UTEP will take on Southern Miss this afternoon in the BOK Center for the right to reach the finals of the Conference USA Men's Basketball Tournament ... for the right to keep a basketball season alive.
Southern Miss, now 24-8 on the season, finished second in the regular-season standings with a 12-4 record. UTEP is now 18-13 and finished third in C-USA with a 10-6 conference record.
The Golden Eagles edged UTEP 45-39 on Feb. 20.
Shaking his head, UTEP coach Tim Floyd said, "We put a whopping 39 on them last time we played."
Floyd said there were a number of key factors for the Miners today.
"Their zone caused us a lot of problems," he said. "They like to push it. They will put a little pressure on us. That shouldn't bother us this time of year ... at least I hope it won't. We just have to do a better job collectively attacking their zone."
Eagle marks
Southern Miss set a couple of school single-season records in Thursday's win over UAB.
The Golden Eagles got six steals, giving them a school record of 327. They also made nine 3-pointers, giving them a school record 220 for the season.
Tucker at the line
UTEP graduate student Konner Tucker made his first 27 free throws at UTEP. He missed a few and, after making all four of his tries Thursday, has now made 26 straight.
Tucker has made 57-of-62 free throws this season for the Miners, a sizzling 93.5 percent.
Double figures
UTEP
had six players in double-figure scoring against Houston -- the first time the Miners have had that many in double digits all season.
Julian Washburn, who has scored 20, 19 and 20 in his last three games, had 20. Jacques Streeter had 13, Tucker had 12, McKenzie Moore had 11 and Cedrick Lang and C.J. Cooper had 10 each.
The last time the Miners had six players in double-figure scoring was against Marshall in the 2011 Conference USA tournament quarterfinals.
Streeter record
Senior point guard Streeter set a conference tournament record with 12 assists.
He had only two turnovers.
Streeter broke the record set by East Carolina's Miguel Paul against Southern Miss in last year's tournament.
"Jacques was just absolutely terrific," Floyd said.
Streeter led Conference USA in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Cooper on a roll
Sophomore guard Cooper came off the bench to score in double figures for the third time in the last four games.
He made some key buckets in the win over the Cougars.
"Every time we made a run, they hit a key bucket," Houston coach James Dickey said. "Cooper came in and hit two big threes that were momentum shots."
Southern Miss, now 24-8 on the season, finished second in the regular-season standings with a 12-4 record. UTEP is now 18-13 and finished third in C-USA with a 10-6 conference record.
The Golden Eagles edged UTEP 45-39 on Feb. 20.
Shaking his head, UTEP coach Tim Floyd said, "We put a whopping 39 on them last time we played."
Floyd said there were a number of key factors for the Miners today.
"Their zone caused us a lot of problems," he said. "They like to push it. They will put a little pressure on us. That shouldn't bother us this time of year ... at least I hope it won't. We just have to do a better job collectively attacking their zone."
Eagle marks
Southern Miss set a couple of school single-season records in Thursday's win over UAB.
The Golden Eagles got six steals, giving them a school record of 327. They also made nine 3-pointers, giving them a school record 220 for the season.
Tucker at the line
UTEP graduate student Konner Tucker made his first 27 free throws at UTEP. He missed a few and, after making all four of his tries Thursday, has now made 26 straight.
Tucker has made 57-of-62 free throws this season for the Miners, a sizzling 93.5 percent.
Double figures
UTEP
had six players in double-figure scoring against Houston -- the first time the Miners have had that many in double digits all season.
Julian Washburn, who has scored 20, 19 and 20 in his last three games, had 20. Jacques Streeter had 13, Tucker had 12, McKenzie Moore had 11 and Cedrick Lang and C.J. Cooper had 10 each.
The last time the Miners had six players in double-figure scoring was against Marshall in the 2011 Conference USA tournament quarterfinals.
Streeter record
Senior point guard Streeter set a conference tournament record with 12 assists.
He had only two turnovers.
Streeter broke the record set by East Carolina's Miguel Paul against Southern Miss in last year's tournament.
"Jacques was just absolutely terrific," Floyd said.
Streeter led Conference USA in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Cooper on a roll
Sophomore guard Cooper came off the bench to score in double figures for the third time in the last four games.
He made some key buckets in the win over the Cougars.
"Every time we made a run, they hit a key bucket," Houston coach James Dickey said. "Cooper came in and hit two big threes that were momentum shots."
