NCAA Tournament March Madness

#277 UTEP

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Projection: need to automatically qualify

UTEP's resume reads like a team with a few respectable wins but too many damaging losses away from home, and that balance explains why they need the automatic conference berth to get to the big dance. Their standouts—the home win over New Mexico State, the two victories over Delaware including one on the road, the neutral-ish wins over midmajor opponents, and the earlier road win at Jacksonville State—show they can finish tight games and score in bunches. Those moments are offset by brutal road setbacks at Utah State and at WKU and by losses at Missouri State, Louisiana Tech and Liberty plus neutral-site defeats to William & Mary and UAB, which leave them short on signature wins against quality foes. With few résumé-enhancing results away from home, the remaining home date with Jacksonville State and a run through the conference tournament are their clearest routes to reverse the trajectory.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/11Loy Marymount159L71-58
11/15@Utah St37L75-51
11/24(N)William & Mary135L74-63
11/25(N)UAB119L75-59
12/7@Seattle115L75-68
12/13@Hawaii106L66-61
12/21Norfolk St321L72-71
12/22N Dakota St117W76-66
12/29@Louisiana Tech231L75-63
1/2@Missouri St202L79-55
1/4@Florida Intl208L76-64
1/8MTSU175W83-80
1/10WKU148L68-56
1/15@Delaware270W70-69
1/17@Liberty118L80-69
1/22Florida Intl208W83-77
1/24Missouri St202L62-57
1/28Louisiana Tech231L69-59
1/31Delaware270W70-55
2/4@Sam Houston St107L70-66
2/7New Mexico St182W91-88
2/11@Jacksonville St207W69-64
2/14Liberty118L73-64
2/21@New Mexico St182L67-63
2/26@MTSU175L77-67
2/28@WKU148L97-65
3/5Kennesaw176W78-71
3/7Jacksonville St20746%