UTEP wins, but disappoints

This was not an NCAA Tournament team that hung on (some fingernail clinging to the cliff here) to win at Southern Mississippi Wednesday, 59-56.<p>

UTEP had a 14-point lead, and had worked hard for that lead, only to be taken down to Southern Miss missing a 3-point shot with time going out. It should have been a rout by the Miners.<p>

UTEP entered the game having played well to achieve the No. 25 ranking in the Coaches Poll, and got enough votes to be No. 26 in  The AP rankings. But you don't almost blow a 14-point lead late in the second half and figure you can win a round or two when the big 64 get together in the NCAA Tournament. UTEP has to be a lot tougher, and the Miners have not really shone they can be.<p?

This blog should have read like this: "Power and might ... and real fast hands! That's how UTEP won at a school that came into the game with a 10-2 home-court record this season. It was a close game until UTEP slapped enough loose balls, and got some running layups, to lead by a comfortable margin at a time fans usually start to head for the exits."

The win means UTEP remains decent in the RPI rankings, perhaps moving into the top 50, and being an almost-for-sure winner Saturday at home against poor Rice.<p>

But is says here that UTEP, 21-5 now, didn't show toughness, in the clutch, in a road game against a decent opponent.<p>

It was nice UTEP won. It was not impressive for a team that needs all the NCAA Selection Committee members to open their eyes to Conference USA.

Comments

[Dave]

Hate to agree with Joe but its true. Buy hey a win is a win ad besides Memphis lost

[Tucson Miners]

It's a win, take a look at Purdue, then win by 1 against Minn. UTEP has figured out how to win and that's what matters.

[Manny]

Joe I hate the way you contradict yourself! if they win by alot you jump on the bandwagon if they barely win you start saying they dissapoint you. Not every win is going to be a blowout, you need to understand that! Period. Nobody ever wins by alot every game from little league to the NBA! Do I believe they have played better? Yes, they have but dont take the miners credit as they never stop trying! They kept pushing until the end. GO MINERS!

[UTEPfinal4Miners]

Hey Joe! The Miners didn't look very good, you're right about that, but they did win and they had to gut it out. I like that they had to and they did. It gives them some experience for what will for sure be a tough conference tournament and hopefully NCAA tournament. Think of the glass half full. Good to hear from you.

[Gabe]

Sometimes you win ugly, main thing is they still know how to win and finish games.

[Manny]

A win is a win! I'll take that every day over a loss! JOE you are officially the bandwagon fan club president!Here are some of your blog titles: A "team" team now! Romp! UTEP wins, but disappoints! OK,a win! UTEP loses to itself! JOE you need to retire! your just like the guy who post the FIRE BARBEE OR PRICE NOW comments! MAKE UP YOUR MIND AND BE MORE SUPPORTIVE TO YOUR TEAM!Go Miners

[deuce]

Only Miner fans can complain about their performance, Munch.

[Chief]

First of all, it's "shown", not "shone". I think we've gotten to the point to where there is at least one of these mistakes on every Joe post.

Now, on to the game. Yes, the miners let a late lead get away. BUT, they did pull it out. USM has been a really good team at home. They lead the conference in defense. UTEP got down early, came back, struggled late, but they showed enough mental toughness to gut it out. That has to be good for experience heading into the stretch run of the season.

Actually, Joe, that's what good/tournament teams do; they answer when faced with adversity, especially in the clutch. In fact I think your post should read just the opposite: "...UTEP, 21-5 now, DID show toughness, in the CLUTCH, in a ROAD game against a DECENT opponent." That is not what happened in the NMSU game or the Ole Miss game.

The miners DID win, remember?????

[stahala]

Joe, you make our point by pointing out that S. Miss is 10-2 at home. Also S. Miss has played a lot of close of games. We got a huge target on our back and every team we play is gonna play their best against the nationaly ranked Miners. S. Miss knocked down a lot of tough shots and played great defense. But the miners played great D also, we kept them under 60. We just had a tough time offensively on a court where home court is a true advantage.

My point is definetly not time to hit the panic button. Not at all. It was a tough conference game. Lord forbid there be tough conference games in college basketball. We won on the road against a determined foe. How bout them #25 Miners!

[Al]

Note to the El Paso Times: Please fire Joe; he is an idiot. Joe have you seen some of the teams Texas has lost to? #23 Texas A&M lost to unranked Baylor but I can bet Joe would put a postive spin on the Aggies loss.

[David T]

Joe it was a sloppy game for the Miners...however the Miners won again on the road and keep proving they can win away from home...usually most people would like the Miners to win half their conference road games...well guess what the Miners have only lost one road conference game...besides Joe the Miners flight got cancelled and they got into Mississippi at midnight for crying out loud...Key Game last road game vs Marshall but seeing that the Miners are always up for those big conference games I expect the Miners to be victorious once again...Go Miners and keep it going!!!

[Max]

Hey Joe, when the '92 Miner team lost to lowly Air Force, did you write them off too?

[rj]

I think the point is that we were up 15 in the second half and had to sweat it out!

15 with like 8-10 minutes to go!

Had this been a grind it out game from start to finish then I wouldnt care if we would of won by 1pt, but we were way up and couldnt close them out. Same thing also happened at Tulsa. Does anyone think this will come back to haunt us in the future?

A few other thoughts...Is anyone else worried about J-Williams? He really hasnt gotten in the flow offensively in the past 2 games, I can count ECU also, but that was a blowout.

Can CTB please find a way to give Williams some of the shots Polk is taking! Polk was unbelieveably bad last night except for the 3 that got us back into the game in the 1st half.

The Rice game would be great to get his confidence/scoring back up. We need Williams to play well if we want to win in March.

And big props to Myron Strong last night, i'm a big Julyan Stone fan, but Julyan was way off last night, and Myron saved the day.

But that's something that's great about this team, they pick each other up when someone is down. This team is special. I cant wait for March.

[Mark A.]

Hey Joe you are an Idiot. a win is a win. The 66 team won many close games then went on to win a National Title. You are not a real fan at all in my eyes. I hope I never run into you and tell you to your fat face to go get a real job and let the UTEP Miner Basketball team win their first Conference USA title without your Dumbass Comments!!

[Bill]

Why do folks ,like Joe, try to look cool by dragging the Miners through the mud. It was a good win in a great season. Joe you will not be offered a job on a national rag because you are negative about the home team. Please let us read about the accomplishments of this very very good Miner team that is doing El Paso proud.

[Steve]

The Miners continue to win even when they don't play their best. I think that is the mark of a team with great potential, Joe. At times you are so full of it.

[woodrow]

So the Miners can win at Memphis, at UAB, at Tulsa and at USM, but are not a tough team?

[neptalla]

I don't understand why "UTEP DISAPPOINTS." if you win the game you did what you needed to do. All teams have days where they don't shoot or play well. I don't see anyone saying anything about Texas and the games they loss being a disappointment. This is madness, I believe that Joe just wants UTEP to loose because he is a big ten and big 12 person, he needs to blog for them. Joe you need to stop trying to get the miners out of the tournament and into theMountain West conference, we don't want anything to do with the MWC. Joe it is sad that you and some of the old farts would rather see this program fail because you don't like the coach and don't like the fact that we are in CUSA, get over it - it is what it is. Joe if you can't at least be non biased, then stop working here on a miner blog, go work for the big 12, big ten or MWC. I just want to say to all the real miner fans that are on this blog, I hope you are onto Joe, I am. Give him hell! The miners are a lock for the tournament at this point, ESPN and all the analyst seem to think so, what they are playing for is seeding now, that is the real deal! There are so many BCS schools that are getting in that just don't deserve a bid, they just play in a conference that has all the advantages with the Media and NCAA, we all know this. The media here needs to start pointing that out instead of acting like these mid level teams in BCS leagues are better than upper tear teams in CUSA. Ask Joe this question. Why won't teams like oklahoma state or Minnesota give teams like UTEP and Memphis a home and home game if they are so much better? I know he won't answer it - the truth is they are afraid of loosing and looking bad since they play in a so called better league.

[Mike Flores]

Did anybody think southern miss were fighting for thier lives and has given all Conf. USA teams tough games , The Miners were no different . A win is a win and on the road . Do you work for the competition ????

From a Real Miner Fan !!!

[EricInNewYork]

I don't know if I agree with this opinion. Sometimes you have to win ugly, sometimes you're lucky to win at all.

I think So.Miss. is a better team than their record. They've lost a lot of games like this, they have the same problem UTEP had the last few years and what most teams lack: How to win close games.

They've won 11 conference games in a row. CUSA is not as bad as everyone would like to tell you they are.

Most consecutive road wins by a UTEP Team.

Most in conference consecutive wins by a UTEP team.

I think, perhaps, some perspective is in order. Lots of teams enter the Top 25 and have an immediate let down.

With a win against Rice they can do no worse than a Conference Title (share). They had a night where nobody could hit a shot for an entire half. Had UTEP not played good D and So.Miss. would have made some of those shots.

Credit where credit is due. This IS a team deserving of an NCAA bid. This IS a team worthy of the Top 25. This league IS worthy of 3 bids (though they will not get them.)

[jay]

We don't seem to play smart. We have a lead and Polk and Randy are taking quick shots instead of milking the clock. This is the kind of stuff that keeps us from being an elite team.

[shyminer]

Nobody said USM was going to be easy, they are not a bad team... They are not great either, but really... a win on the road, is always going to be tough to get, the Miners played bad... They still turned up the Defense and won.

[Manny]

FIRE JOE MUENCH NOW!!!!!

[David]

Ohhh calm down people. It's not wrong what Joe is saying. But I must admit, Joe, your taking this apart to much. It's a game out of 11 that UTEP has won in a row. Have the miners been slipping on big leads? Yes... now the question is, how to fix it. Your right, I think toughness is the key, but these guys are living the good life, maybe a loss to Rice is what they need to get a kick in the butt for a run on the tourny.

[Eat It]

Joe you do realize that this is the same Souther Miss team that was leading UAB by 15 points with 5 minutes to go and lost, and they nearly beat Tulsa, I think lost by like 3 points, not sure. Its always tough to play on the road, especially against a team like Southern Miss that is beginning to GEL. Your an idiot and obviously don't know anything about basketball.