Miners Continue Road Swing at C-USA Defending Champs Old Dominion Saturday

UTEP Miners

UTEP at ODU Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. – UTEP will look to bounce back at Old Dominion Saturday night after losing its second straight Conference USA contest. The Miners (13-11, 4-7 C-USA) and Monarchs (9-15, 5-6 C-USA) will tipoff at 5 p.m. MT/7 ET.

Fans can tune in to 600 ESPN El Paso and listen live with "The Voice of the Miners" Jon Teicher. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+.

UTEP will be put to the test again against another tough defensive opponent in ODU. The Monarchs allow 40.2 percent shooting from the field, ranking second in conference and 55^th nationally. ODU also leads C-USA in rebounds per game (39.2) and total rebounds (941).

UTEP allowed a season-high 56.3 percent at Charlotte, while it was the second straight game an opponent shot over 50.0 percent against the Miners' defense. The Miners took a 36-31 lead into the locker room at the half after shooting 50.0 percent from the field and going 6-for-13 from downtown. But Charlotte's defense stepped up, yielding the Miners to shoot 33.3 percent (9-27) in the second half during a 68-64 setback.

Daryl Edwards scored a career-high 24 points, while tying his career best with five three-pointers against the 49ers, while Souley Boum tallied 20 points on 4-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Boum, in his last five games, is shooting over 41 percent from the three-point line after going 2-for-16 his previous two games.

UTEP turned the ball over a season-low six times at Charlotte, but was outscored 40-22 in the paint, and was outhustled on the boards, 34-24.

ODU lost its second consecutive game and fell a game under .500 following a loss to UTSA, 85-81 in overtime, Thursday night in Norfolk. Malik Curry, ODU's leading assist getter (3.5 apg), led the Monarchs with 30 points, while A.J. Oliver II chipped in with 20 points. Aaron Carver dominated the boards, grabbing 20 rebounds. Carver leads C-USA and is ranked 30^th nationally at 10.0 rebounds per game and is the only player in the league to average double-figure rebounds. Xavier Green recorded 15 points against the Roadrunners, while he leads ODU in scoring (12.5 ppg) and ranks tied for 19^th in the conference with Boum in points per game. Jason Wade leads the league in steals per game (2.6) and is ranked second in total steals (52).

Offensively, ODU struggles as it is ranked last in field goal percentage (40.2), scoring offense (64.7), total assists (241) and three-point shooting percentage (28.1). However, the Monarchs are ranked first in least turnovers per game (12.1), while ranking second in rebounding margin (+5.2).

Print Friendly Version