What kind of performance do you expect in the NIT?

[jdubb66]

and what will that say about the state of UTEP basketball? If the Miners win, or even if they put up a good showing, I'd say there is still hope to salvage our current situation. If UTEP gives up and loses by 20, I'd say the team is no longer responsive to our coaching staff. This game will be telling...

 

[develman]

As much as the coaches and players expect of themselves . (it will be telling)

 

[Hollywoodminer]

One can only hope that this team is not all bark and no bite ...
With that in mind ... Miners by 7

 

[utep2step]

Guarding the perimeter is what I'll be watching. UTEP has sucked eggs (except for FIU game) in that one category the past month. Cooper is not a quick footed guard and Omega does not fight the screens well, and J Wash always has his hands full on their best guy on the court. Other than Charlotte and Arizona, no one has really been able to match up against UTEP inside, but avoiding the garbage rebounds are critical for these one and done tournaments.

 

[STCarlosEP]

Miners are playing on the road against a team that won 20+ straight.

Murray has played in 2 Saturdays.

Miners flew from Alabama and are flying over to Kentucky.

Murray can score at will. Miners have Floyd coaching.

Pretty much anything other than a blowout loss would be a win.

Doesn't really matter. They could lose by 50 and people on here would still be drinking the KoolAid.

 

[PURPLEFIRE]

I have never seen this team play this year, so I don't know exactly how proficient these guys are because some offense can beat great defenses..... But I am gonna go with defense and utep winning 68-64

 

[picks up]

Originally posted by STCarlosEP:
Miners are playing on the road against a team that won 20+ straight.

Murray has played in 2 Saturdays.

Miners flew from Alabama and are flying over to Kentucky.

Murray can score at will. Miners have Floyd coaching.

Pretty much anything other than a blowout loss would be a win.

Doesn't really matter. They could lose by 50 and people on here would still be drinking the KoolAid.

Did Chunks finally take up a new name?

 

[nattybry]

Murray State had injuries early when they lost, then rolled to 25 straight wins, before losing by 1 to Belmont. They're at home Hyped and rested, Utep is a little diassapointed and road weary from bad travel this past weekend, that spells trouble with a quick team, my heart wants to believe and I hope Utep can win, but the cards are stacked against us, if we win I'll be very pleasantly surprised, im looking for a great effort though from the team and seeing that they want it!

 

[tbleslieDELETE]

Heart - Miners by 6
Head - Murray State by 6

I can't remember a Miner team, aside from last year to some extent, that has been so inconsistent. If everybody shows up, we can hang with just about anybody. If our guards are ice cold, which has happened more than I care to admit, we can lose to almost anybody. I don't have a feeling either way with this one. It ALL depends on which Miner team shows up. How we predict which one will show up, I haven't a clue.

 

[Minerforlife]

These NIT games always come down to who wants to be there. Murray State can say all right things yet we wont know thier mindset until the ball is tipped. As for the Miners thats also a mystery are they going to go through the motions and play like zombies like four years ago or are they going to come out with fire and heart. I have no idea what kind of game we will see.

UTEP 71
Murray State 67

 

[kickballpro]

Originally posted by tbleslie:
Heart - Miners by 6
Head - Murray State by 6

I can't remember a Miner team, aside from last year to some extent, that has been so inconsistent. If everybody shows up, we can hang with just about anybody. If our guards are ice cold, which has happened more than I care to admit, we can lose to almost anybody. I don't have a feeling either way with this one. It ALL depends on which Miner team shows up. How we predict which one will show up, I haven't a clue.

You're so right. And I can't ever remember a Miner team whose passion is so inconsistent.

One game it looks like they impose their will and the next look like they barely care.

 

[allminer]

Exactly what tbleslie said. Thats the Miners this year to a T.

 

[CoSpgsMinerfan]

The Miners only chance to survive this game is to play a next to perfect game on defense. Like maybe, holding the opponent to 55 points. Hitting a very high % of free throws down the stretch would also be beneficial. I don't think the opponent will allow Vince Hunter to beat them, so I expect they will try to keep him on the bench with fouls.

 

[STexMiner]

I said it earlier. I think it might be good that we're stepping out of CUSA. The conference has had a year and a half to figure us out and experience on how to do it. Murray has two days. I guess on the other hand, they're probably saying the same thing. It would be nice if the good Miners show up. If they don't, yikes.

And, I'll say this. I think it's fairly probable that Murray will be playing with a chip on the shoulder. However, they have had a week of a bunch of media folks telling them how good they and unfair it is that they aren't in the Dance. You can count me in as one of, even though I'm not a national media folk. Maybe they come out overconfident. Maybe they're disappointed they're in the NIT. Another thing on the winning streak. It's a great accomplishment. One that I doubt UTEP would have even come close to. But, 4 of those 25 came against teams ranked 150 or higher. The best win was Illinois State, and they were allegedly missing two of their starters. They beat WKU at home, and I think we saw how different the Toppers were home and away. The other two were Evansville and Belmont. So, who knows. We'll have a pretty good idea 24 hours from now.

I also wonder how the shorter shot clock is going to affect us.