Next 4 games

Yes, it's the old cliche "one game at a time," but that's no fun. I'm saying UTEP's basketball identity will come to light in the next four games. Is UTEP (9-2) real good, or does UTEP play out its Conference USA schedule and then pray for the the best when post-game tournament committees hand out invitations?<p>

If UTEP stays good, and holds on in the not-real-tough Conference USA, it will have had two solid months of good reviews from the national onlookers and UTEP, as one of the NCAA's good teams, will be notched in the brains of those who run the sport.<p>

Let's look at some numbers, and the opportunities for UTEP:

UTEP (9-2) plays at No. 20-ranked Texas Tech (10-2, 33 RPI) Sunday. UTEP will need to pull an upset, and that would sure help its present RPI rating of 155 out of 347 NCAA Division I teams.<p>

UTEP then plays at home in the CUSA opener vs. SMU (5-5 and a 302 RPI) on Wednesday. Gotta win that one to maintain positioning.<p>

Then BYU (13-1 and getting AP Top 25 votes) comes to The Don Jan. 9. That will be the biggest home game for UTEP in years. UTEP and its fans always roared when hated BYU came to town in the old WAC days. A lot of RPI points could be gained win an upset win. And the home-fan advantage is big here. Note, though, that BYU just beat Arizona in Tucson 99-69. And BYU is getting votes in the AP Top 25. They are No. 30 in that poll.<p>

Finally in the four-game "make a name" stretch is the one that will tell the most, conference-wise. On Jan. 13 UTEP plays at 7-4 Houston, albeit Houston is now lower in RPI than UTEP. Houston is 171 and UTEP is 155. Somebody has to win CUSA and UTEP, Houston and Tulsa are picked to contend for the No. 1 seed in the post-season conference tournament. Add Memphis in there. A road win at Houston would be a gold star on UTEP report card.<p>

Yes, it's "one game at a time," and yes, the season is just getting hot so RPIs will change a lot by the middle of January.<p>

But UTEP needs to stay in the public eye all season. History doesn't show a late-blooming UTEP team catching the fancy of the power people in the NCAA or even NIT tournaments.<p>

Comments

[just a thought]

Joe is right on. This stretch will show how good we are against quality opponents (Oklahoma eh...). Hopefully Tech basketball is distracted by Tech football news and BYU is distracted by crowd noise -- especially 3-point bomber Fredette.

[Pick Ax]

Getting off topic here. Seems Mike Leach got a raw deal from some whiny diva kid and the university. Where are we going with us? In the future, can coaches be fired for yelling at the student-athletes for messing up a play?

I would take Leach @UTEP in a heartbeat. Anyone?

Pick Ax

[CLEOFITZWITZ]

Pick Ax, I thought you had sworn off talking UTEP football until next year! I believe next year will be Mike Price's last year, win or lose. He wants us to go out a winner and retire. If he doesn't win, I think we will let him go.

Leach will be long gone by then. But it's head games that he likes to play. I don't regard him as a strict disciplinarian. Teaching the game has always been more important to me but we need a dose of mean from our next coach.

Barbee is a mean coach. I think he can get in his players heads and push them through this stretch of crucial games. Caracter will also continue to shake off the rust and mesh with the other players. If things continue to improve, watch out!

[just a thought]

Yup CLEO, like I said a few months ago next year is likely it for MP because I don't know if he has enough left in his tank to rebuild a rebuilding situation once VT, Buckram and Adams lose eligibility.

I also agree that Leach is more eccentric than evil. His decision (as reported by ESPN) to be insubordinate and refuse to work with Tech's administration may hurt his chances for a collegiate job in the future. 'Leach will be long gone' but it may not be gone as in scooped up by a University gone -- not as a head coach anyway. He'll ride off into retirement with a lump sum settlement somehow.

Leach would be welcomed here in EP by fans tired of the nice guy Price act. Hey, it's a military town but how much would getting Leach help UTEP if the unlikely did happen? Last time I checked he was an offensive guru (no pun intended). Defense anyone?

[Lowercase Ray]

Good breakdown Joe. UTEP's best opportunity for bringing attention to themself, in the non-conference games, are Texas Tech and BYU. They failed to grasp the opportunity against Ole Miss but still have these two games to change that. Beating TT and BYU would probably put them in the upper 100 field as long as they don't lose to an SMU or Houston along the way.

Just to update things a bit, right now it would be UAB, Tulsa, Memphis, Marshall and UTEP that would seem to be favored in the fight for CUSA's best. All of them, except UTEP, having an RPI rating in the top 100. UAB at 11-2, with an RPI of 29, at the moment would seem to be at the top of this heap. They've beaten two AP Top 25 ranked team, have been ranked themselves and is the only CUSA team to have an RPI in the top 50.

I do believe the games against TT and BYU will probably be make or break for UTEP; these games could determine whether they've got a good chance at an NCAA bid or NOT. Of course they'll still have the chance to win the CUSA tournament outright and make regular season play meaningless. I just wouldn't place all my eggs in one basket.

[Lorenzo]

Right on the money about these tough games coming up. The contenders are beginning to reveal themselves in C-USA. Before the season I thought UAB would be middle of the pack in conference with all the key losses they had but Mike Davis has proven himself an excellent coach. Tulsa is good but I'm still not convinced they're the cream of the conference. Memphis' defense is still stout and Houston's offense is still explosive. Southern Miss, UCF and Marshall won't win the conference but shouldn't be overlooked.

[Peprica]

Why weren't there any pictures of our team hoisting the Sun Bowl Don Haskins Invitational trophy...and the individual players with their trophies? This was part of the Sun Bowl activities too, wasn't it???

[Joe Muench]

Re: [Joe on utepia] Lowercase Ray submitted a comment to Next 4 games

Good one, Lowercase

Joe

[Cheap Computers Canada]

Hard work and dedication pays of in the end.