New-look UTEP men's basketball shows formula for success in home opener
When UTEP men's basketball coach Joe Golding makes his case for what can make this year's team good, what he'll describe will look a lot like what the Miners did in the first half to Incarnate Word in their home opener, which, after some second-half hiccups, ended up as a 79-60 UTEP win. The Miners (1-1) made shots inside and out. They defended with purpose and rebounded. They balanced their scoring where every starter was a scoring option. UTEP came out of the gate strong, opening up early leads of 13-3, 28-11 and 38-16 Sunday. More: Mountain West Conference men's basketball The second half, when a lead as large as 22 points got as small as 10, showed what they need to work on, namely consistency and focus, which is natural for a team with 15 new players and no returners. There will be tougher tests ahead, starting Thursday when New Mexico State comes to town, but El Paso's initial first-hand look of this completely turned over team was encouraging. The first half was what UTEP was supposed to look like. The ceiling is high. "New team, there's some good and some bad, there's plenty of stuff we have to
