the second round of games where you have to go on the road and protect your house,” NMSU coach Marvin Menzies said about the last few games of the year. “We’re playing some good teams, and staying in contention in conference, so we have to play well and continue to do that.”

If one of these two teams is going to make a run to the post season, then their road woes need to stop.

“I think home teams win it 77% or at a 76% clip,” Menzies said. “If I had that figured out then that riddle be solved, so obviously I don’t have it figured out yet.”

NMSU is 3-7 away from the Pan American Center, and score about seven points less away from the comfort of their own court. The UTEP Miners are 2-6 away from the Don Haskins Center, and average about 15 points less when not in El Paso. Last night’s win at ECU thanks to Malcom Moore’s buzzer beater was a road win UTEP desperately needed.

“Any time you can make a shot like that it feels like you got a horseshoe up your tail,” UTEP coach Tim Floyd said. “It was a great win, and we have a very spirited locker room right now.”

Currently the Miners have an RPI of 71, and the Aggies number at the moment is 86. The only way those numbers will improve is if the two teams continue to rack up wins, but those wins need to start occurring more frequently on the road for their season to be a success.