West Texas Dance Party: Miners Make NCAA Tournament
by Adrian Mac on Mar 14, 2010 5:20 PM MDT
in UTEP Miners Basketball
15 comments
Forget the Bracketologies, RPI numbers, and winning streaks, UTEP is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005. The Miners draw the #12 seed in the West Bracket and take on the #5 seed Butler Bulldogs on Thursday in San Jose, California (time not yet announced). Full West Regional Bracket Here.
Instant Reaction:
- Whew: I felt strongly that UTEP's incredibly run over the last two months was enough to get the Miners into the dance. Nothing, however, is every guaranteed when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. After New Mexico State sewed up a bid last night in the WAC Final, I have to admit I imagined a nightmare scenario where the Aggies bid thievery knocked the Miners out. Luckily, it was not to be.
- Butler: The Bulldogs are a very good team. They have impressive wins against Ohio State and Xavier. They also lost to one of our familiar foes, UAB by 10 in Birmingham. CBS analyst Greg Anthony almost immediately pegged the UTEP-Butler game as a potential upset game. Butler steamrolled through the Horizon Conference 18-0 and won the league tournament.
- Quality Losses: The Bulldogs other losses came to Georgetown, Minnesota, and Clemson. All three of those teams made the NCAA Tournament.
- Houston: The Cougars drew the #13 seed in the Midwest and take on former Chapin High School standout Cliff Tucker and his Maryland Terrapins. Should they win, they will take on the winner of the New Mexico State (#12) and Michigan State (#5) game. Both of these games will be on Friday.
Thoughts on the draw? I'm still traveling, but full posting will be back up soon. For now, feel free to FanShot any links you want to share with the community.
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Awesome!
Happy to see the miners in the spotlight. I live in seattle so I dont get to see them unless they are on the cbs college sports channel. I am also happy to see a miners blog on the SB nation!
When you eat a candy bar or have a wonderful dessert, have a diet drink. The calories are cancelled out by the diet drink.
I love it...
Butler is probably the best possible matchup among the 12-5 games.
And since I live in L.A., I’m also considering the trip to San Jose to support the Miners!!
USC Sports Talk, contributor http://uscsportstalk.blogspot.com
Yes!
UTEP just squeaked in according to the pundits. Funny how far a loss to Houston took us in the seedings and national perception. There will be a lot of naysayers complaining about UTEP’s SOS and RPI, but I don’t see how any of the other bubble teams have a solid case against the Miners.
I really like this matchup. Can’t wait until Thursday.
So glad didn't have to wait for final region
To hear the Miners called! That was too close, but after Houston game and string of upsets we knew it would be a nail bitter. I was hoping for a better seed, but the Miners are positioned to make a run at the sweet 16. I am not saying it will be easy, but they are a matchup nightmare for Butler who’s frontcourt isn’t very big. I think their tallest player is 6-8, they are a smart basketball team that protects the ball and has great guard play (similar to Houston). If UTEP can defend the perimeter and keep Butler from hitting the 3 ball while protecting the basketball (too many costly turnovers), they have a great chance to advance to the second round. Growing up in the southwest it is awesome to see UNM, NMSU, and UTEP all in the dance. This is what we have been waiting for and I hope the Miners can take advantage of this opportunity. GO MINERS!
2:45 MST on Thursday
the time UTEP and Butler will play.
I just hope Baylor takes care of their business, so as not to spill over UTEP.
by miner_t-bone05 on Mar 14, 2010 9:43 PM MDT via mobile reply actions
Tipoff time announced, UTEP game is at 4:45 Eastern time
NCAA Tournament Games
TIME (ET) MATCHUP
9:30 PM (16) Lehigh vs. (1) Kansas*
7:15 PM (16) East Tennessee State vs. (1) Kentucky*
2:40 PM (15) North Texas vs. (2) Kansas State*
4:45 PM (12) UTEP vs. (5) Butler*
12:30 PM (15) Robert Morris vs. (2) Villanova*
9:40 PM (14) Montana vs. (3) New Mexico*
9:45 PM (11) San Diego State vs. (6) Tennessee*
7:25 PM (14) Ohio vs. (3) Georgetown*
12:20 PM (10) Florida vs. (7) Brigham Young*
2:45 PM (14) Sam Houston State vs. (3) Baylor*
2:30 PM (13) Murray State vs. (4) Vanderbilt*
7:10 PM (9) Northern Iowa vs. (8) UNLV*
7:20 PM (11) Washington vs. (6) Marquette*
12:25 PM (11) Old Dominion vs. (6) Notre Dame*
2:50 PM (10) Saint Mary’s vs. (7) Richmond*
9:35 PM (9) Wake Forest vs. (8) Texas*
USC Sports Talk, contributor http://uscsportstalk.blogspot.com
I'll have more information in a few days, but I'm pretty sure we are
going to have all the games embedded directly on Miner Rush. CBS is hooking it up!
www.minerrush.com
5-12 Matchups
Historically, the 5/12 matchup yields the most upsets. Ironically, Butler is usually the underdog in the tourney and they always seem to be a cinderella story.
by Henry the Panther on Mar 15, 2010 8:43 AM MDT reply actions
Only game in our time slot...
I may be looking at this wrong, but I believe we are the only game in that time slot.
Right after the Baylor/SHSU game and the KSU/UNT game…
It appears the nation will all be watching UTEP and Butler.
I liked this from Andy Katz of ESPN......
“UTEP had such a complete meltdown against Houston in the C-USA final that I have to believe that was more of an aberration than a precursor of the Miners’ play in the tourney. If you’re looking for a double-digit seed that could get to the Sweet 16 or beyond in this bracket, then it’s UTEP. The Miners were my sleeper at the beginning of the season, and I’m not backing off that now. Caracter and Randy Culpepper might be one of the best inside-outside tandems in the field. "
Andy Katz
Helps with giving the Miners props because he used to be a beat writer for the Lobos when they were part of the WAC and he gives both New Mexico and UTEP some national cred because he use to follow both teams closely and he has been following the Miners all year and picked them as a Team that could turn some heads.
by LaOnda on Mar 17, 2010 8:20 AM MDT via mobile reply actions
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