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The UTEP men's basketball team will participate in the Gildan Charleston Classic the week before Thanksgiving and renew a long-standing rivalry with the New Mexico Lobos, highlighting a 2016-17 schedule that was announced on Wednesday.
The Miners will play a total of 18 home games, including two exhibitions, and will host four of the top-five teams from last year's C-USA standings - UAB (Feb. 2), Middle Tennessee (Feb. 4), LA Tech (Feb. 9) and Old Dominion (March 2).
"We're looking forward to the season," UTEP coach Tim Floyd said. "The Washington State series was put off a year. They'll be coming to El Paso next season. For some reason we couldn't reach an agreement on a return date. We're excited about starting a new series with New Mexico. They'll be at our place a year from now as well. The Sun Bowl Tournament features one of the better mid-major teams in the country in Akron, as well as UC Irvine that won it last year. We've always enjoyed participating in the ESPN exempt tournaments and the Charleston Classic has put together an outstanding field, including defending national champion Villanova."
The Orange and White Scrimmage will be on Saturday October 22nd followed up by two exhibition match ups with Southeastern Oklahoma State on October 30th, and Alaska Fairbanks on November 5th.
The regular season starts November 12th with Division III Louisiana College.
The Miners will then participate in an ESPN in-season event for the fifth time in six years when they take part in the Gildan Charleston Classic Nov. 17-20 in Charleston, S.C. Joining UTEP in the field will be Boise State, College of Charleston, Mississippi State, UCF, Villanova, Wake Forest and Western Michigan.
The official tournament bracket will be announced later this summer.
UTEP returns home after the Charleston Classic for four of their next five in the Don including home dates with Southerneastern Lousiana, Northwestern State, Northern Arizona and a road trip to New Mexico on December 7th, and the first matchup against NMSU at home on December 13th.
The return trip to Las Cruces is scheduled for December 30th, and conference play starts on New Years Day 2017 in San Antonio against UTSA.
The C-USA schedule looks different from past years, with UTEP playing three straight league road games Jan. 1-7 and four consecutive Feb. 16-25. That is balanced out with a three-game homestand Jan. 12-21, and a four-game homestand Feb. 2-11.
UTEP will start conference play on the road for the first three games heading south to face LA Tech and Southern Miss. after opening conference play against UTSA.
UAB, Middle Tennessee, and Old Dominion will come into the Don during conference play, UTEP will only play Texas foes North Texas and Rice only once and on the road in the middle of February.
For the second straight year, the Miners will play a home-and-home with FIU and Florida Atlantic. UTEP will also face LA Tech, Southern Miss and UTSA twice each in league action. The Miners will meet Charlotte, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, UAB and WKU once.
TV and Tip off times will be announced at a later date.
2016-17 SCHEDULE
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Date | Opponent / Event | Location | Time / Result |
10/22/16 | vs. Orange & White Scrimmage # | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
10/30/16 | vs. Southeastern Oklahoma State # | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
11/05/16 | vs. Alaska Fairbanks # | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
11/12/16 | vs. Louisiana College | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
Gildan Charleston Classic | |||
11/17/16 | TBA | Charleston, S.C. | TBA |
11/18/16 | TBA | Charleston, S.C. | TBA |
11/20/16 | TBA | Charleston, S.C. | TBA |
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11/23/16 | vs. Southeastern Louisiana | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
12/03/16 | vs. Northwestern State | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
12/07/16 | at New Mexico | Albuquerque, N.M. | TBA |
12/13/16 | vs. NM State | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
12/17/16 | vs. Northern Arizona | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational | |||
12/21/16 | vs. Maryland Eastern Shore | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
12/22/16 | Akron/UC Irvine | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
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12/30/16 | at NM State | Las Cruces, N.M. | TBA |
01/01/17 | at UTSA * | San Antonio, Texas | TBA |
01/05/17 | at LA Tech * | Ruston, La. | TBA |
01/07/17 | at Southern Miss * | Hattiesburg, Miss. | TBA |
01/12/17 | vs. FIU * | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
01/14/17 | vs. Florida Atlantic * | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
01/21/17 | vs. UTSA * | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
01/26/17 | at WKU * | Bowling Green, Ky. | TBA |
01/28/17 | at Marshall * | Huntington, W. Va. | TBA |
02/02/17 | vs. UAB * | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
02/04/17 | vs. Middle Tennessee * | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
02/09/17 | vs. LA Tech * | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
02/11/17 | vs. Southern Miss * | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
02/16/17 | at North Texas * | Denton, Texas | TBA |
02/18/17 | at Rice * | Houston, Texas | TBA |
02/23/17 | at Florida Atlantic * | Boca Raton, Fla. | TBA |
02/25/17 | at FIU * | Miami, Fla. | TBA |
03/02/17 | vs. Old Dominion * | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
03/04/17 | vs. Charlotte * | Don Haskins Center | TBA |
Conference USA Championships | |||
03/08/17 | C-USA First Round | Birmingham, Ala. | TBA |
03/09/17 | C-USA Quarterfinals | Birmingham, Ala. | TBA |
03/10/17 | C-USA Semifinals | Birmingham, Ala. | TBA |
03/11/17 | C-USA Final * | Birmingham, Ala. | TBA |
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