UTEP Basketball: Matt Willms to miss 2-4 weeks with wrist injury

Senior center Matt Willms, the second-leading scorer and top rebounder on the UTEP men’s basketball team, will be sidelined for a minimum 2-4 weeks with a spiral fracture in his right wrist, head coach Tim Floyd announced on Monday night.

“Matt had some severe swelling in his wrist immediately after the ballgame on Sunday,” Floyd said. “It turned out that he fractured his wrist on a play with 35 seconds left.”

Willms is averaging 14.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks this season, shooting 60.5 percent from the field. He is coming off back-to-back 18-point outings versus South Carolina and Appalachian State in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at Myrtle Beach.

His loss leaves the Miners even more short-handed in the frontcourt, with junior forward Paul Thomas and freshman forward Tirus Smith the only scholarship players taller than 6-7.

The Miners will play at I-10 rival NM State on Saturday night.