UTEP sports blog: Joe Muench has been a sports writer and a sports editor in El Paso for decades, but he’s best known as the columnist everyone loves to talk about. His UTEP athletics blog starts up the conversation again.
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The final UTEP basketball podcast of the year is now available. Fred Albers, Joe Muench, Ruben Ramirez and Jay Koester talk about the UTEP women bowing out of the NCAA tournament with a second-round loss to Stanford and the men bowing out of the CBI with a first-round loss to Utah.
To listen to the wrap up of a historic year for the women and a building year for the men, click here.
Faced with having to replace a good football player, I'd choose a receiver over any other position.
Good college receivers are a dime a dozen. Real good ones are 25 cents a dozen. Ever seen a passing team that didn't have anybody who could catch a lot of passes?
UTEP is better off losing receiver Fred Rouse than losing a good lineman. Vittatoe will complete just as many passes next fall, Rouse or not. Jeff Moturi, et al, make up a solid pass-catching group.
You can argue the fine points about Rouse's height, speed, hands.
I'd rather lose that than a good, steady lineman. You don't usually replace first-string linemen at middle-level schools in Conference USA, the WAC, Mid-American. You can't recruit two first-stringers at the same position.
It's so much easier to find another receiver.
When a player disrupts the team, as Fred Rouse obviously did, it's no loss when he leaves the program.
The bad part is that it could have been so good.
Coach Mike Price made the right move in giving this troubled, talented athlete a chance after he'd blown his welcome at Florida State. Blogger CLEO is right. A school like UTEP is not going to recruit a blue-chip skills-position athlete outright.
Talent wins games.
It must be remembered that, more often than not, a transfer is going to spill his baggage at his new school, too. Price hasn't had much luck with transfers: Sam never lived up to his billing (injuries were not his fault). That Wash. State transfer QB quit.
UTEP will play at Robert Morris Monday in the first round of the YAT, a post-season basketball tournament that pits losers of first-round games in the NIT and CBI, along with selected club teams in the nation.
The game will be played at 5:30 p.m. MDT in Robert "Big Bob" Morris Arena on the school's campus in Moon Townshhip, Pa. It will be televised if the CBJ Network is able to locate satellite space.
Dunker Daniels, spokesman for the Yet Another Tournament said, "We know that some fans just can't let their seasons go. So we've created this event. Nobody is a loser — everybody is a winner — in our book. Every team and every player will be presented a trophy. We are pleased to announce the College Basketball Junkies Network is trying to put as many of our games on television as possible."
UTEP finished sixth in Conference USA, but was snubbed by the 64-school NCAA and then, unbelievably, was snubbed again by the 32-school NIT. The Miners lost their first-round CBI game to Utah on Wednesday, 81-69. Robert Morris lost a first-round NIT game at Syracuse 87-81.
UTEP announced it has a limited number of seats on its charter jet that will leave for Robert Morris Sunday morning. Miner officials, saying they are grateful to their loyal fans, will pay the round-trip cost on a first-come, first served basis.
UTEP’s basketball team has accepted an invitation to play in next week’s inaugural YAT, officials announced shortly after Wednesday’s 81-69 loss to Utah in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational.
The YAT is composed of 16 teams. UTEP’s opponent was to be announced today.
The event is for schools who lost first-round games in either the NIT or the CBI, along with teams that do not qualify for NCAA Division I tournaments.
Joining UTEP among first-round CBI losers will be Richmond, Rider and Brown. Nevada, Cincinnati and Washington declined invitations after their losing efforts.
NIT first-round losers accepting bids so far are: Stephen F. Austin, UNC-Ashville, Robert Morris, UC Santa Barbara, Morgan State and Alabama State. New Mexico, Florida State, Minnesota and Rhode Island turned down invitations.
Non-NCAA teams in the YAT are: The New York City playground champion Dukes, St. Luke’s (Pa.) Seminary and the winner in tonight’s Barber Colleges of America Tournament.
UTEP enters with a 19-14 record. "We are STILL playing in March!" said one enthused Miner fan while pumping his right arm into the air. "We're part of March Madness," he shouted to fellow enthusiasts.
Unofficial reports have UTEP being the home team and the No. 1 seed in the West Bracket. A spokesman for the YAT (Yet Another Tournament) would not confirm or deny the Miners’ first-round opponent would be the champ of the Barber College's of America Tournament.
As a host team, the Miners will pay YAT officials $50,000. UTEP will be able to keep all proceeds exceeding that figure. Tickets will go on sale as soon as they can be printed at Kinko's.
UTEP Coach Tony Barbee, who was “excited, honored and humbled” at being chosen for the CBI, said late Wednesday, “I’m excited, honored and humbled to be invited to the inaugural YAT. It is a tremendous opportunity for our young team to get its first taste of postseason play ...”
It sure seems some Miner fans on this blog cared more about this third-rate post-season basketball tournament than did the UTEP players. Utah poleaxed a Miner team with no steam, and certainly no self-esteem, Wednesday in the College Basketball Invitational. What's this being thrilled to be still playing in March? The Miners showed none of that.
Real college basketball, like it used to be here ,and still is on TV, is not these guys. Wednesday night was not UTEP basketball. What a letdown for the fans! Darn lucky it wasn't a 20-point loss to a team that almost had a losing season.
What's getting better with the UTEP basketball program?
No progress is seen.
From reading the comments on the past few posts, it seems many of you want to yell at Joe for his hatred of the College Basketball Invitational tournament.
Well, live vicariously and listen to Fred Albers, Ruben Ramirez and Jay Koester yell at Joe Muench about his dislike of the tournament.
After yelling at Joe, the podcasters also talk about the UTEP women's basketball team and their Saturday NCAA tourney game against Western Kentucky.
To listen to or download the podcast, click here.
You wanted it, now you pay for this home game in the first-year College Basketball Invitational.
UTEP put out $50,000 to do this, you know.
Many bloggers and fans say they're thrilled, and the theme seems to be "WE'RE one of the teams still playing in March!" That's true. It's 19-13 UTEP vs. 17-14 Utah at 7 p.m. Wednesday in The Don. No TV, as usual.
UTEP is still playing in March because it paid to play. That's why. Nobody invited the Miners to a real tournament, so the Miners paid The Gazelle Group to be a first-round home team in their venture.
This is a bad idea, and it could wind up costing UTEP money if those "thrilled" fans don't buy enough tickets.
In order to be a host site in the 16-team event, schools have to pay the promoters $50,000. Now $50,000 worth of fans have to show up.
If there are 4,000 tickets sold at $13, UTEP makes a small profit. Otherwise UTEP loses money. There are a few $8 and a few $25 tickets, not many of each. So I'm going with the $13. Figure concessions and Miner T-shirt sales should pay to turn the lights on in The Don.
Just 4,000 fans? Sounds easy. UTEP claimed double that in regular-season per-game attendance.
But consider this:
Tickets will have been available only three days. It's not like the regular season where thousands of season tickets are sold months in advance and you need only a few thousand walk-ups to have a good crowd. Perhaps businesses in El Paso will buy blocks of tickets. That would help UTEP.
If you've got a family of four, will you be paying $52 for tickets, plus concessions? You'd better. You wanted this. You wanted to "still be playing in March."
This being a spring-break week won't help, either.
But maybe some will luck out because the wife and kids don't want to watch a game where the two teams have a combined 27 losses this season. "Go alone, Dearest. We're going to the outlet mall, instead."
Thinking ahead:
What if UTEP beats Utah here Wednesday and Tulsa beats Miami (Ohio) in Tulsa — but neither made it financially?. Who will agree to pay for a second-round game pitting two Conference USA schools who will be playing for the fourth time this season? "Not I," quacked the duck, and he waddled away."Not I," oinked the pig, and he trotted away ... "Not I," peeped UTEP, and the Miners ran like the school's track team. "Not I," whispered Tulsa, and tip-toed ... you get the picture.
How much money would a UTEP-vs.-Miami (Ohio) matchup raise in either school's arena?
Remember this 16-team tournament isn't made up of Top-25 teams. It's made up of teams left out of the 64-school NCAA and 32-school NIT. It's an event that shouldn't be.
They ought to name it "The Table Scraps Classic."
There shouldn't be a College Basketball Invitational and UTEP should have been smart, as was New Mexico State, and politely declined to play.
Instead, some are trying to hype this new 16-team tournament that invites teams that didn't make the 64-school NCAA field or the 32-school NIT. If you don't make the real post-season tournaments, you've not that good and you should let the season die. You should want to bury it quickly. If you're not among the top 96 schools ... I mean, c'mon!
Now UTEP will host Utah Wednesday in a first-round CBI matchup. The two teams combined for 27 losses this season.
And what's with this lame quote by UTEP Coach Tony Barbee? "I'm excited, honored and humbled (????) to be invited to the inaugural College Basketball Invitational. It is a tremendous opportunity for our young team to get its first taste of postseason play ..."
Geesh! There are schools who fire coaches who don't make the NCAA or NIT. That's how THEY'RE "humbled."
If you want to get a taste of big-time opponents, then play a better pre-conference schedule. Get Utah in the real season, not when it's barely above .500. These are certainly not Rick Majerus-type Utes this year. They are 17-14.
UTEP is 19-13.
And when it's announced there is not TV, it means, who the heck would bother to watch!
It appears the winner will face the winner of Tulsa vs. Miami (Ohio). UTEP has played Tulsa three times already this season. That would be a great re- re- rematch.
The best that can be said for the CBI is that players and coaches love to play the game, and would play in the July Invitational, if they could.
But as far as meaning something, this one's not even a second-rate event. The NIT is second rate. This is third rate and the eventual winner can proclaim, "Hurray, hurray. We're No. 97"
Happy 78th birthday to Don Haskins Friday.
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