UTEP flew away again Tuesday afternoon, headed for Virginia, hoping to extend a basketball season.
The Miners, on the heels of an impressive 75-66 win over Northeastern on Monday night in the Don Haskins Center, now are 21-12 and in the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational. They play Richmond (20-15) at 6 p.m. MDT Wednesday.
"We are playing our best basketball right now," senior Stefon Jackson said. "Everybody is into it, everybody wants to win and everybody is on the same page. Anytime you get that, it's good basketball."
Richmond is in the Atlantic 10, posting a 9-7 conference record. The Spiders do have some close losses to NCAA tournament teams -- a 76-71 setback at Syracuse in November, a 77-76 loss to Virginia Commonwealth in December, an 86-79 loss at Wake Forest in December and a 69-63 loss to Dayton in February. Earlier this month, the Spiders defeated NCAA tournament team Xavier,80-75.
Richmond has remained at home in the CBI, defeating St. John's, 75-69, and then Charleston, 74-72, to get to the semifinals.
UTEP went to Reno and defeated Nevada, 79-77, and then knocked off North eastern on Monday night.
These two teams have two common opponents -- Wake Forest and Rice. They both lost to Wake Forest, UTEP falling 82-79 on a neutral court, and they both beat Rice. The Spiders defeated Rice, 74-43, in Richmond and the Miners beat Rice in Houston, 67-58.
The Spiders are led by a pair of sharp shooting guards. Kevin Anderson, a
6-foot sophomore guard, leads the Spiders in scoring, averaging 16.8 points and just under three assists per game.
David Gonzalvez, a 6-4 junior, averages 15.7 points a game. Gonzalvez also is an excellent shooter, hitting 47.5 percent from the field, 40.5 percent from beyond the 3-point arc and 70.2 percent from the free-throw line. He averages 4.7 rebounds per game and just under two assists a game.
Stanford will play at Oregon State in the other semifinal game Wednesday night. The two Wednesday winners will play the best-of-three championship series next week -- Monday, Wednesday and, if necessary, Friday.
The sites are to be decided, but it will be home-and-home.
The Miners have won eight of their past 11 games and do, as Jackson said, appear to be playing good basketball.
"It feels good," sophomore point guard Julyan Stone said. "We just want to keep our season alive. I think we're getting a lot better every game. Everybody went into this tournament with the right mind set. We want our season to continue more than anything. We want to have a ring and win something."
UTEP coach Tony Barbee has said he thought his team deserved a shot at the NIT this season. That did not happen.
"The only way to prove people wrong is to go in the CBI and play well and possibly win," Barbee said.
The Miners get the opportunity to take one more step in their season, in the CBI on Wednesday night in Virginia.
The Miners, on the heels of an impressive 75-66 win over Northeastern on Monday night in the Don Haskins Center, now are 21-12 and in the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational. They play Richmond (20-15) at 6 p.m. MDT Wednesday.
"We are playing our best basketball right now," senior Stefon Jackson said. "Everybody is into it, everybody wants to win and everybody is on the same page. Anytime you get that, it's good basketball."
Richmond is in the Atlantic 10, posting a 9-7 conference record. The Spiders do have some close losses to NCAA tournament teams -- a 76-71 setback at Syracuse in November, a 77-76 loss to Virginia Commonwealth in December, an 86-79 loss at Wake Forest in December and a 69-63 loss to Dayton in February. Earlier this month, the Spiders defeated NCAA tournament team Xavier,80-75.
Richmond has remained at home in the CBI, defeating St. John's, 75-69, and then Charleston, 74-72, to get to the semifinals.
UTEP went to Reno and defeated Nevada, 79-77, and then knocked off North eastern on Monday night.
These two teams have two common opponents -- Wake Forest and Rice. They both lost to Wake Forest, UTEP falling 82-79 on a neutral court, and they both beat Rice. The Spiders defeated Rice, 74-43, in Richmond and the Miners beat Rice in Houston, 67-58.
The Spiders are led by a pair of sharp shooting guards. Kevin Anderson, a
6-foot sophomore guard, leads the Spiders in scoring, averaging 16.8 points and just under three assists per game.
David Gonzalvez, a 6-4 junior, averages 15.7 points a game. Gonzalvez also is an excellent shooter, hitting 47.5 percent from the field, 40.5 percent from beyond the 3-point arc and 70.2 percent from the free-throw line. He averages 4.7 rebounds per game and just under two assists a game.
Stanford will play at Oregon State in the other semifinal game Wednesday night. The two Wednesday winners will play the best-of-three championship series next week -- Monday, Wednesday and, if necessary, Friday.
The sites are to be decided, but it will be home-and-home.
The Miners have won eight of their past 11 games and do, as Jackson said, appear to be playing good basketball.
"It feels good," sophomore point guard Julyan Stone said. "We just want to keep our season alive. I think we're getting a lot better every game. Everybody went into this tournament with the right mind set. We want our season to continue more than anything. We want to have a ring and win something."
UTEP coach Tony Barbee has said he thought his team deserved a shot at the NIT this season. That did not happen.
"The only way to prove people wrong is to go in the CBI and play well and possibly win," Barbee said.
The Miners get the opportunity to take one more step in their season, in the CBI on Wednesday night in Virginia.
