Game Notes In PDF Format

OPENING TIP
The UTEP men's basketball team (7-5) will play for the title of the 62nd-annual WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational when it takes on longtime former WAC rival Wyoming (7-4) at 7 p.m. MT Thursday. A win would afford the Miners their first crown at the event since 2019, in addition to serving as head coach Joe Golding's 200th career triumph as a collegiate head coach. Another possible milestone to be hit is UTEP leading scorer Tae Hardy reaching 1,000 career points between his time at East Carolina, Southern Miss and the Miners. After tallying 12 points in a 67-65 win against Norfolk State in the opening round, including two clutch free throws with five seconds to play to help ice the game, Hardy needs just four points to reach that total. UTEP, however, will have its hands full with the Cowboys, who are the top 3-point shooting team in the country at 43.4 percent (86-198). They eased past preseason Summit League favorite South Dakota State, 78-65, to clinch a spot in the championship contest. Wyoming will be playing only its third road game (0-2) of the season, with setbacks at No. 19 Texas (86-63, Nov. 26) and Portland (81-70, Dec. 1). The Miners are aiming to move to 7-1 at home. UTEP associate head coach Jeremy Cox broke into the coaching ranks as a graduate assistant for the Cowboys in 1991-92 under head coach Benny Dees while Wyoming associate head coach Ken DeWeese spent five seasons (2011-12 through 2015-16) with the Miners on Tim Floyd's staff. 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 stream on the Sun Bowl's YouTube Channel and KFOX.com, in addition to being broadcast locally on Spectrum channel 1215, over the air on 4.2 For more information on the 2023 WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational please go to www.sunbowl.org. Fans may call (915) 747-UTEP for ticket information.
 
THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM?
For the third straight year under Joe Golding, the Miners will be playing for the title at the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational. UTEP came up shy in narrow losses to perennial mid-major powers Bradley (L, 73-66, Dec. 22, 2021) and Kent State (L, 47-46, Dec. 22, 2022), but it will look to raise the trophy at the 2023 edition. A victory would mark the first crown for the Miners at the invitational since 2019 and 33rd all time (32-15 in title tilts). There was no tournament in 2020 and no declared champion in 2010 due to preset match-ups.
 
NEXT WIN ONE IS NUMBER 200 FOR GOLDING
With the 67-65 win against Norfolk State on Dec. 20, head coach Joe Golding improved to 199-181 all time as a collegiate head coach. If he can guide the Miners past Wyoming in the championship contest, it will be his first crown at the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational and his 200th career victory as well.
 
CONSECUTIVE WILD CONTESTS
After falling at ACU, 88-82, in a game that featured 12 ties and 14 lead changes, the Miners came out on top against Norfolk State, 67-65, in a contest similar in style. There were 11 ties and 14 lead changes, with UTEP staking the lead for good following an Otis Frazier III offensive putback with 2:33 remaining in regulation.
 
GOING BACK IN TIME
In a back-and-forth game, UTEP made plays when it mattered most in a 67-65 vanquishing of Norfolk State in the opening round of the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational on Dec. 20. Calvin Solomon led the Orange and Blue in both scoring (13) and rebounding (nine), including coming up with a critical offensive board with five seconds left off a missed Miners' free throw with UTEP up just one. Solomon dropped it off to Tae Hardy, who was fouled immediately. He showed ice water in his veins by making two tosses at the charity stripe, capping his night with 12 points. Norfolk State inbounded, and UTEP wisely fouled with 2.3 seconds left to prevent a potential game-tying 3-pointer. Jamarii Thomas (13 points) hit the first free throw before missing the second intentionally, but Otis Frazier III secured the loose ball and time expired.
 
ALL ABOUT THE DEFENSE DOWN THE STRETCH TO STOP A STREAK
UTEP, which trailed 58-56 with 5:02 left in regulation, did not allow Norfolk State to connect on a field goal (0-5) for the remainder of the contest. The result was the Miners winning a game when losing with five minutes to play for the first time since the 2021-22 season. That year, UTEP rallied from down 63-58 vs. Rice on the way to a 70-67 victory (3/3/22). The Miners had lost 22 straight in the situation.
 
GET TO KNOW WYOMING
Wyoming enters Thursday's game at 7-4 on the year after dusting off South Dakota State, 78-65, to advance to the championship round of the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational. The Cowboys account for 76.2 points per game, aided by pacing the nation in 3-point shooting at 43.4 percent (86-198). Overall, they connect on 47.7 percent (fourth MWC/62nd NCAA). Wyoming also does a good job of getting to the line, rating fourth in the Mountain West for both free throws made per game (16.7-44th NCAA) and free throws attempted per game (23.0-51st). The Cowboys have allowed 70.6 points per game, but they force the opposition into 15.0 turnovers forced per game (second MWC/59th NCAA). Foes shoot 42.9 percent against them, but they have held opponents to 30.0 percent (second MWC/73rd NCAA) from distance. The Cowboys have the second-leading scoring in the MWC in Sam Griffin (18.4 ppg-66th NCAA). He is lights out from 3-point range, nailing 26-55 (47.3 percent). Griffin also paces the team in assists (3.8-eighth MWC). Akuel Kot (16.5 ppg-seventh MWC) and 2023 NAIA National Player of the Year Mason Walters (12.0 ppg) join him in double figures for scoring, while Cam Manyawu (9.5 ppg), Brendan Wenzel (8.5 ppg), Caden Powell (7.8 ppg) and Kobe Newton (7.0 ppg) have also been effective scorers. Newton does his damage from distance, with 19 of his 22 field goals coming on 3-pointers. He is a ridiculous 61.3 percent (19-31) from beyond-the-arc. Manyawu controls the boards with 7.0 per game (sixth MWC), and he has compiled five double-doubles (second MWC/19th NCAA). Notable alumni include former Vice President Dick Cheney and the late LA Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss
 
SERIES HISTORY: UTEP LEADS, 43-23
UTEP and Wyoming have a rich history, with the Miners holding a 43-23 advantage (26-4 in El Paso) in the series against their old WAC rivals. The Miners and Cowboys squared off at least two times annually from the 1969-70 season through the 1995-96 campaign. That includes a pair of match-ups for the WAC Tournament title, with UTEP winning 65-64 in Laramie in 1986 on an offensive rebound and putback by Juden Smith with 37 seconds remaining in regulation. The Cowboys were the first team to visit the Don Haskins Center when it opened on Feb. 3, 1977, (UTEP lost, 62-59). Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins picked up his 600th career victory at Wyoming when Eddie Rivera drained a halfcourt shot to win it in overtime, 73-72, on Feb. 27, 1992. Thursday's match-up marks the third time that the Miners and Cowboys will lock up at the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invite. UTEP bested UW, 79-73, to take home the title at the 2007 edition while also knocking the Cowboys off, 76-65, in the consolation contest in 2018. 

STEAL THE SHOW
UTEP registered 11 steals in the win vs. Norfolk State, and it now has a four-game streak with at least 10 thefts for the first time since also doing so in the 2006-07 campaign. UTEP hasn't done so in five consecutive contests since at least prior to the 1981-82 campaign (prior records incomplete). The Miners have recorded at least eight steals in every game this year, with 10 or more in eight of the 12 games. UTEP's average of 11.7 spg is second in CUSA and fifth tin the country. After tying the school record with 288 steals last season, the Miners are on pace to shatter that figure with 374.
 
POUNDING THE PAINT
UTEP has demonstrated the ability to get points in the paint in 2023-24. Nearly half (464-935, 49.6 percent) of the Miners' points on the season have come in the paint. On the year, the Orange and Blue have a 464-350 advantage for points in the paint. That works out to 38.7 ppg in the paint for UTEP compared to 29.2 by foes.