Game Notes In PDF Format
OPENING TIP
The fourth seed from the C-USA West Division UTEP men's basketball team (19-12) will square off against the top seed out of the C-USA East Division Middle Tennessee (22-9) in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Heritage Landscape Supply Group Conference USA Men's Basketball Championships at 7 p.m. MT/8 p.m. CT on Thursday. Jon Teicher (41st year) and Steve Yellen (19th year) will be on the call on "The Home of UTEP Basketball" 600 ESPN El Paso. It will also be streamed on Stadium. The Miners are on a three-game winning streak and have claimed 11 of the past 15 overall. MT fell in its final two contests of the regular season, but prior to that it had won 13 of 14. The Miners advanced to the quarterfinals with a 74-64 victory against Old Dominion while the Blue Raiders had a bye into the round by virtue of winning the East Division. The victory against Monarchs was the first in the C-USA Championships since 2017, and the Miners are now shooting to advance to the semifinals for the first time since that year as well. It was also the initial triumph at the event since it moved to "The Star" in Frisco, Texas.
SERIES HISTORY: MIDDLE TENNESSEE LEADS, 8-5
Middle Tennessee holds an 8-5 edge in the series with UTEP, including a 77-59 win in Murfreesboro in the only match-up this year between the programs on Feb. 21. That snapped a two-game winning streak in the series for the Miners. This is the second meeting in the C-USA Championships between the programs, with the Blue Raiders dealing UTEP an 82-56 setback in the quarterfinals of the 2017 event.
UTEP IN THE C-USA TOURNAMENT
UTEP is 14-15 in C-USA Tournament games. The Miners advanced to the semifinals in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016 and the finals in 2010 and 2011.
UTEP IN THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
UTEP is 41-30 all time in conference tournament play (includes a forfeit against Hawaii in the 1996 WAC Tournament. The Miners won the WAC Tournament in 1984, 1986, 1989, 1990 and 2005 and also appeared in the title tilt in 1985, 1988, 1992, 1993 and 2004.
HIGHLIGHTING THE SEASON
- UTEP's 19 total wins are the most in a season since finishing 19-14 in 2015-16. The 2014-15 season (22-11) was the last time UTEP won 20 or more games in a year.
- The Miners were 11-7 in C-USA play, their first winning record in conference since going 12-6 in 2016-17. They won 10 of 14 to overcome a 1-3 start in league play.
- UTEP finished the regular season at 7-6 on the road, its first winning road record since 2013-14 (8-2). That's also the most wins on the road since 2013-14.
- The Miners went 5-4 away from home in league play for their first road winning mark in C-USA action since also going 5-4 in 2016-17.
- UTEP's five league road wins surpassed its total (four) of such games from the prior three seasons combined.
- The Miners secured their first road win at LA Tech since 2004, at New Mexico since 2009, at ODU since 2015 and at UTSA since 2015. They also secured the first road sweep of the LA Tech and Southern Miss trip in six tries.
- UTEP had a six-game conference USA winning streak (Jan. 15 to Feb. 5), which was its longest since also posting six straight wins in 2016 (2/4-20/16). It marked the fifth winning streak of at least six C-USA games since the Miners joined the league in 2005-06.
- Fifteen of UTEP's 19 wins of the year have been the come-from-behind variety, including the season-best 13 points overcome against UTSA on Jan. 11. There have been rallies of at least seven points seven times total this season.
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Souley Boum (second team) and Jamal Bieniemy(third team) both picked up All-Conference USA accolades as announced by the league office on March 7. Boum led the league in scoring during the regular season while Bieniemy placed ninth. It was Boum's second straight distinction and the first overall for Bieniemy.
GOING BACK IN TIME (UTEP 74, ODU 64 MARCH 9, 2022)
Souley Boum (21 points), Keonte Kennedy (17 points), Jamal Bieniemy (13 points) and Tydus Verhoeven (12 points) all reached double figures in scoring as UTEP knocked off Old Dominion in a wire-to-wire 74-64 victory in the second round of the 2022 Heritage Landscape Supply Group Conference USA Men's Basketball Championships at the Star on March 9. The Miners shot 49.1 percent from the floor (28-57), including 39.1 percent (9-23) from beyond-the-arc. At the other end of the court the Orange and Blue kept the Monarchs (13-19) to 40.0 percent (26-65), including 2-15 (13.3 percent) from 3-point range. UTEP took good care of the ball with 12 turnovers. Verhoeven flirted with a double-double with a team-high nine rebounds. Bieniemy ran the offense effectively with seven of UTEP's 12 assists. Jamari Sibley came off the bench to provide seven points and four rebounds. Ze'rik Onyema recorded four points and four rebounds in his first career start. The Miners led by as many as 19 in the game (62-43, 5:07 2H), and carried a double-digit cushion for the final 30 minutes of action.
THIS AND THAT
- Souley Boum (20.0 ppg) leads Conference USA in scoring while Jamal Bieniemy (14.8 ppg) is 10th. The only time a Miner has paced C-USA in ppg wasStefon Jackson (23.6 ppg) in 2007-08. The last occasion UTEP had a 20.0 ppg scorer was Jackson (24.5 ppg) in 2008-09. Bieniemy is also eighth in assists per game (3.9)
- Souley Boum has 11 20+ point outputs the past 15 games and 16 total on the year.
- The Miners are 15-2 on the season when drilling at least eight 3-point shots. That record includes a school-recording tying 15 makes from distance against Southern Miss in the 87-54 win on Jan. 8. UTEP nearly matched that with 14 at USM on Feb. 19.
- The Miners stand at 15-2 when scoring 70+ points (5-0 getting into the 80's).
- UTEP sports a mark of 18-4 on the campaign when limiting foes to 72 points or less, including 5-1 when keeping them in the 50's.
- The Miners are 7-2 in games decided by five points or less.
- UTEP is 18-5 when making at least 40 percent of its shots and 7-0 when the opponent falls shy of that figure. It is also 12-2 when shooting better than foes.
- The Miners are 15-1 when leading with five minutes to play.
- UTEP has had its top three scorers (Souley Boum, Jamal Bieniemy and Keonte Kennedy) on the court in the same game for four straight games, but just 10 times total out of 31 total contests on the season.
BRIEF RUNDOWN ON MT
Middle Tennessee went 22-9, including 13-5 in C-USA play, to win the league's East Division during the regular season. The Blue Raiders were 15-0 at home, 2-0 in neutral and 5-9 in road games. Five different players put up at least 8.5 points per game, including three in double figures. All C-USA second-team honoree Josh Jefferson paces the team in scoring (14.6 ppg-12th C-USA), aided by making 71 total 3-pointers (eighth C-USA). All-freshman team honoree Teafale Lenard helps the defensively with 1.4 blocks per game (fifth C-USA). As a team MT is in the league and national rankings for free-throw percentage (76.1-third/33rd), steals per game (8.1-third/40th), 3-point field-goal percentage defense (30.9-second/49th), scoring margin (7.6-fourth/62nd), blocked shots per game (4.2-fourth/66th), 3-pointers per game (8.4-fifth/83rd) and scoring defense (66.3-third/93rd). Notable alumni include Kelly Holcomb (NFL QB from 1995-2007) and James McGill Buchanan (Nobel Prize Winner).
ON THIS DATE IN UTEP HISTORY
UTEP defeated New Mexico, 44-38, to win the WAC Tournament on March 10, 1984, and punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
GOLDING TO JOIN AN EXCLUSIVE GROUP
First-year head coach Joe Golding (19-12) is the fourth coach (20 total head coaches) in program history to have a winning season in their first year on the sidelines. Don Haskins became the first when he directed the Miners to a mark of 18-6 in 1961-62. Doc Sadler (27-8, 2004-05) and Tim Floyd (25-10, 2010-11) also achieved the feat. Overall, the prior 19 head coaches combined to forge an average record of 9-13 in their first year with UTEP.
UP NEXT
The winner of UTEP and Middle Tennessee will advance to face the victor between 2W UAB and 3E Florida Atlantic in the semifinals of the 2022 Heritage Landscape Supply Group Conference USA Men's Basketball Championships at 1 p.m. MT/2 p.m. CT on Friday. If the Miners emerge victorious against MT, Jon Teicher (41st year) and Steve Yellen (19th 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.
