UTEP opens C-USA play at I-10 rival NM State Thursday
(Courtesy: UTEP Athletics)
EL PASO, Texas -The UTEP men’s basketball team (8-6) will play at I-10 rival NM State (6-9) in the Conference USA opener for both squads at 7 p.m. MT Thursday.
It marks the first time that the longtime foes will square off in a league game since the 1961-62 season when both programs competed in the Border Conference.
UTEP is in search of its first road victory (0-3) this year, in addition to emerging victorious in Las Cruces for the initial occasion since a 74-72 triumph on Nov. 30, 2010.
The Aggies are once again stout at home, boasting a mark of 6-1 at the Pan-American Center.
The lone setback for them in Las Cruces came against New Mexico, 73-72, on Dec. 15, 2023.
UTEP had its two-contest winning streak snapped in a 73-61 defeat against Seattle U on Dec. 30 while the Aggies halted a three-tilt skid by knocking off Cal Baptist, 66-61, on the same day.
Thursday’s match-up is the first of two meetings this season between the programs, with NM State making the return visit to the Sun City on Feb. 10. Jon Teicher (43rd year) and Steve Yellen (21st year) will be on the call on “The Home of UTEP Basketball” 600 ESPN El Paso.
It will also be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network, with Alex Del Barrio (play-by-play) and King McClure (analyst) describing the action.
SOLOMON APPROACHING 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Calvin Solomon is 33 points away from 1,000 in his collegiate career.
He enters Thursday’s contest with 967 total points between his time with SFA and UTEP, including 421 with the Miners.
Fellow senior Tae Hardy surpassed 1,000 career points in the Orange and Blue’s victory against Wyoming on Dec. 21.
GET TO KNOW NM STATE
NM State has an entirely new squad from last year, having lost all five starters and 12 letterwinners from the 2022-23 team that finished 9-15, including 2-10 within the WAC.
It is the lone program in the country to have not returned any player from last season.
Eight of the 13 individuals on this year’s roster with collegiate experience have previously played at the DI level.
The Aggies also have a new head coach in Jason Hooten, who is 267-178 in his 14th year as a collegiate head coach.
Hooten, who ventured to Las Cruces from Sam Houston, guided the Bearkats to their first appearance in the NIT last year to cap a successful run.
Thus far, NM State is 6-9 on the season, but they are practically perfect (6-1) at home.
The lone blemish came against I-25 rival New Mexico, 73-72, on Dec. 15, a contest in which the Lobos went coast-to-coast for the eventual game-winning lay-up with 20 seconds left.
Most recently, the Aggies snapped a three-tilt losing skid by toppling former WAC foe Cal Baptist, 66-61, in a CUSA/WAC Scheduling Initiative contest on Dec. 30.
The Aggies, who joined CUSA for the 2023-24 season, will be playing their first league game in facing the Miners on Thursday.
NM State has two top-100 rankings nationally. It is third in CUSA and 76th nationally in field-goal percentage defense (40.6) while rating fourth in the league and 90th in the NCAA for free throw attempts per game (21.7).
It is also third in the league for free-throw percentage (69.9) and 3-point percentage (34.0). Three players are putting up at least 10.0 points per game to set the tone offensively for the Aggies.
They are Femi Odukale (11.2 ppg-16th CUSA), Robert Carpenter (10.9 ppg-17th CUSA) and Christian Cook (10.2 ppg-21st CUSA). That helps the Aggies account for 70.9 ppg, but they are allowing 72.8 ppg.
Jordan Rawls runs the offense with 4.4 assists per game (third CUSA/98th NCAA) while also getting after it on the other end of the court with 1.4 steals per game (eighth CUSA).
Jaylin Jackson-Posey pitches in 9.0 ppg to go along with 3.8 apg (fifth CUSA). That makes the Aggies the only team in CUSA to have multiple players in the top five for assists.
Former Miner Kaosi Ezeagu contributes 8.7 points per game and a team-leading 5.5 rebounds per contest (10th CUSA).
Notable alumni include actor Scott Bailey, who is best known for his playing the role of Sandy Foster on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light, and former Olympic basketball player Chito Reyes.
Additionally, Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered the planet Pluto (since reclassified to a dwarf planet), taught astronomy at the school from 1955 until his retirement in 1973.
HARD PLACE TO PLAY
The Aggies are off to a stout 6-1 mark at home on the season, and they now stand 158-20 (88.8 winning percentage) in home contests since the start of the 2011-12 campaign. The Aggies have dropped only more than two games at home in a campaign twice in that stretch (14-3, 2011-12 and 6-4, 2022-23). The last time NM State experienced a losing record in Las Cruces was in 2004-05, and it is 247-41 (85.8 winning percentage) from 2005-06 through the seven home contests this season. UTEP is searching for its first victory in Las Cruces since the 2010-11 campaign, when it came away with a 74-72 win on Nov. 30, 2010.
SERIES HISTORY: NM STATE LEADS, 121-104
NM State leads the all time series with UTEP, 121-104.
It is the Miners’ oldest series, while rating as the second oldest for the Aggies.
It started in 1914 and the two squads squared off at least twice annually every year since 1944-45 before Covid interrupted that.
This season marks the first time that the two foes will lock up in a conference contest since the 1961-62 season when both teams were members of the Border Conference.
The Miners are vying for their first victory in Las Cruces since a 74-72 triumph on Nov. 30, 2010.
Last year the two sides split the two meetings, with each successfully defending its home court.
The 67-64 UTEP win on Nov. 12, 2022, was its first against the Aggies in three years.
Five of the past seven games have been decided by five points or less, but NM State has claimed 13 of the past 15.
GOING BACK IN TIME
UTEP was dispatched by Seattle U, 73-61, at the Don Haskins Center on Dec. 30. The setback halted the Miners’ two-game skid. The Orange and Blue closed the game on a 19-5 run, but it wasn’t enough to rally past the Redhawks. Freshman David Terrell Jr. led the squad with nine points, his most vs. a DI opponent. Corey Camper Jr. tallied eight points while Calvin Solomon, Elijah Jones and Baylor Hebb all added seven. Zid Powell paced the Orange and Blue in both rebounds (seven) and assists (two). It marked the first time this year that UTEP didn’t hold a lead at any point.
LOCKED IN AT THE LINE
Slowly but surely, UTEP is starting to take care of business at the charity stripe. The Miners are a combined 99-134 (73.9 percent) on free throws the past four games. That includes draining 80.8 percent (21-26) against Seattle U last time out, which was its second-best effort of the season.
MORE ALONG THOSE LINES
UTEP has posted three consecutive contests of better than 70.0 percent at the charity stripe, with at least 25 attempts in each of those games. That hadn’t happened at the since a five-tilt streak in 2008-09 (1/31/09-2/18/09).
TAKING BETTER CARE OF THE BALL
The Miners are 309th in the nation in turnovers per game with 14.3, but they’ve shown signs of improvements the past two tilts. UTEP has a total of 21 giveaways in the stretch, making 12 in the win against Wyoming on Dec. 21 and committing only nine in the setback against Seattle U on Dec. 30. It’s the first time this season that the Orange and Blue have had consecutive games with 12 or fewer turnovers vs. DI opponents.
IMPROVED IN NOT FOULING
After being tagged with at least 22 fouls in four straight games, the longest stretch since the 2008-09 campaign, the Miners committed a season-low 13 fouls against Seattle U. The Redhawks finished 8-11 at the charity stripe, both of which were the fewest by an opponent this year. The 13 UTEP fouls tied as the least in a contest against a DI opponent since the start of the 2022-23 season. It happened twice last year, in a win vs. NM State (11/12/22) and a loss against Charlotte (2/9/23).
GET BACK TO CRASHING THE BOARDS
The Miners have pulled down at least 10 offensive rebounds in nine of 14 games this season, but the opposition has done a good job of boxing out lately. For the first time this year, UTEP has been held to single digits in offensive boards in back-to-back contests. It had eight vs. Wyoming on Dec. 21, but it shot 48.0 percent from the floor in the tilt. Last time out, however, the Orange and Blue finished with a season-low five offensive caroms while being held to 34.0 percent shooting.
GET THE LEAD AND WE’RE PRETTY, PRETTY GOOD
UTEP is 5-1 on the season when leading at the half and a perfect 7-0 this year when holding an advantage with five minutes remaining in regulation. It’s not a recent trend, with the Miners a combined 32-6 under head coach Joe Golding when leading at the break.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL LEADS TO WINS
The Miners are 6-3 this year when making the same or fewer amount of turnovers in a game against opponents. The common denominator in each of the losses was sharp shooting by the opposition. In the games at Oregon (18 turnovers, Dec. 9), at ACU (23 turnovers, Dec. 17) and against Seattle U (16 turnovers, Dec. 30), each of those teams shot at least 50 percent from the floor to overcome the inability to take care of the ball.
STEALS KEEP COMING
UTEP has registered at least seven steals in every contest on the campaign, including 10 or more eight times. UTEP’s average of 11.0 steals per game rates second in the league and sixth in the country. The Miners tied the school record for steals with 288 last year, but they are on pace to smash that figure with 352 thefts.
