/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60645807/usa-today-9886479.0.0.0.jpg)
Tip off Info
(5) Rice Owls (22-10, 11-7) at (4) UTEP Miners (14-16, 12-6)
BJCC Legacy Arena, Birmingham, Alabama
1:00 p.m. Mountain Time
TV: American Sports Network
Streaming: American Sports Network (Free)
Vegas says: Rice is a -3 point favorite over UTEP
Radio: 92.3 FM The Fox in El Paso, or UTEP Miners IMG Sports Network on TuneIn, (Jon Teicher/Steve Yellen)
SERIES NOTES
- UTEP leads the Rice series 21-11 and has won 17 of the last 21 meetings between the schools, including seven in a row.
COACH FLOYD IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
- UTEP's Tim Floyd is 28-19 in 21 conference tournaments with three titles and nine berths in the title game.
- The titles came in 1990 at New Orleans, 1996 at Iowa State and 2009 at USC. His teams were conference tournament runner-up in 1989, 1991 and 1993 (New Orleans), 1995 (Iowa State), 2007 (USC) and 2011 (UTEP).
- UTEP has won its first game in the C-USA Tournament every year under Floyd, who is in his seventh season. Floyd's teams (including USC from 2007-09) have advanced in the conference tournament in nine consecutive seasons. The Miners, meanwhile, have advanced in their last seven C-USA Tournament appearances dating back to 2010, and in eight of the last nine years.