CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah University Men's Basketball team will travel to El Paso, Texas for the first time since 1997 to face the UTEP Miners in the second round of The Basketball Classic. Tip-off is set for Tuesday at 7 PM MT, and the game will be available for viewing on ESPN+.

Game Info

Southern Utah vs UTEP

Date: March 22, 2022

Tip-Off: 7:00 PM MT

Location: El Paso, Texas

Venue: Don Haskins Center

Stream: ESPN+

Watch | Live Stats | Game Notes (PDF)

Preview

Behind Dre Marin's MVP performance, the T-Birds (21-11, 14-6) picked up a thrilling victory over Kent State last week in the first round of The Basketball Classic. SUU will now turn their attention to Conference USA opponent UTEP (20-13, 12-6), hoping to earn a victory at the Don Haskins Center tomorrow night, thereby extending their season for at least one more game. 

Southern Utah's victory over Kent State was their 21st of the season, marking the second-highest win total for a single season in SUU MBB history. It was also their second postseason win in the history of the program, during what is their third all-time postseason appearance. A 22nd victory will be tough to secure, as a quality and disciplined UTEP team await SUU on their home court. 

The Miners, led by first-year Head Coach Joe Golding, prefer to set the tone of the game on the defensive side of the court. UTEP ranked second overall in Conference USA this season in scoring defense, allowing just 66.2 points per game. In their 20 victories this year, the Miners have allowed a paltry 63 points per game; whereas, in their 13 losses, they have given up 71 points per contest to their opponents. 

The Miners do a particularly good job of forcing their opposition into turnovers. They rank in the top 50 in the nation in turnovers forced per game at 14.7, including an average of 7.5 steals per contest. 

UTEP has struggled with consistency on the offensive end of the floor this season. They rank 11th in their conference in field goal percentage, shooting just 43.3 percent from the floor as a team this season. Their overall scoring average of 69.2 as a team ranks 10th out of 14 total teams in Conference USA.

The Miners have found some success from behind the arc this season, entering Tuesday's contest with a shooting clip of .351 from three this season, good for fifth-best in C-USA. On the opposite end of the court, they have been equally successful in defending the perimeter, holding opposing teams to 33.1 percent shooting from three-point land this season, ranking fourth-best in C-USA.

Individually, The Miners rely heavily on the trio of Souley Boum, Jamal Bieniemy, and Keonte Kennedy, as all three players average at least 14 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. As a Redshirt Junior, Boum is putting up 19.7 points per game and earned Second-Team All-Conference honors. Boum collected the first triple-double of his career in the Miners' first-round victory over Western Illinois. 

The high-powered T-Bird offense, which includes four different 1,000-point scorers, will seek to impose their will on the UTEP defense and carry over their incredible offensive performance from their first-round contest against Kent State. 

Southern Utah has led the Big Sky in scoring for the majority of the season, putting up an average of 78.5 points per contest. The T-Birds also lead the conference in rebounding, collecting 37.7 boards per game, and SUU has the potential to exploit UTEP in that statistical category. The Miners rank in the bottom three of Conference USA in both offensive and defensive rebounding, while also sitting dead last in rebounding margin (-3.82). The T-Birds lead the Big Sky Conference in rebounding margin at +4.5 and hold a record of 20-5 when out-rebounding their opponents; whereas, they are just 1-6 when they are out-rebounded. 

The Thunderbirds have picked up their defense in the latter portion of the season, allowing just 70.5 points per game over their last 13 contests. The T-Birds are currently holding opponents to 44.1 percent shooting from the field and 33.7 percent shooting from three, both of which rank in the top four of the Big Sky Conference.

Last Time Out

Dre Marin had one of the best performances of his career, as he knocked down 7/10 shots from three on his way to earning MVP honors, acting as a major player in Southern Utah's 83-79 win over Kent State in the Willis Reed Game.

The T-Birds put on an offensive clinic, shooting 53.8 percent from the field (28-52) and 41.4 percent from three (12-29), as they dished out 20 assists for the game. John Knight III (14), Jason Spurgin (13), and Harrison Butler (11) joined Marin as the four SUU players to reach double figures in scoring. 

It was a back-and-forth contest for the entire 40 minutes; however, SUU continued to knock down huge shots late in the game, highlighted by a Butler three-pointer with 35 seconds left to give Southern Utah a 4-point lead and secure their twelfth victory of the season at home.

Notable Stats:

• Dre Marin had a career-high seven three-pointers in the first-round victory over Kent State. 

• Head Coach Todd Simon has led Southern Utah to a combined record of 41-15 overall and 26-8 in Big Sky play over the past two seasons.

• Southern Utah is one of two Big Sky teams that is still competing in postseason play.

• At 78.5 points per game, SUU ranks as the 23rd highest-scoring team in the entire country this year.

• John Knight III leads the Big Sky in steals per game and ranks 30th in the nation, tallying 2.0 per game.

• Southern Utah holds a 7-7 record in road contests this season.

With only nine teams remaining in The Basketball Classic, a victory in El Paso would advance SUU to the third round of the tournament and extend what has been another remarkable season for Coach Todd Simon and Southern Utah Men's Basketball.

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