Miners could clinch conference tournament bye with win Thursday
No one saw it coming, but the UTEP Miners are one win away from earning a top 3 seed and a bye in the upcoming conference tournament. But it will not be easy as UTEP will face a hot team in Old Dominion (18-10, 11-5 C-USA) that has won four in a row (all by at least 14 points) and seven of its last nine.
But the Miners have won 5 straight games and 11 of its last 13 games as they will face the Monarchs who are tied in 3rd place with UTEP.
Head Coach Tim Floyd knows though this may be the toughest test all season.
“We’ve got a very physical team that is playing so well coming here,” Floyd said. “They hammered us last year, they just won by 20 at UAB and it will be a supreme test for our guys. I’m glad that we’re playing them at a time when we’ve got some confidence, because we are playing well right now.”
It looks to be a defensive battle due to Old Dominion leading C-USA in scoring defense (60.6 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.397) and rebound margin (+6.0). The Monarchs are also fourth in the country in scoring defense.
But don’t forget the Miners are 6-1 in conference home games this season, and 22-2 in their last 24. With the conference tournament right around the corner, there is no better moment than to make it 23-2 on Thursday pitting more momentum on UTEP’s side.
