UTEP Notes For Middle Tennessee Game (PDF)
A challenging four-game Conference USA stretch continues on Saturday when UTEP meets league-leading Middle Tennessee at 5 p.m. MT in the Murphy Center.
The Blue Raiders (15-5, 7-1 C-USA) have a half-game lead on second-place Old Dominion and WKU atop the league standings. The Miners will host WKU on Thursday in the Haskins Center.
Saturday's game will be streamed on Facebook by Stadium (www.facebook.com/watchstadium).
The Blue Raiders have won seven of their last eight games after enduring their only losing streak of the season in late December. Middle Tennessee is 6-1 at the Murphy Center, including a 75-51 conquest of UTSA on Thursday night. The Blue Raiders have also knocked off LA Tech (72-57) and Southern Miss (69-49) at home in league play.
Alabama transfer Nick King is averaging 21.8 points and 7.9 rebounds, shooting 50.2 percent from the field, 38.6 percent from downtown and 76.1 percent from the line. The 6-7, 225-pound King has twelve 20-point games this season and has tallied 30+ points on three occasions (season-high 32 points versus Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 2). Middle Tennessee's no. 2 (Giddy Potts-13.2 ppg) and no. 3 (Brandon Walters-10.5 ppg) scorers are also seniors.
Middle Tennessee is first in C-USA in three-point field goal percentage defense (.310), second in scoring defense (65.7 ppg) and rebound margin (+5.6 rpg), and third in free throw percentage (.740). Individually, King is second in the league in scoring, Walters is second in field goal percentage (.606), and junior guard Antwain Johnson is tied for first in free throw percentage (.909).
"We're faced with a real big challenge here obviously," UTEP Interim Head Coach Phil Johnson said. "Middle Tennessee has been one of the top-20 programs in the country the last two or three years. Kermit Davis and his staff do a great job getting their guys in here and getting the right kind of guys. They have a system that they haven't veered from really his entire career, especially here at Middle Tennessee. They just keep coming with good players.
"They have added a really good transfer in Nick King. He's one of the top-three players in our league. They are very difficult to score against. We found out last year in the conference tournament how tough they can be. We'll have to have a real good plan going into tomorrow's game."
Last year UTEP was the only C-USA team to beat Middle Tennessee. The Miners stunned the Blue Raiders, 57-54, in El Paso. Middle Tennessee went 20-1 versus league competition (17-1 regular season, 3-0 tournament) in 2016-17 and exacted revenge versus UTEP in the C-USA Tournament semifinals, winning handily 82-56. UTEP is making its first visit to Murfreesboro since Jan. 7, 2016, when it dropped a 78-72 decision to the Blue Raiders.
The Miners' first trek to the Murphy Center -- on Jan. 16, 2014 -- was a memorable one. UTEP held Middle to 29 percent shooting in the second half and ended the Blue Raiders' 25-game home win streak over conference opponents with a 63-54 victory. Two seniors on this year's team -- Jake Flaggert and Matt Willms -- appeared in that contest. Flaggert hit a three-pointer in 15 minutes off the bench, while Willms started and contributed two points, two rebounds and a block in 10 minutes. C.J. Cooper, who was key in that game with 11 points and five rebounds while playing the full 40 minutes, is now one of the Miners' assistant coaches. Flaggert and Cooper nailed back-to-back threes during a 13-3 run in the second half that turned a 37-37 deadlock into a 50-40 advantage for UTEP.
The series is tied 3-3 and 1-1 at Murfreesboro. The Miners and the Blue Raiders have met in the C-USA Tournament semifinals two of the last three years, with UTEP coming up on the short end of the scoreboard both times.
