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Monday Morning Fail: UCF Rocks UTEP 74-68 Post Game Venting Thread


Nine thousand, eight hundred and twenty four Miner fans called in sick, or cut class, or used their day off to go to the Don Haskins Center and see UTEP take on UCF at 11:00 am today.  The problem?  UTEP's hoops team didn't show up until well past noon.  

Star-divide

If you were lucky enough not to watch this game, you might see the final score of 74-68 and think the game might have been competitive.  It wasn't.  UTEP shaved the lead during garbage time when UCF had taken their foot off the gas.  

 

How bad was UTEP's performance today?  Let's just say Jeff Limberg's announcing work was one of the highlights.  Even UTEP's generally awful in game music selection didn't seem as bad as the stink that was UTEP's first half.

This game didn't just cost UTEP first place in the C-USA standings and the right to control their destiny down the stretch to win back-to-back Conference USA Regular Season Championships.  It might prove to cost UTEP a bye in the first round of the C-USA tournament.  The UTEP Miners have gone from first to fourth in the C-USA in a matter of hours.  

I guess this is why they don't play games on Monday morning.

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Completely!

9800 fans on a Monday morning tip off!! And that’s what they get. Just an absolutely terrible performance all the way around. No hustle, no urgency, no mental toughness.

Turnovers, technicals, foul trouble—- First UTEP lets UH hang around then they don’t show at home against an RPI Top 100 team. Forget ANY At large talk now. Just disappointing.

by Adrian Mac on Feb 21, 2011 1:09 PM MST up reply actions  

Well I am as pissed as anyone, but we have to move on.

We take on ECU at their place on wednesday, and at least we know their won’t be any partying til then. Hopefully we have Perez back , because we need his minutes. We need to pick up the win here, and then get FOCUSED for Memphis on Saturday. They can talk all they want, but I still would like to kick their ass.

"BCS does not apply to basketball. It's football. You can't tell me Memphis is a mid-major. You can't tell me UTEP, with its history of players, crowd attendance and NCAA Tournament berths, is a mid-major. Same for Gonzaga and St. Mary's - it doesn't apply. These are high-major programs that can play. All we can do is win games and hope others recognize. … We should pass the eye test - if anybody ever watches us." - Tim Floyd

Follow Me on Twitter

by jakeprobst on Feb 21, 2011 1:08 PM MST reply actions  

hard to explain this one, i guess it happens thru the course of a season, but I thought

our crapper game was out of the way…USM…like I said in the game thread, UTEP destroyed UCF twice last year, really embarrased them, the same group of guys just had a chip on their shoulder and our guys thought this was gonna be a breeze in the park

by DFWMiner on Feb 21, 2011 1:09 PM MST reply actions  

Same here.

In a league this tight, on the road especially, that’s bound to happen. Now, the last three games (including the stagnant performance against UH until late) may be showing a disturbing trend. This team is not peaking at the right time the way we did last year.

by Adrian Mac on Feb 21, 2011 1:10 PM MST up reply actions  

I find it interesting to note that since Perez has been out, we have really struggled to find any kind of consistency. I guess he was more valuable than we thought. Hope we get him back soon.

"BCS does not apply to basketball. It's football. You can't tell me Memphis is a mid-major. You can't tell me UTEP, with its history of players, crowd attendance and NCAA Tournament berths, is a mid-major. Same for Gonzaga and St. Mary's - it doesn't apply. These are high-major programs that can play. All we can do is win games and hope others recognize. … We should pass the eye test - if anybody ever watches us." - Tim Floyd

Follow Me on Twitter

by jakeprobst on Feb 21, 2011 1:12 PM MST reply actions  

Myron Strong

It’s funny because everybody always talks about how losing Arnett and Derrick killed this team but nobody ever mentions Myron. Julyan simply isn’t a good shooter. And when Polk is in a funk like he’s been in the last few games, UTEP has nobody that can create their own shots and provide a spark other than Randy.

Randy needed Myron Strong today to take some pressure off of him. Polk is 0/14 in his last two games. Against USM he was 2/6. So in his last three, Polk is shooting 10% from the field.

That’s not #witease.

by Adrian Mac on Feb 21, 2011 1:15 PM MST reply actions  

i never felt like he played to his potential

randy definitely needs his “robin” though. J. Will has this potential, but rarely pans out

by lebowski jr on Feb 21, 2011 1:22 PM MST up reply actions  

Some NAIA but he really did vanish

Myron wasn’t Superman, but he was instant offense in limited minutes. He had some monster games down the stretch last year that really helped bail UTEP out. Today we saw that UTEP isn’t built to play from behind unless Polk is on. No alternative. Strong wouldn’t drain threes, but he’d get to the line, and make plays. When Polk isn’t hitting, we get nothing.

by Adrian Mac on Feb 21, 2011 1:29 PM MST up reply actions  

Yeah he scored 42 or something like that not too long ago. I saw him post it on Facebook.

"BCS does not apply to basketball. It's football. You can't tell me Memphis is a mid-major. You can't tell me UTEP, with its history of players, crowd attendance and NCAA Tournament berths, is a mid-major. Same for Gonzaga and St. Mary's - it doesn't apply. These are high-major programs that can play. All we can do is win games and hope others recognize. … We should pass the eye test - if anybody ever watches us." - Tim Floyd

Follow Me on Twitter

by jakeprobst on Feb 21, 2011 1:31 PM MST up reply actions  

No.

"The world would truly be a better place if you didn’t exsist. You should just lean over the plate and take one for the team, run into oncoming traffic or something." -S l c Ranger HE MAD! The internet is serious business.

by TooLegitToQuit on Feb 21, 2011 1:43 PM MST up reply actions  

last four games...

At ECU— toss up
Memphis—toss up
Marshall—prolly will win out of desperation
At SMU—toss up

any thoughts? again, I just worry about gettin a bye…

by DFWMiner on Feb 21, 2011 1:15 PM MST reply actions  

ECU's pretty good

Right now, I’d say UTEP splits. But this team could beat Memphis and lose to SMU. The last few games have me very confused as to what this teams identity is.

Are we a low post team that wants to build around Claude? Are we a dribble drive team (which is what Randy essentially did today)?

by Adrian Mac on Feb 21, 2011 1:17 PM MST up reply actions  

Hard to say

Because it’s all based on if the Miners win the battle against themselves!

We all know they can easily beat all four of these teams, but we also know that they are capable of really scary, untimely mental lapses.

That makes everything from here on a toss-up.

by davidbb on Feb 21, 2011 1:19 PM MST up reply actions  

USM?! Wait the got blown out by SMU and Marshall.

UAB? Wait they can’t beat Memphis.

Memphis? Blown out by last place Rice.

Tulsa? Beat Memphis, UTEP, and UAB- Could Tulsa be peaking at the right time? All of a sudden they’re in third place.

by Adrian Mac on Feb 21, 2011 1:33 PM MST up reply actions  

That would be crazy if Tulsa won...

"BCS does not apply to basketball. It's football. You can't tell me Memphis is a mid-major. You can't tell me UTEP, with its history of players, crowd attendance and NCAA Tournament berths, is a mid-major. Same for Gonzaga and St. Mary's - it doesn't apply. These are high-major programs that can play. All we can do is win games and hope others recognize. … We should pass the eye test - if anybody ever watches us." - Tim Floyd

Follow Me on Twitter

by jakeprobst on Feb 21, 2011 1:35 PM MST up reply actions  

It is

But I keep bringing up Tulsa becase they have a huge tiebreaker advantage with the wins over Memphis/UAB. UTEP is absolutely screwed in tie-breaker scenarios. Tulsa has Marshall, Tulane, Rice, USM.

If Tulsa beats Marshall, I’d guess that their game against USM to close the season will be for the C-USA Championship. USM still plays UAB again right before that. TU beats UAB in head to head situation.

by Adrian Mac on Feb 21, 2011 1:37 PM MST up reply actions  

the conference tourney is wide open

that is going to be fun/horrible. OK – at least it will be unpredictable

by lebowski jr on Feb 21, 2011 1:36 PM MST up reply actions  

Exactly-

People fear what they don’t understand. Much easier to sweep C-USA under the rug than to crunch the numbers and see how good this league is. UTEP didn’t lose to an RPI 250+ team, UCF beat Florida, UMass, Miami, etc.

by Adrian Mac on Feb 21, 2011 1:44 PM MST up reply actions  

hate to state it again, but

this type of play in the big 6 is seen so positive, while it destroys the underlings.

by lebowski jr on Feb 21, 2011 1:45 PM MST up reply actions  

New C-USA Standings

HERE

Southern Miss 9-4 20-6
UAB 9-4 19-7
Tulsa 8-4 15-11
UTEP 8-4 20-7
Memphis 8-4 20-7
Southern Methodist 7-5 16-10
Marshall 6-6 18-9
East Carolina 5-7 13-13
Rice 4-8 12-14
Houston 4-8 12-13
UCF 4-9 17-9
Tulane 2-11 12-14

by Adrian Mac on Feb 21, 2011 1:35 PM MST reply actions  

nothing worse for C-USA

than to have someone like Rice, Tulane, or ECU take the conference tournament. Knocking firmly on wood.

by lebowski jr on Feb 21, 2011 1:38 PM MST reply actions  

Well, we can still make the tournament but we are going to have to win the tourney, which won't be easy.

"BCS does not apply to basketball. It's football. You can't tell me Memphis is a mid-major. You can't tell me UTEP, with its history of players, crowd attendance and NCAA Tournament berths, is a mid-major. Same for Gonzaga and St. Mary's - it doesn't apply. These are high-major programs that can play. All we can do is win games and hope others recognize. … We should pass the eye test - if anybody ever watches us." - Tim Floyd

Follow Me on Twitter

by jakeprobst on Feb 21, 2011 1:39 PM MST reply actions  

Frustrating

As much as this game frustrated me as least you can say the guys fought till the end, crowd was great will be like this on saturday.
Southern miss still play @UCF,vs UAB, @tulsa
UAB plays @Houston, @ USM, vs ECU.
Gonna be a interesting 2 weeks.

It was only a couple of minutes but I’m glad perry got some playing time, he played hard

by cybarra2 on Feb 21, 2011 1:48 PM MST via mobile reply actions  

They did push it till the horn

That was nice to see, Juat got themselves in too much of a hole.

by Adrian Mac on Feb 21, 2011 1:57 PM MST up reply actions  

Julyan on facebook

“we proved to be the definition of soft, Time for us to look in the mirror and determine what we want out of this season”

by cybarra2 on Feb 21, 2011 2:04 PM MST via mobile reply actions  

Sadly he nailed it

he takes losses hard- he’s a true competitor

by Adrian Mac on Feb 21, 2011 2:07 PM MST up reply actions  

Love that kid, really gonna miss him

"BCS does not apply to basketball. It's football. You can't tell me Memphis is a mid-major. You can't tell me UTEP, with its history of players, crowd attendance and NCAA Tournament berths, is a mid-major. Same for Gonzaga and St. Mary's - it doesn't apply. These are high-major programs that can play. All we can do is win games and hope others recognize. … We should pass the eye test - if anybody ever watches us." - Tim Floyd

Follow Me on Twitter

by jakeprobst on Feb 21, 2011 2:08 PM MST up reply actions  

Can’t ask for a better leader, he leaves everything out on the court. I’m expecting this team to bounce back BIG the rest of the season

by cybarra2 on Feb 21, 2011 2:15 PM MST via mobile reply actions  

I don't know how many of you all made it to the game

But actually being there I was just completely shocked. I couldn’t believe the poor effort in the first half, and we just dug ourselves too deep a hole to come back from.

by asalom on Feb 21, 2011 2:22 PM MST reply actions  

I just can't emphasize enough that if the Miners regain focus

Regain — and then maintain — their focus that no one can beat them.

They just need to focus and let their bodies rest properly for the rest of the season!

by davidbb on Feb 21, 2011 3:00 PM MST reply actions  

I couldn't agree more

But John Teicher said it well in the post game show. This team’s personality is one that is very lax. At times they like to just sit back, and flip the switch only when necessary. You RARELY, RARELY see these guys put teams away. In fact the only game that comes to mind is the first Rice game. That’s just the way they play. Unfortunately, that isn’t good enough. This isn’t the SWAC or the Mid-Eastern Conference. This is C-USA, and anyone can beat anyone. You just can’t play like that, especially come February/March.

by asalom on Feb 21, 2011 3:16 PM MST up reply actions  

lets no forget UCF at one point was 14-0

and ranked #19. it was a bad loss but better now than in tourney. Expect UTEP to go on a 7-0 winning streak.

by el javi on Feb 21, 2011 3:38 PM MST reply actions  

True- they are a top 80 RPI team for a reason

Despite the recent skid. They have won 3 of 4 and played UAB tough.

by Adrian Mac on Feb 21, 2011 4:19 PM MST up reply actions  

7-0....We not only need it to happen, but I expect that it will happen. If this game didn't serve as a wake up call then nothing will....

This squad is filled with seniors that I have to beleive want a return trip to the Tourney to make amends for last years one and done. In order for that to happen, we need to take care of business first and that means finishing out stronger, better and more focused than they have demonstrated all season.

by MinerMike on Feb 21, 2011 5:25 PM MST up reply actions  

UAB and USM have 4 losses too-

I should emphasize that. UTEP is percentage points behind them. For seeding purposes we need them both to lose becuase of tie-breaker, but for C-USA Championship Purposes- we just need to win out and we can get a share of the title still.

Hopefully, this will be the wake up call because we know this team is better than what we saw this morning.

by Adrian Mac on Feb 21, 2011 5:40 PM MST up reply actions  

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