UTEP Miners men's basketball
UTEP Miners | ||||
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University | University of Texas at El Paso | |||
Head coach | Tim Floyd (7th season) | |||
Conference | Conference USA | |||
Arena | Don Haskins Center (capacity: 12,222) | |||
Nickname | Miners | |||
Student section | Miner Maniacs | |||
Colors | Dark blue, orange, and silver accent[1] | |||
Uniforms | ||||
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NCAA tournament champions | ||||
1966 | ||||
NCAA tournament Final Four | ||||
1966 | ||||
NCAA tournament Elite Eight | ||||
1966 | ||||
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen | ||||
1964, 1966, 1967, 1992 | ||||
NCAA tournament appearances | ||||
1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1975, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2004, 2005, 2010 | ||||
Conference tournament champions | ||||
1984, 1986, 1989, 1990, 2005 | ||||
Conference regular season champions | ||||
1970, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1992, 2004, 2010 |
The UTEP Miners basketball team is an NCAA Division I men's college basketball team competing in the Conference USA. Home games are played at Don Haskins Center, located on University of Texas at El Paso's campus in El Paso, Texas.
Don Haskins Center
The Don Haskins Center (Capacity 12,222), the home of UTEP Miners basketball. With fans seated extremely close to the playing floor and the UTEP student section located near the opponent's bench, "The Don" is so notorious as a tough place for opponents to win that UTEP has historically had difficulty convincing top-rated teams to play there. The Don is the home of the UTEP Miners, who are the only Division 1 Men's National Basketball Champions in the State of Texas (1966).
1966 Texas Western basketball team
As Texas Western, the Miners won the 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. The 72–65 victory over Kentucky in College Park, Maryland is considered one of the most important in the history of college basketball, as it marked the first time that a team with five African-American starters won a title game. It came against a Kentucky team that had no African-American players, during the period of the Civil Rights Movement.
The title team has been chronicled throughout the American media, including the book When the Walls Came Tumbling Down by Frank Fitzpatrick and the 2006 Disney movie Glory Road.
The team was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Postseason
NCAA Tournament results
The Miners have appeared in seventeen NCAA Tournaments and were the 1966 National Champions. Their combined record is 14–16.
Year | Round | Opponent | Result/Score |
---|---|---|---|
1963 | First Round | Texas | L 47–65 |
1964 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional Third Place Game |
Texas A&M Kansas State Creighton |
W 68–62 L 60–64 W 63–52 |
1966 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship Game |
Oklahoma City Cincinnati Kansas Utah Kentucky |
W 89–74 W 78–76 W 81–80 W 85–78 W 72–65 |
1967 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional Third Place Game |
Seattle Pacific Wyoming |
W 62–54 L 63–72 W 69–67 |
1970 | First Round | Utah State | L 81–91 |
1975 | First Round | Indiana | L 53–78 |
1984* | Second Round | UNLV | L 60–73 |
1985 | First Round Second Round |
Tulsa North Carolina State |
W 75–79 L 73–86 |
1986 | First Round | Bradley | L 65–83 |
1987 | First Round Second Round |
Arizona Iowa |
W 98–91 OT L 82–84 |
1988 | First Round | Seton Hall | L 64–80 |
1989 | First Round Second Round |
LSU Indiana |
W 85–74 L 69–92 |
1990 | First Round | Minnesota | L 61–64 OT |
1992 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen |
Evansville Kansas Cincinnati |
W 55–50 W 66–60 L 67–69 |
2004 | First Round | Maryland | L 83–86 |
2005 | First Round | Utah | L 54–60 |
2010 | First Round | Butler | L 59–77 |
- Received a first round bye in 1984.
NIT results
The Miners have appeared in ten National Invitation Tournaments. Their combined record is 6–10.
Year | Round | Opponent | Result/Score |
---|---|---|---|
1965 | First Round | Manhattan | L 53–71 |
1972 | First Round | Niagara | L 57–76 |
1980 | First Round Second Round |
Wichita State Michigan |
W 58–56 L 65–75 |
1981 | First Round Second Round |
San Jose State Tulsa |
W 57–53 L 72–76 |
1993 | First Round Second Round |
Houston Georgetown |
W 67–61 L 44–71 |
1995 | First Round Second Round |
Montana New Mexico State |
W 90–60 L 89–92 |
2001 | First Round Second Round |
McNeese State Memphis |
W 84–74 L 65–90 |
2006 | Opening Round First Round |
Lipscomb Michigan |
W 85–66 L 67–82 |
2011 | First Round | New Mexico | L 57–69 |
2015 | First Round | Murray State | L 66–81 |
CBI results
The Miners have appeared in three College Basketball Invitationals. Their combined record is 4–4 and they advanced to the finals in the 2009 tournament.
Year | Round | Opponent | Result/Score |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | First Round | Utah | L 69–81 |
2009 | First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals Game 1 Finals Game 2 Finals Game 3 |
Nevada Northeastern Richmond Oregon State Oregon State Oregon State |
W 79–77 W 75–66 W 81–69 L 69–75 W 63–70 L 73–81 |
2014 | First Round | Fresno State | L 56–61 |
Notable players
- Bobby Joe Hill
- Willie Cager
- Derrick Caracter (born 1988), power forward/center who played for the Los Angeles Lakers, now with A.S. Ramat HaSharon of the Israeli Liga Leumit.
- David Lattin
- Jerry Armstrong
- Nevil Shed
- Orsten Artis
- Willie Worsley
- Harry Flournoy
- Nate "Tiny" Archibald
- Tim Hardaway
- Antonio Davis
- Jim Barnes
- Greg Foster
- Nolan Richardson
- Julyan Stone
- Randy Culpepper
- Jason Williams (born 1983), basketball player for Hapoel Be'er Sheva of the National Basketball League of Israel
Retired numbers
- Tim Hardaway 10[2]
- Nate "Tiny" Archibald 14
- Bobby Joe Hill 14
- Jim Barnes 45
- Nolan Richardson 42
- Harry Flournoy 44
- David Lattin 43
- Willie Cager 10
- Timothy Clark 7
- Jerry Armstrong 52
Basketball Hall of Fame
- Don Haskins - Basketball Hall of Fame class of 1997
- Nathaniel Archibald - Basketball Hall of Fame class of 1991
- 1966 Texas Western team - Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2007
National rankings
ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll 1. 2009-2010: The Miners cracked the rankings in Week 15 (February 22, 2010). They stayed in the rankings for four consecutive weeks and peaked at #21 in Week 17 (March 8, 2010).
AP Poll 1. 2009-2010: UTEP cracked the AP Top 25 in Week 16 at #24 (March 1, 2010) and remained in the rankings for two weeks. The Miners peaked at #24 before falling out in the post-season rankings.
References
- ^ The University of Texas at El Paso Graphic Identity Guide (PDF). Retrieved August 8, 2019.
- ^ Knight, Bill. "Ex-NBA, UTEP star Tim Hardaway will have jersey retired at game tonight". El Paso Times. Retrieved 2013-02-11.