UTEP vs Tulsa Basketball Recap

UTEP 78, Tulsa 70

If there was any remaining ounce of doubt about the at-large NCAA Tournament hopes harbored by the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, it's gone now.

Coach Doug Wojcik's team - which defeated Oklahoma State early in the season and led Conference USA for some time - is now in the midst of a full-fledged tailspin. The same Tulsa crew that rolled to an 8-1 conference record and found itself in very good NCAA position at the beginning of February has now lost four out of five games to plummet toward the middle of the C-USA standings.

Even with a win over Duke in a week's time, the Golden Hurricane - due to December losses against Nebraska and Nevada plus a November loss to Missouri State - will simply have too many bad losses in their portfolio. The outfit from Oklahoma - toiling in the shadows of the OU Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys - will have to win the C-USA Conference Tournament in a few weeks in order to reach the field of 65.

As for the team that topped Tulsa on Saturday at the Donald Reynolds Center, doubts are being removed game by game, win by win.

The UTEP Miners didn't accomplish much in the non-conference portion of their season slate. Coach Tony Barbee's bunch came close against Ole Miss, but lost in overtime. The toughs from El Paso tried their best against Texas Tech, but fell by eight. The Miners battled Brigham Young dropped a six-point decision against the NCAA-bound Cougars. This team still doesn't have the incredible resume of an NCAA Tournament club, but with this win over Tulsa - achieved on the strength of 51 percent field goal shooting and stifling late-game defense - UTEP owns an 11-1 record in the league. The ability to beat the top teams in C-USA - UAB, Memphis and Tulsa - means that the Miners' portfolio is looking increasingly attractive to the Division I Men's Basketball Committee.

UTEP's four remaining regular season games are against Southern Mississippi, Rice, Marshall, and UAB. The first two games are ones in which the Miners must avoid a bad loss. The second two games offer opportunities for good wins. It's not a guarantee, but if UTEP can win all four of those games and merely make the final of the C-USA Tournament (without winning the event), there's a very decent chance Barbee and Co. could put on their dancing shoes as an at-large entrant. There's a chance that four regular season wins and a loss in the C-USA semifinals would still be good enough on Selection Sunday, but the Miners wouldn't want to chance things as March Madness heats up.

Texas El Paso's basketball team just wants to stay hot on the court, and maintain the fine form that foiled Tulsa on a successful Saturday afternoon.