NCAA Tournament March Madness

#182 UTEP

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Projection: need to automatically qualify

Taking a close look at UTEP's season, a pattern emerges: they have an affinity for handling teams within their echelon but stumble when stepping up in class. Key losses to higher rated opponents like Bradley and Oregon in non-conference play, despite being competitive, indicate a ceiling that may not inspire confidence for a deep tournament run. Nevertheless, their defensive metrics suggest a resilience capable of disrupting teams, evidenced by a strong showing against Liberty late in the season. Victories over Middle Tennessee State and Western Kentucky show potential, but the inconsistency, particularly in road games, paints the picture of a team that likely needs to secure the automatic conference bid to punch their ticket to the dance, as their performance lacks the signature wins necessary to justify an at-large berth, given the mixed results against teams like New Mexico State and Sam Houston State. The room to improve their standing arguably hinges on seizing momentum during the conference tournament, where a championship win is essential for their March aspirations.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/13UC Santa Barbara214W89-76
11/17Austin Peay203W71-63
11/20(N)California120W75-72
11/22(N)Bradley69L63-59
11/25@Loy Marymount242L67-47
11/29TAM C. Christi172L67-63
12/9@Oregon61L71-49
12/17@Abilene Chr192L88-82
12/20Norfolk St234W67-65
12/21Wyoming161W78-67
12/30Seattle123L73-61
1/4@New Mexico St260L63-53
1/7Chicago St310W74-69
1/13@Florida Intl270L72-68
1/18MTSU253W73-59
1/20WKU133W93-87
1/25@Louisiana Tech95L68-54
1/27@Sam Houston St139L60-56
2/1Jacksonville St215W79-71
2/3Liberty142L67-65
2/10New Mexico St260W74-49
2/15@WKU133L90-80
2/17@MTSU253L96-90
2/22Louisiana Tech95L65-59
2/24Sam Houston St139L65-54
2/29@Jacksonville St215W72-65
3/2@Liberty142W67-51
3/7Florida Intl270W83-76
3/14(N)Liberty142W66-57
3/15(N)Sam Houston St139W65-63
3/16(N)WKU133L78-71