EL PASO, Texas – The UTEP men’s basketball team (5-2) will square off against NAIA foe Northern New Mexico College (3-10) at 2 p.m. MT Saturday.
The Miners will look to regain their winning ways after falling at I-10 rival NM State, 95-70, on Nov. 30. The Eagles have dropped four in a row, including most recently being dispatched, 75-64, at Western Colorado University on Nov. 26.
The 95 points UTEP allowed to the Aggies was the most they’ve allowed under head coach Joe Golding and the most a team coached by Golding has allowed since the 2015-16 season, when he was still at Abilene Christian.
After playing seven times over a span of 23 days, the Miners will now have just three games over the next two weeks. The stretch starts Saturday against NNMC, followed with a nationally-televised road match at DePaul (Dec. 10) before concluding with the Conference USA opener at home against LA Tech (Dec. 17).
The contest against NNMC is the second on the year against non-DI opposition, with UTEP having previously blasted Sul Ross State, 99-59, on Nov. 15. The Miners enter the game boasting an RPI of 57 according to CBSSports.com.
UTEP and Northern New Mexico College are locking up for the second straight season. It is also the second meeting overall between the programs. Last year, the Miners bested the Eagles, 88-53, on Nov. 16, 2021.