Conference USA - Quarterfinals, Evening Session

(1) UTEP 76, (9) Central Florida 54

In the three C- USA games played prior to Thursday's nightcap, the lower seed won.  The BOK Center had unofficially become the epicenter of Upset City USA, otherwise known as Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Were wins by UTEP, Southern Miss, and Tulsa just setting the stage for an even bigger upset?  Could a Central Florida side - coming off a decisive 69-53 opening round win over SMU – knock off top-seeded UTEP?  As it turns out, the answer to both questions was no.

The Big Picture:   Not to say that Kirk Speraw's squad didn't give UTEP a game, but this one was over after about ten minutes had been played, when Derrick Caracter drained a triple and staked the Miners to a 22-11 lead.  For all intents and purposes, UCF never really got any closer the rest of the game.  UTEP had a commanding 48-20 lead at the half, and the second stanza was little more than an exercise in killing time.

The Good:  On a day when the upset bug was running roughshod at the C-USA tourney, the Miners made sure they wouldn't be victimized by playing a near-perfect opening half of basketball.  For the half, UTEP made 17-of-25 shots from the field.  The Miners hit 10-of-11 freebies.  They forced 12 UCF turnovers and scored 15 points off those turnovers.  They outrebounded the Golden Knights, 17-8.  Put simply, Tony Barbee's team was all about taking care of business in the first half on Thursday.

The Bad:  Given the way the Golden Knights played on Wednesday, their complete lack of competitiveness and poise in the first - and deciding – half versus UTEP was unexpected.  Certainly, the Miners are a vastly more skilled team than are the Golden Knights, but that doesn't begin to explain things like 2-of-8 free throw shooting, or giving up 13 fastbreak points.     

The Ugly: The entire second half didn't even need to be played.  Tony Barbee used his bench liberally, but this dragged the overall level of play down into a basketball abyss that Knicks and Nets fans are familiar with.  

What’s Next

Central Florida can head back to Orlando content with the knowledge that it did something the second, third, and fourth place finishers in Conference USA couldn't: win a game in the C-USA tourney.  Golden Knights fans should know that Kirk Speraw brought a relatively youthful team to Tulsa.  Improve and learn from Thursday's game, and the Golden Knights might stick around longer the next time they arrive at a postseason tournament.

Tony Barbee, his players, and UTEP fans aren't thinking about next year.  They're thinking about a semifinal matchup versus Tulsa that's being played in Tulsa on Friday.  The Miners did sweep the Golden Hurricane, but expect the BOK Center to be rocking tomorrow afternoon, making the three-game sweep that much more difficult to pull off.