Conference USA bracket has been finalized, let the madness begin. Utep was able to salvage a win at North Texas last Saturday. With that win, the Miners were able to claim the 12 spot in the standings and earn them a spot in the Conference tournament. Lets take a look at the opening game and what the Miners can be up against if they get a win Wednesday night.

The Miners opening game is against UTSA. I think this is a great game for the Miners, even though they dropped the two regular season meetings against San Antonio. There is a lot more you can take into consideration for this game than just the players. Fans of El Paso and San Antonio see this game as a rivalry game. It still doesn’t have the caliber to be called a “rivalry” in my opinion but it adds to the intensity of the game. Also, earlier this year there was some technical problems down in San Antonio with the voice announcer which just happened to forget to name San Antonio native Kobe Magee in the starting line up.

pictures courtesy of http://www.elpasotimes.com

Both of the regular season games were close. The first meeting Isiah Osborne went 7-17 and scored 20 points for the Miners. Paul Thomas went 5-7 and added 12 points of his own. San Antonio’s bench was the difference in this game. Outscoring there own starters 35-30. Keaton Wallace scored 20 of those 35 bench points. Utep lost the ball game on the boards. The Miners were out rebounded 43-32 overall, and 10-1 on the offensive side. Giving the Roadrunners 9 second chance point opportunities.

Much more of the same in the second game. This one being at the Don Haskins Center where the Roadrunners had yet to beat the Miners. Deon Kyle came off the bench and was able to hit 5 of 8 from beyond the arc. UTSA shot 40% from 3-point range as a team, compared to Utep who shot 28%. The paint was the big difference again. The Miners got out rebounded again 48-35 in this game. Utep made a run toward the end of the game. Having a chance to tie the game, the Miners failed to hit some key free throws down the stretch.

If the Miners manage to get back to fundamentals and pound the boards down low, I think they have a chance Wednesday night. If the Miners win the rebounding game, i say the will win the game. If Utep advances to Thursday night, they will get the lowest of the top seeds in the tournament. They would play (4) Marshall which in the last regular season game Utep only lost by 2 points. Outscoring Marshall in the 4th quarter.

Being the 12 seed, The Miners have nothing to lose and everything to prove.