UTEP men hit the road for tilt vs. Pac-12 foe Oregon on Saturday night
EL PASO, Texas – The UTEP men’s basketball team (6-3) will face its second Pac-12 program this season when it plays at perennial force Oregon (5-2) at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT Saturday.
The Miners have been idle since a 90-62 drubbing of Division II Western New Mexico on Dec. 4. The win snapped a three-game skid. The Ducks have been off for even longer, as Saturday’s contest will mark the first since they outlasted Michigan, 86-83, in OT on Dec. 2.
That victory for Oregon halted a two-contest slide. The game is the first of two straight on the road for UTEP, which will also play at ACU, the old stomping grounds of head coach Joe Golding, on Dec. 17. That match-up will be the final nonconference road tilt. UTEP is 0-1 on the road this year, having fallen at LMU, 67-47, on Nov. 25.
The Ducks are perfect at home (3-0), including the thrilling OT win against the Wolverines when Jackson Shelstad nailed a 3-pointer with less than two seconds remaining.
The Miners knocked off Cal, 75-72, on a buzzer beater by Tae Hardy on Nov. 20, for their first win against a Power Five program since defeating Arizona State on the road, 76-63, on Dec. 16, 2020. The last time the Miners defeated multiple Power Five programs in a season was in 2010-11 when they took out Michigan (Big 10) and Texas Tech (Big 12) as part of a six-game winning streak. However, in 2014-15, UTEP downed both Washington State (Pac 12) and Xavier (BIG EAST), with the BIG EAST considered a power conference in basketball.
After enduring a three-game skid, including a pair of losses by four points, the Miners got back in the win column after blasting Division II Western New Mexico, 90-62, on Dec. 4. All 13 Miners who suited up in the contest scored, with UTEP knocking down a season-high tying 10 three-pointers.
Otis Frazier III recorded his first career double-double (11 points, career-high 10 rebounds) in the romp past Division II foe Western New Mexico. He knocked down a pair of 3-pointers while also going 3-4 at the charity stripe. Another impact offensively was keeping plays alive, as he pulled down seven of UTEP’s 21 offensive rebounds (most since 22 vs. UTRGV on Dec. 29, 2015).
Oregon is 5-2 on the season, including 3-0 at home, despite having two of its top players (N’Faly Dante, 16.0 ppg, 21.0 rpg-1 GP & Nate Bittle, 13.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg- 3 GP) sidelined due to injuries. The Ducks are coming off a thrilling 86-83 OT win against Michigan, with Jackson Shelstad knocking down a 3-pointer with less than two seconds left for the difference.
The triumph snapped a two-game skid for the Ducks. Oregon, which was picked fourth in the Pac-12 preseason poll, has finished fourth or better in the league every year since 2015-16. Dante and Bittle are two of the three returning starters for the Ducks, along with Jermaine Couisinard. He is the active leading scorer this season for Oregon, producing 12.6 ppg while dishing out a team-best 3.1 assists (13th Pac-12). Shelstad, the back-to-back Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year, has stepped up with the injuries with 10.7 ppg, while Keeshawn Barthelemy (10.1 ppg), Jesse Zarzuela (10.0 ppg), Brennan Rigsby and Kario Oquendo (9.9 ppg) are all consistent scoring threats as well.
Overall, the Ducks produce 82.1 points per game (fourth Pac-12/52nd NCAA), aided by shooting 47.1 percent (seventh Pac-12/86th NCAA). Oregon is lights out from 3-point range, nailing 39.2 percent (second Pac-12/23rd NCAA), with its 8.3 makes per game rating second in the Pac-12. It also takes great care of the ball, committing only 9.3 turnovers per contest (first Pac-12/16th NCAA). The Ducks average nearly 23 free throws a contest (sixth Pac-12/75th NCAA) but connect on 61.0 percent to place in the bottom 15 of the country.
Oregon is one of four DI programs with 20-plus victories in 13 straight seasons, qualifying for postseason play every year it was possible (no postseason in play 2019-20 due to COVID-19). It is under the direction of Dana Altman, who is in his 35th season as a collegiate head coach. It is the third-longest active streak in the nation. He is 21st all time in NCAA history with 736 career wins, putting him 17 victories shy of surpassing Hank Iba.
UTEP Hall of Fame Coach Don Haskins played three seasons under Iba at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) and later served as his assistant coach at the 1972 Olympic games. Notable university alumni include Ty Burrell (Emmy Award-winning Actor, Modern Family), Phil Knight (Co-founder, Nike) and Colin Deaver (KTSM Channel 9 Sports Director in El Paso, Texas).
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