The UTEP Miners (14-14, 7-7) and the Rice Owls (16-13, 7-7) square off tonight in a Conference USA matchup at the Don Haskins Center. Tonight, on senior night, the Miners will honor lone senior Gabe McCulley, and hopefully send him off in fashion. Tipoff is slated for 7:05 p.m. MT.
The Miners lead the overall series 14-10, including winning 10 of the last 13, and taking 9 of 11 contests played at the Don Haskins Center. The two teams last met on February 1st at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston. That game came down to the final play as Rice G Julian DeBose knocked an 18 foot jumper with 0.2 on the clock to give the Owls a 77-75 win.
The Miners are led by G Michael Perez who averages 11.7 points, and C John Bohannon 11.4 points. The Owls are led by F Arsalan Kazemi who averages 12.4 points, and G Tamir Jackson who goes for 10.9.
The Miners will look to rebound tonight after a disappointing loss Saturday at UCF. The Owls are also searching for a win after narrowly losing Saturday at Southern Miss. Something will have to give tonight, but considering the way the Miners play at home, I would be surprised to see us falter in this one. Go Miners!!