Rodney Terry speaks with ABC-7 ahead of UTEP’s season opener against UT Permian Basin

EL PASO, Texas - The college basketball season tips off Wednesday, and the UTEP Miners are ready to return to the court.

UTEP will host UT Permian Basin (UTPB) at 7 p.m. at the Don Haskins Center.

Fans will not be allowed to attend the game, but fans or no fans, the Miners are just grateful to be able to compete.

UTEP men's basketball coach, Rodney Terry, spoke with ABC-7 about his team's preparation.

In a year that was filled with so much uncertainty because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Miners have been able to weather the storm.

"Our guys have done a great job during this pandemic, working through Covid-19 and all of the new protocols that we've had to do this year," Terry said. "We're eagerly excited about the start of the season come Wednesday night."

Terry says because of the pandemic and social distancing it was a learning process for his players.

"You come to college as a young person and you're eager to get out and move around, make new friends and things of that nature and just be a typical college student," Terry said. "But this is again a year where you have to have a lot of discipline in terms of staying in your little bubble, and staying with guys in the same protocol that you're in."

Terry enters his 3rd season as UTEP's head coach.

The Miners are coming off a 17-win season in 2019-20, which was the biggest improvement of any team in Conference USA, and most wins in four seasons.

UTEP also returned to the C-USA Championships for the first team in two years.

"Our goals every year is to compete for a conference championship and try to improve and be playing our best basketball at the right time of the year to where we get a chance to be ready to play at a very high level in postseason play," Terry said.

The Miners last faced UTPB on Nov. 6, 2018, Terry’s first game as the program’s head coach.

UTEP defeated the Falcons, 90-63, in the Haskins Center.

Last season, UTPB finished 16-16 and 9-13 in the Lone Star Conference

The Falcons lost four of their top five scorers from a season ago. 

Following Wednesday's season opener against UTPB, the Miners will next head to Tucson on Sunday to take on the Arizona Wildcats out of the Pac-12 Conference.