EL PASO, Texas – The UTEP men’s basketball team (11-9, 4-5 C-USA) will open a three-game road swing by playing at second-place North Texas (17-5, 8-3 C-USA) at 4 p.m. MT Saturday.
It’s the first of two match-ups on the year between the Texas foes, with the Mean Green making the visit to El Paso on Feb. 18. The Miners are 3-2 in their past five contests, but they were edged out by No. 24 Florida Atlantic at home, 67-59, on Jan. 21 last time out. UNT is on a two-game winning streak, most recently dispatching UTSA, 63-59 on Jan. 26.
The Mean Green sport a 7-2 record at home (3-2 C-USA) while the Orange and Blue are 1-6 on the road (1-3 C-USA). The Miners did win their most-recent road game, however, overcoming a 13-point deficit to hand Charlotte its first home loss of the season, 60-58, on Jan. 16.
After challenging league-leading and No. 24 Florida Atlantic (L, 67-58, Jan. 21), UTEP now squares off at second-place North Texas. Following the contest with the Mean Green, the Miners travel to face currently fourth-place Middle Tennessee on Feb. 2. Through all games played on Jan. 26, those squads are a combined 50-14 (24-7 in C-USA).
UTEP leads the series 11-8, including a 7-6 cushion since the Mean Green joined Conference USA. The two programs met six times from 1951-52 through 1974-75 before not locking up again until North Texas became a member of C-USA.
Last year, the Miners knocked off the Mean Green, 70-68, on March 5 to halt their 15-game winning streak. It also stopped a five-game skid for UTEP against UNT. The Miners are aiming for their first triumph in Denton since a 68-66 outcome on March 3, 2018.
