These are challenging times for the UTEP men’s basketball team as it gets ready to host Middle Tennessee, and the word “challenge” perhaps doesn’t fully convey what the Miners face right now.
They have lost eight of their last nine going into Thursday’s game against Middle Tennessee, they are 1-10 against Division I competition and now they’ve hit an injury bug like nothing coach Joe Golding has seen in his five years at UTEP.
UTEP’s overall record is 4-10 this season. The Miners are 0-3 in Conference USA play.
UTEP struggling with injuries
At Tuesday’s practice, four players were out and all four could miss this week’s homestand. Caleb Blackwell is closest, but he hasn’t been cleared from concussion protocol and missed the last two games.
Trey Horton got hut late in a Jan. 3 late loss to Florida International, he’s still being evaluated and will be a game-time decision. Tyreese Watson has now missed eight games with a knee injury and isn’t close to returning. That’s three starters.
Reserve David Tubek also is injured and has missed the last two games. UTEP has not stated the nature of his injury.
At this point, the only proven scorers, the only ones averaging more than 5.0 points per game, who are sure to suit up against Middle Tennessee are forwards Elijah Jones, Jamal West and Kaseem Watson.
That meant UTEP practiced with 10 players this week as it looks to snap a skid that is running out of control. This is not something the Miners have experience dealing with.
UTEP Miners coach Joe Golding: ‘There’s a humbling going on right now’
“I saw a quote from (Michigan State coaching legend) Tom Izzo yesterday, you’re in this business long enough you’re all going to get humbled,” Golding said. “There’s a humbling going on right now. It’s life. Tough times pass, tough people last.
“I’m the leader of the program, I’m going to keep showing up every day. There’s 10 dudes in here, but they have some juice, some noise to them. They want to work, they want to win, there’s been no quit. We have to try to keep figuring it out.”
Figuring it out is complicated. Golding has tried to build an identity for this team that focuses on forcing rafts of turnovers with a harassing defense and getting out in transition through that. At this point, Golding said that’s out the window as UTEP buries itself in Xs and Os of the next opponent.
UTEP Miners focusing on Xs and Os
“Scheming is important, that’s something we haven’t done,” Golding said. “We’ve always had an identity on both sides of the ball. That’s not the case right now. We’re just trying to find a way to win the next game.
“We’d like to get out in transition and get easy baskets, we’d like to get more turnovers and get easy baskets. But when you have a roster like we have, with what we have, maybe that’s not the best way to play.
“Maybe one game we go a little faster, one game we go slower. Who the hell knows? Maybe we zone. You guys are going to see us do things we haven’t done in the past to try to scheme and throw as many punches as we can.”
What is there still to play for?
How can UTEP get back in this thing and make something of its season? Obviously at this point there’s a natural drilling in on the next opponent, a first-place team from Middle Tennessee, and not looking at any big picture. That would only be depressing.
The long hope is that the Miners get healthy, which could happen, then slowly build some momentum to the point where it could be a dangerous team in its last Conference USA tournament.
They looked dangerous Jan. 3 on the road against a Florida International team that could win the league, as there were 18 lead changes that continued well into the second half before the team hit a wall. The Miners ended up losing the game 76-64.
UTEP has built some depth, most notably from CJ Smith, the transfer from Oklahoma State, who moved up from the end of the bench to play a combined 31 minutes in the last two games. He scored five points against Florida International, his first points since the start of the season against Division II competition.
“We competed Saturday and gave ourselves a chance to win,” Golding said. “We ran out of gas late against a very talented team. We have to take the intensity and the fight we played with the other night and figure it out.”
There is always a chance that UTEP comes through this a better team. Reserves who have gone from five minutes a game to 17 could provide a spark. The ordeal could toughen the Miners. They could figure out how to win close games when they get a healthier roster.
“I hope … that would be the hope is that we could get healthy with home games coming up, string together some wins, try to find a way to build confidence and get back in this thing,” Golding said.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Analysis: UTEP Miners men face adversity with injuries, losses
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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